Ars Electronica Linz

Noise complaint: Yodeling performance canceled

The artist in Linz-Urfahr

(Bild: Fischer)

Due to noise complaints from local residents, the Linz City Council stopped a previously approved yodeling performance at the Ars Electronica Festival on Friday after two of three appearances. The artist is "surprised and disappointed".

The artist Daniel Fischer wanted to use a military sound weapon to send a vocal image across the Danube. However, local residents felt disturbed and repeatedly complained about disturbance of the peace. Although a sound level measurement did not reveal any noise levels being exceeded, the city council overturned the event.

Differing opinions on the approval process
"To be honest, I am very surprised and disappointed that my installation was stopped despite permits, registrations and even a grant from the City of Linz," said performance artist Fischer.

According to Fischer, the installation had been approved for one hour from Wednesday to Sunday. The organizer, on the other hand, says that performances were only scheduled from Wednesday to Friday and that the shows on Wednesday and Thursday were held as planned.

Military loudspeaker in the direction of Urfahr

(Bild: Fischer)

Local residents put up a fight
On Friday, following complaints from local residents, an official volume measurement was carried out, which revealed that the permitted decibel limits had not been exceeded. According to the festival organization team, the volume was comparable to the noise level of intensive road traffic. Nevertheless, the city council withdrew its approval for the last performance on Friday. During the test, local residents had apparently contacted the authorities again and demanded that it be canceled.

In his sound installation, Daniel Fischer encoded an image from the film "The Sound of Music" into yodeling sounds using digital technology and transmitted the melody to a receiver station on the other side of the Danube using a high-tech loudspeaker. 

Loudspeaker for EU external borders
The high-tech loudspeaker used, also known as a "sonic weapon", was originally developed for military purposes. Such devices were used, for example, to deter migrants at the EU's external borders. This did not go down too well with the citizens of Linz. 

The title "The Scream of Music" implies that the performance was intended to shake people up. For the artist Daniel Fischer, however, the decision by the city council to cancel his performance due to noise complaints is incomprehensible. In his written statement, he criticized the authorities for applying double standards: "Football festivals can be as loud as they like, or concerts can be played here in the same place - no problem. Critical art is obviously not wanted."