At midnight on the 31 December 1999, Longplayer, a 1,000-year-long piece of music composed by Jem Finer, began playing. This year, British loudspeaker manufacturer EM Acoustics sponsored the project, donating loudspeakers for a sound system upgrade at the Trinity Buoy Wharf Lighthouse listening post, where it has been playing for the past 25 years.
‘Many within the music industry remember Longplayer as part of the millennium celebrations back in 2000,’ says EM Acoustics Brand Manager, Greg Clarke. ‘Twenty-five years later, we are thrilled at the opportunity to sponsor this project, which is truly an expression of human and artistic legacy across space and time.’
‘Working with EM Acoustics on this new spatial listening post for Longplayer at the Lighthouse has been a real pleasure,’ says Longplayer Trustee, James Bulley. ‘The EMS-51s provide the perfect balance of clarity, discreteness and high-quality manufacture. From all at the Longplayer Trust, we are extremely grateful to EM Acoustics for collaborating with us on this project.’
Now celebrating its first quarter-century milestone, the Longplayer Trinity Buoy Wharf listening post recently upgraded the sound system in its public listening area, which is open to visitors at weekends. Ten EMS-51 series loudspeakers from EM Acoustics are installed throughout the room to reproduce the ancient sounds of singing bowls. The extremely compact nature of the EMS-51s, coupled with their true passive design, provides discreet yet exceptional audio that truly captures the intricacies of the 1,000-year-long composition.
‘As always, we’re delighted to be involved with initiatives that leave a meaningful legacy,’ Clarke says. ‘We thank Longplayer for their work and the Trinity Buoy Wharf Trust for their support in helping to organise the upgrade.’
More: www.emacoustics.co.uk