Cranked Tapes are mobile cassette recorders that are literally connected to the bicycle. Under the impulse of the pedalling speed, sounds are recorded and played back, created with the dynamics of cycling. Yoana Buzova and Matthias Hurtl modify bicycles into instruments with which both the cyclists themselves and their surroundings are actively integrated into the recording and sound reproduction.
It is an exploration of the disobedient potential of 'vocal' bike and is also rooted in the building of communities trough repair and modification.
The project began as research during a local residency and was also presented at RAD performance as a workshop to build and perform cranked tapes during a Critical mass ride in Vienna (AT).
The research was initiated during a residency as part of the Aloardi Exchange Programme, taking place at Paviljoen aan Het Water, Charlois, Rotterdam. Throughout the residency, together with Charlois residents, we constructed an 'audio bike ride route', published in a map, a cycling manual, where each location relates to an excerpt from the last book of the Critique of Everyday Life series by Henri Lefebvre, providing anyone directions to explore the sound sites of the neighborhood. An exploration of the interrelation of mechanical, organic, social rhythms and noise in the comprehension of everyday life.