Speaking to Jennifer Lucy Allan in The Wire 437, Los Angeles based artist Nour Mobarak describes her fascination with language and how this is explored in her work: “The art of language is one that gives you a visual, a sonic, and is phenomenological. Its presence is interesting,” she says. “And I can do it no matter where I am.”

Her recent works have seen her focus even more intently on her voice's affective qualities, and her forthcoming release via Cafe Oto's label TakuRoku is no exception. Mobarak explains more below:

““Allophone Movement” is a project built out of the vocal material that forms human languages” she declares. “Multiple tracks are composed of collaged samples from the sounds of over 40 languages recorded and stored in the UCLA Phonetics Lab Archive. I'm presenting it here as its own self-contained stereo composition, but it has also been separated into 6 channels as the foundation for performance. While this multi-channel composition is playing, I, the performer, move inside and outside of the space of the track, while using my voice to play with speech sounds, or allophones, of human language. My interest is in the investigation of the affective quality of the human voice in space, outside of the fixed meanings of language. The systems of signification that are built out of language and speech are ones which generate entire complex world views, complete with micro and macro politics, imagining assumptions of rationality and irrationality. Societies are now atrophying more and more around the English tongue, with its mere 44 or so used allophones, which has overtly colonised language-worlds. “Allophone Movement” – a track from a forthcoming release on Cafe Oto's digital only TakuRoku label –investigates the sonic component of these systems.”

Read more about Nour Mobarak in The Wire 437. Subscribers can access the article via the digital archive.