Around 30 years ago, Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty aka The KLF, aka The K Foundation, signed the guest book of a hotel on an island called Jura. In their luggage they had a suitcase filled with one million pounds sterling, which they burned a few hours later in the fireplace of a boathouse. The burning of the money, intended as a performative act, was to mark the start of an art career after the end of their music career. They had already stirred up the art world the year before, calling for a vote for the “worst British artist” alongside the Turner Prize and offering prize money of 40,000 pounds. For Drummond and Cauty, not only did a pile of money vanish into the air at Jura, but also the dream of an artistic career, as the art world was not interested in their action(s), but instead canceled them as a “promotional stunt”. What remained was a suitcase full of ashes, from which a brick was pressed years later - what this brick was all about? I don't really know. Maybe it could be used to build a house? Maybe one like the one that won British artist Rachel Whiteread the Turner Prize, worth 20,000 pounds. Drummond and Cauty raised questions about the value of money and art with their fire, but the outcome was rather disappointing. What does disappointment actually sound like? Does it sound like silence or does it crackle like burning banknotes in a fireplace? Almost 13 years ago, I traveled to Jura and signed the guest book of a hotel. The island is separated from the Scottish mainland by a strait. If you translate the Gaelic name of the strait back into English, its name is “Sound of disappointment”. During my trip, I walked the east coast of the Isle of Jura to record the “Sound of disappointment” and later had it pressed onto a record. The soft acetate coating of the dubplate changes its sound every time it is played, just as a good story changes every time it is told. What does disappointment actually sound like?
