Longplayer

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For the type of vinyl record, see LP record.
One of the listening posts, Bow Creek Lighthouse at Trinity Buoy Wharf, London.

"Longplayer" is a piece of music that is designed to last for one thousand years. It started to play on January 1, 2000, and if all goes as planned, it will continue without repetition until December 31, 2999. It will restart on that date.[1]

"Longplayer" is based on an existing piece of music, 20 minutes and 20 seconds in length, which is processed by computer using a simple algorithm. This gives a large number of variations, which, when played consecutively, gives a total expected runtime of 1000 years.

The original music was composed by Jem Finer, who was also one of the founding members of the group The Pogues. It uses Tibetan singing bowls and gongs, which are able to create a range of sounds by either striking or rolling pieces of wood around the rims. This source music was recorded in December 1999. It was commissioned by Artangel.

"Longplayer" could be heard in the relaxation zone of the Millennium Dome in London during its year of opening in 2000. The piece was also played in the 19th century lighthouse at Trinity Buoy Wharf and other public listening posts in the United Kingdom, United States, Australia and Egypt, where it can still be heard today.[2] It can also be heard via an Icecast Internet stream, hosted (as of 2008) by Greenwich-based SPC.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Eyres, Harry (2009-09-10). "Coming soon: the future". Financial Times. Retrieved 2009-11-19. 
  2. ↑ The Longplayer Trust. "Longplayer - Finding Longplayer". Retrieved 2009-02-14. 

External links

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