In an age overflowing with music and sound, what are we actually able to hear?

<12 Sounds> is a work that begins from the awareness of the problem that there is too much music and sound in the world. With over 100,000 new tracks released daily, plus a vast archive of music from the past, we are surrounded by more sound than we could listen to—even if we listened nonstop for a lifetime. The fact that there is an excess of sounds to listen to can easily cause just as much fatigue and a loss of sense of direction. The commonplace technologies of today such as noise-cancelling and algorithmic recommendations can be an easy solution to such a situation. However, if the future of music is about deleting unwanted sounds or listening only to familiar ones on repeat, doesn’t music become a little too uninteresting?
Faced with this reality, An Sangwook suggests more attentive listening before producing new sounds. During his research, he met with contemporary musicians actively creating and releasing their own sounds, to discuss what sounds they have listened to, what sounds they’ve created, and what sounds matter most to them. After the interviews, the musicians each gave him one sound that is important to themselves.
<12 Sounds> is a performance created from these collected sounds and interview recordings. The interviews are supposed to be a form of field recording, and the sounds shared by the musicians are considered as soundscapes or sound objects recorded at the “place” that is the musician. Each sound is assigned to a dedicated speaker, and the QR code attached to the speaker links to an interview with the musician who shared it.
Using a controller he designed himself, An Sangwook connects and modulates the twelve sounds in real time, performing a four-movement piece of musique concrète. This process represents a contemporary soundscape presented by the twelve musicians, as well as the expansion of the creative range An Sangwook explores as a solo artist. The sounds carry the life stories and contexts of their contributors, resonating with the audience’s memories and auditory experiences. <12 Sounds> invites the audience to re-examine the value and importance of listening, while posing questions about our contemporary auditory experience.