At midnight on 31 December 1999, Longplayer – a 1,000-year-long piece of music composed by Jem Finer – began playing. This year, EM Acoustics – a British manufacturer of professional loudspeakers – sponsored the project. The company donated loudspeakers for a sound system upgrade in the public listening area at Longplayer’s flagship Trinity Buoy Wharf Lighthouse listening post, where the piece has been playing for the past 25 years. There are various other listening posts around the world.
“Many within the music industry remember Longplayer as part of the millennium celebrations back in 2000,” said Greg Clarke, brand manager at EM Acoustics. “25 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,” said James Bulley, Longplayer trustee. “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.”
The Longplayer Trinity Buoy Wharf listening post is open to visitors on weekends. 10 EMS-51 series loudspeakers from EM Acoustics are installed throughout the public listening area to reproduce, with perfect clarity, the ancient sounds of Longplayer’s singing bowls. EM Acoustics said the compact nature of the EMS-51s, coupled with their passive design, provides “discreet yet exceptional audio” to capture the intricacies of the 1,000-year-long composition.
“As always, we’re delighted to be involved with initiatives that leave a meaningful legacy,” said Clarke. “We thank Longplayer for their work and the Trinity Buoy Wharf Trust for their support in helping to organise the upgrade.”
