Re-Volution Sampler – The Aesthetics of a Participatory Archive of Political Songs

This article describes and reflects upon the Re-Volution Sampler installation; an exploratory work to investigate how sonic archival material can be disseminated in engaging ways. The Re-Volution Sampler is a participatory installation which consist of a multi-layered assemblage of sonic documents. Ten political songs represent a multi-lingual mix of international, European and local Danish titles from the last decades. Participants can listen to songs and sing along, applaud, cheer or add verbal comments; they can also start new recordings. During an evaluation period of one week at a semi-public location, qualitative and quantitative methods are employed to collect data on the installation's engaging properties. We observe lively, shared and constructive interactions; that the participation is at the same time restrained; and that questions of power relationships surface as an essential aspect to navigate. The intended empowering effect of the installation appears uncertain and requires further investigation.