GF: Renzo, this work is significantly different to your established portfolio. In what way?

RS: This is my first solo sound installation. In the past I have worked on a collaborative video and sound installation with British artist Derek Nice, but this is definitely a first. Between the Heard represents the development of my work as a solo artist who, even in performance situations, focuses more and more on the sound content rather than the presence of the performer.

This is a work that has been developed on the streets of Valletta and in my studio, and I am inviting people to listen to, or rather, listen in to the sounds of this installation.

I think it’s important to add that, in curating this piece, I wanted to be faithful to the field recordings so I never abandoned the reality of the source. Therefore, none of the sounds are manipulated or treated in any way.

GF: You take every day sounds and manipulate them. What possibilities does this open up, both for artistic development but also for the public?

RS: The possibilities are endless! At this particular stage in my solo career, I split these possibilities into three main categories – sound that is represented as an untreated subject, just pure sounds captured through my digital devices and microphone; sound that is captured and manipulated, shaped in whatever way I could think of; and the combination of both.

The everyday sounds are an interesting orchestra, layered sounds that are chance-based in their trajectory to the ear and infinite in possibilities. But I am in no privileged position – sound is around us all, it is public domain ever more so when, in most cases, we are the players of that orchestra.

GF: Who do you consider to be your typical audience?

RS: I remember discussing this same question sometime after I had performed Quintessence here in Malta. I had the chance to discuss this very particular solo performance with some interesting people, including Willem de Ridder who, in the past, held the post of chairman of Fluxus Northern Europe. In Malta, Quintessence had attracted a completely new crowd, apart from the faithful who have followed my artistic development along the years.

By now, this new audience was talking of an ‘experience’ rather than ‘a concert’, which was a strong indicator that the people who came to these performances, watched and listened with a very open mind.

I would like to see people getting engaged in the soundscapes that surround them

GF: Let’s talk a little bit more about Fluxus – the modern art movement that was focused on the accidental in art. Are there any direct influences on your own work?

RS: I wouldn’t say that there is a direct link with the Fluxus movement. Such a movement helped define many ‘new’ art forms and, I suppose, the Fluxus philosophy of art, exhibited outside the more conservative museum system, lives on today with the likes of graffiti artist Banksy.

With Between the Heard I am bringing the outside in and, perhaps, the surrounding sounds of St James Cavalier will weave into the sounds coming out of the speaker set-up.

Certainly, the Fluxus sense of curiosity and openness to what they discovered in the research process for their art, is one I can ascribe to.

GF: So, how does this work challenge your relationship with traditional percussion?

RS: The world of percussion is a very vast one, be it the more traditional, conventional instruments or the more experimental sphere like the use of recycled or found objects. Between the Heard enhanced my relationship with percussion, rather than challenged it. I find myself attempting to reproduce certain percussive sounds that I came across by pure chance while working on this sound piece. It is a way of further stretching the sound possibilities that objects and instruments have to offer.

Renzo Spiteri

GF: Between the Heard is partly about listening in to people’s conversations. Is that uncomfortable?

RS: This will be a very interesting point of discussion once the piece is made accessible to the public. From my point of view, I have been very careful how and what to expose as material for this sound piece. I must confess that I have picked up on conversations that I deleted in no time at all, especially when the topics are just too hot.

GF: Why name the piece, Between the Heard?

RS: If you had to stop in Republic Street, Valletta and close your eyes for a while you will find yourself surrounded by all that the ear can capture. You will find yourself in between all that can be heard: people, mobile ringtones, church bells, conversations, cars, and so on. I put myself in that same situation in different parts of our capital city, recording and absorbing sounds, experiencing the city in a totally new manner.

GF: And, finally, why should people listen to this work?

RS: Like many sound art pieces, Between the Heard works on awareness of the acoustic environment and making the listener more sensitive of it.

I would like to see people getting engaged in the soundscapes that surround them within the gallery where the piece is set up. I have, in fact, designed the piece in a way that there are five speakers in the round, all playing an individual role yet being a part of the sum of the whole piece. I am also interested in the way the listener perceives the piece, a work that is borne out of an environment that is so familiar with most of us Maltese.

Renzo Spiteri is a sound artist who creates work independently and in collaboration with visual artists, cultural organisations, dancers, writers, and galleries. His work bears a distinct sonic signature, characterised by strong sculptural and dimensional aspects.

Giuliana Fenech is a researcher in literature, storytelling, and performance. She lectures at the Department of English, at the University of Malta.

Between the Heard is part of Quintessence, and is also part of the Spazju Kreattiv programme and is supported by the Malta Arts Fund, Arts Council Malta.

Between the Heard is set up at Spaces C1 and C2 (Upper Galleries) at St James Cavalier and run until January 15. The 20-minute sound piece is on a loop, but can be experienced differently every time it is heard. The work contains explicit language.