Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) are voices from the spirit world that are detected in sound recordings. EVP have formed a field of paranormal research since the 1940s. One of its pioneers was Russian-born Swedish artist Friedrich Jürgenson (1903-1987). Inspired by the research of his countryman, Swedish artist Carl Michael Von Hausswolff (1956) often explores EVP in his compositions. In these EVP experiments Von Hausswolff usually collaborates with fellow-researcher Michael Esposito, to whom the album Energy unveiled and re-formed has been dedicated.
Energy unveiled and reformed was released on CD by Moloko Plus in 2023 and consists of a long composition by Von Hausswolff and a shorter one by Von Hausswolff and Esposito. Both compositions are experiments in EVP. I died here was originally commissioned by Bonniers Konsthall in 2012 when Von Hausswolff and Esposito took part in a program in honour of John Cage’s 100th birthday. The original composition was re-mixed by Von Hausswolff in 2023. Get in! is an EVP recording done by Von Hauswolff outside the apartment in Mexico City where William Burroughs shot his wife Joan Vollmer Burroughs in 1951. The recording was mixed into a joint composition by Von Hausswolff and Esposito and first released as a 7″ flexi-disc by Geräuschmanufaktur, Osnabrück in 2013.
Moloko’s CD Energy unveiled and re-formed comes in a sleeve designed by Column One’s Robert Schalinski and is a lovely album in every respect.