Auckland Museum and leading musicians get together on Sonic Museum

Adding music and sound inspired by galleries at the museum.

Auckland Museum has joined forces with some of the biggest names in New Zealand music to work on a ground breaking project called ‘Sonic Museum’, which will see the production of a series of exclusive new music tracks inspired by galleries at Auckland Museum.

Musicians and sound artists from the dance, rock, ambient, orchestral and jazz scenes have been invited to write and record a track inspired by a gallery of their choice in the museum. The project will be launched on Thursday 7th May to coincide with the LATE at the Museum event and the launch of New Zealand Music Month. Visitors to Auckland Museum can hear tracks by donning a special set of headphones and embarking on a sonic exploration of the collections. The tracks will also be available for download onto portable music players from the museum website.

“The collections in Auckland Museum affect each of us in different ways. In Sonic Museum, a diverse selection of original music accompanies you through the galleries,” says Auckland Museum Director Dr Vanda Vitali.

“This exciting project highlights the way in which our thoughts, feelings and sensations are constantly reorganised by new experiences. On the one hand the music allows us to consider how others, in this case a group of New Zealand’s top musicians, can be inspired by galleries in the Museum. At the same time the tracks develop our own experience of the displays, encouraging a new awareness of the collections, of ourselves, and of the world in which we live.”

Musicians taking part in Sonic Museum and the galleries they have chosen are: Tiki Taane (Maori Court), Tim Coster (Landmarks: International Design and Decrorative Arts), Don McGlashan (Origins), Richard Francis (Land), Nathan Haines (Oceans), Rachel Shearer (Volcanoes), Phil Dadson (Ancient Worlds), Chris Adams (World War I Sanctuary), Rosy Parlane (World War II Hall of Memories).

Sonic Museum provides a rare opportunity to hear music and sound in the setting which inspired the composition, and in some cases in which it was recorded. It will run from Thursday 7th May to Monday 31st August at Auckland Museum and will cost $10.00 to hire headphones and audioplayer. Information about each composition plus a biography on each of the musicians is also included. Alternatively, all tracks will be able to be downloaded from www.sonicmuseum.co.nz