Surface Bruit explores the sonic and sculptural potential of home-made shellac records. DinahBird makes the records by hand using various shellac-based recipes, silicone moulds, and a recycling method involving dissolving found shellac discs in alcohol or melting them down in a small press. The newly produced 7" records feature short pieces composed using field recordings, that document current lac production processes in India. The final objects reflect the numerous challenges of the production process and are full of blemishes and imperfections — traces of their artisanal manufacture, such as air bubbles, dead insects and lumps. These errors are then incorporated into the performance. The records get stuck and loop by themselves. They are sometimes mixed with other early disc formats, such as Pyral, and played on various record players and a gramophone.

DinahBird is a sound artist and radio maker based in Paris. She is interested in early communication and recording technologies such as radio waves, gramophone records, tape-recorders, antennas, transistors, ghetto-blasters, and undersea cables. This piece takes a sideways look at the material culture of early 78rpm records.

Bird-Renoult - Quand ça fait ding ding di gue dong

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