Experimental Tuesdays: Preemptive Listening

In an age of intersecting political, man-made and ecological disasters, ‘Preemptive Listening’ is an ode to the sirens that are and those that could be. Siren compositions from over 20 contemporary musicians form a resonant voice to ask; Does an alarm have to be alarming? 

Aura Satz’s inventive documentary, the latest iteration of the artist’s ongoing project on sirens, is sonic collage, design history, and thought experiment in equal measure. Filming in locations as varied as the Fukushima nuclear site in Japan and alert-system assembly lines in the US, Satz considers the siren as a cipher for contemporary ideas of emergency and preparedness. A relic of World War II and Cold War infrastructure, today the siren can be read as a warning sign, a crisis management tool, an emblem of climate collapse—and even, in the age of predictive policing, a threat in and of itself. Preemptive Listening features original compositions from over 20 experimental musicians reimagining what form the siren can take, from harp melodies to the rumbling of the Earth’s core. Breaking free from the weight of catastrophes past, Satz’s film conjures alternative ways to respond to the siren’s call as a path toward possible futures. 

89 minutes, 2024. Digital Projection. UK/Finland. Directed by Aura Satz. Featuring compositions by Laurie Spiegel, Sarah Davachi, Moor Mother, Raven Chacon, Camille Norment.