The historic Humboldt Water Tower is back in the news – this time not as an award-winning film setting.
Jen Reimer, the Montreal-based student of sonics and audio performer, made her way back to the beloved water tower for a combination performance and recording session as she begins to wrap up her multi-year acoustic project.
Reimer has recorded both ambient and manipulated sounds in all types of environments including cathedrals, bunkers, subway tunnels, and storage vessels. She keeps returning to Humboldt and the water tower because of its resonant properties, steel constructed echo chamber that’s been repurposed as a tourist venue. The word unique is tossed around a lot when describing rarities, but she believes the water tower’s nature to amplify native and introduced sounds is one of a kind.
Last week, Jen performed, recorded and filmed in front of a limited audience who strategically positioned themselves at various points on the winding staircase up the water tower. The guests reported a range of sonic and vibration-tinged experiences based on their relative positions.
Reimer talks about the evolution of the digitally based frequency generating instrument that’s guided through varying sizes of speakers up the staircase of the 80-foot-tall tower.
“The last time I was here, I did a series of performances, and it was all about making this instrument I was playing in the space. I’ve developed it over the last year or so, consolidating it and making it easier to play. When I was here last time, I didn’t have time to document the process.”
To that end, Reimer travelled to Humboldt with a videographer who recorded the processes and the outcomes, recounting her journey toward what she hopes will be an album. Reimer is taking painstaking measures to create as comprehensive a listening experience as possible.
“I’m recording the composition not only in the space, but I want to record inside the metal, the different materials in the space. I have these transducers that record the vibrating materials, but I want to get inside to record the sounds to make the album.”
She envisions releasing an album that’s comprised of three essential movements. The first movement involves ascending the stairs and capturing the natural sound of the wind as it affects the interior air flow. The second movement is capturing the structural noises and the resonant properties of the materials. The third movement is designed to pick up on the effect of outside ambient noises, particularly the nearby trains, as they interact with space.
Reimer is also dealing with the challenge of accurately replicating a sound experience that changes depending on where you are in the confines of the tower.
“How do you express the experience of moving through the space in a recorded format. It’s such a different experience to be there and to feel the sound.”
The experience for the listeners is impacted not just by where they are in the tower, but what they are touching. The vibrations literally flow through the body differently if you are touching a metal handrail or resting with your back against the circumference of the metal tube.
“I think that the fact that there's this 80-foot steel pipe water tower, very resonant that you can actually ascend the staircase and hear how the sound changes as you go up is a very unique opportunity.”
The history of water in the tower and the constant presence of the wind both animate the space for the audio attuned student of sound. It is what’s drawn her back time and again to revise and restructure the project as new ideas form.
“I do think it's a special space. I think it feels like a long-distance collaborator, working in Montreal and imagining being here the whole time. Like, how will this vibrate? How will this, you know, sound in this space? So it's kept me really good company.
Reimer intends to return this January to regroup with the members of the Cultural Services Department and the volunteers who have helped with logistics, right down to wiring the tower for sound reproduction and recording. The visit would represent a finale and a presentation that encompasses all the project.
In the meantime, summer visitors to the water tower can share the remarkable experience simply by entering, standing still, and absorbing the unique audio experience.