Photography by Diana Shearwood - www.dianashearwood.com



About Silophonic

Silophonic is a new work from Bob Guido that explores the sounds and sights of Silo #5 - Silophone Instrument, sonic inhabitation in Montréal, Canada. The video combines new music from Bob Guido, created by using the natural reverberation and acoustics of the Silophone process and photography by Diana Shearwood, the official photographer for the original Silophone project.

Bob created this new music using electric guitar as the source instrument combined with the Silophone as a sound treatment instrument. Silophone makes use of the incredible acoustics of Silo #5 by introducing sounds using communication technologies, into a physical space to create an instrument which blurs the boundaries between music, architecture and net art. Sounds arrive inside Silo #5 by telephone or internet. They are then broadcast into the vast concrete grain storage chambers inside the silo. They are transformed, reverberated, and coloured by the remarkable acoustics of the structure, yielding a stunningly beautiful echo. This sound is captured by microphones and rebroadcast back to it's sender.


About Silophone www.silophone.net

Silophone is a project which combines sound, architecture, and communication technologies to transform a significant landmark in the industrial cityscape of Montréal.

Silo #5 is an abandoned grain storage facility in the port of Montréal. A quarter of a mile long and over twenty storeys high, it has a total capacity of five million bushels, or enough wheat to make 230 million loaves of bread. The building was constructed in several stages between 1903 and 1958. The newest part of the building was designed to last for generations, however due to changes in the global grain market and to the general trend of de-industrialization in North America at the end of the 20th century, the building became redundant less than forty years after its completion. Since 1994, Silo #5 has stood empty, and its fate has been hotly debated. The building is situated in one of Montréal's oldest industrial districts, now rapidly being gentrified and renovated for high-tech commercial, luxury residential, and tourism/leisure industry uses.

The portion of the structure used by Silophone is constructed entirely of reinforced concrete, measures 200 metres long, 16 metres wide and approximately 45 metres at its highest point. The main section of the building is formed of approximately 115 vertical chambers, all 30 metres high and up to 8 metres in diameter. These tall parallel cylinders, whose form evokes the structure of an enormous organ, have exceptional acoustic properties: most notably, a stunning reverberation time of over 20 seconds. Anything played inside the Silo is euphonized, made beautiful, by the acoustics of the structure. All those who have entered have found it an overwhelming and unforgettable experience.



℗ & © Bob Guido Music.