Signal from Noise / Lavami col Fuoco

Substantiae Motus II – Cultural Geologies – July 2024 Opening performance

Participatory Sound Performance with Antonio Marano Featuring Lavami col Fuoco by rumoremuto

Signal from Noise / Lavami col Fuoco is a participatory sound performance exploring the resonance of material archives and the act of transforming noise into signal. Presented as the inaugural performance of Liminaria MMXXIV – Substantiae Motus II / Cultural Geologies 2024 and Ejecta-1 at Pu-téca Tramandars, the piece brings together sound, found objects, and live manipulation in a site-specific installation.

Part of the Ius Soli documentary archive, Signal from Noise is an ongoing collection of collaborations with composers. The original Signal from Noise (2020) was composed by Phil St. George using Giovanni Ambrosio’s lo-fi field recordings. Lavami col Fuoco (2023) by rumoremuto is based on the sound of rubbed volcanic stones, recorded and played by Giovanni Ambrosio. As a sound installation, Signal from Noise extends from Oreste Will Be Back (Museo Madre, 2022), where it was presented with recordings, a microphone, a video and manipulated lapilli stones.

A Live Sound Archive

The 2024 performance took place on July 9 in the private courtyard of Casamale, transforming the space into a live archive of tactile sound. The installation, composed of four microphones and curated collections of volcanic stones and historical fragments, invited public participation. An open call, curated by Dario Benvenuto, extended the invitation to those with a personal connection to stones or a simple curiosity to make them resonate.

During the performance, stones and fragments were processed in real-time over the composition Lavami col Fuoco(2023) by rumoremuto, generating an evolving live soundscape. The performance opened the doors of Put-éca Tramandars, marking the start of the Ejecta-1 exhibition.

Signal from Noise / Signal from Noise – Ejecta-2

In a second iteration, the performance inaugurated Spazio Amira for Ejecta-2, blending natural sounds from Monte Somma with archival and live-generated sounds. The space was dominated by an evolving loop of Signal from Noise (Phil St. George), while volcanic lapilli were rubbed, recorded, reprocessed, and amplified through tape recorders. The cassette deck, buried under stones and fragments, played back a manipulated field recording, vibrating objects until their ejection, triggered by the physical push of the EJECT button. The performance opened with curator Christian Taranto’s flag-waving gesture.