Alvi Lucier - I Am Sitting in a Room

I Am Sitting in a Room by Alvin Lucier is a piece of experimental music from the year 1969. In his piece, Lucier, a composer of experimental music and sound installations, sits in an empty room, verbalizing a short text, that is that re-recorded and resonates in the room again and again until the text is not understandable anymore and only sound can be heard. 

What I found interesting about Lucier is that he uses science as a base for his music, and therefore seems to be the most experimental artist of the ones we have discussed in class. Because when you think about the term “experimental” it's the base of science and all scientific processes and findings. Combing science and compositions consequently seems to be the essence of experimental music, and the piece I Am Sitting in a Room is one great example of this concept.

In the beginning when the text/lyrics are clear and understandable the piece seems almost like a poem and if one would just listen to it without any background knowledge beforehand as a listener one would probably think it is some kind of narration. However, as the re-recording repeats and the resonance sounds overlay the text and the speaker, the poem-like aspects vanishes. When the resonance takes over and the sound, in my personal impression, gets uncomfortable, I would characterize the piece as unpleasant, irritating and even scary. 

While listening to the last part of I Am Sitting in a Room it did remind me of horror and I thought it could be used as a horror element in a movie, where a character is e.g. trapped in a room by herself/himself and can’t escape. Another aspect that came to mind while listening was the element of insanity. The repetition of the text over and over again and the slow vanishing of the text until it is complete lost and only resonance is present could serve as a metaphor for loosing one's mind. 

Even though I do understand why I Am Sitting in a Room is one of Lucier’s most famous and remarkable works due to its uniqueness, sound-work and experimentalist, I wonder how a piece of music that is so unpleasant to listen to and basically hurts your ears as a listener and therefore can be considered the opposite of entertainment had and still as of today has such a high reputation and influence even on today’s electronic music and pop culture. Although I am aware that Lucier aim was not to entertain or make pleasant music, but rather to experiment and create something that has not existed before.