As part of an expanded programme of artist commissions across Somerset House, Anna Meredith produced an original soundtrack inspired by our ice resurfacing machine (the Engo 170 SX), a ubiquitous yet fundamental feature of ice rinks across the world. Using the machine’s natural hum as a starting point, Meredith composed a sequence of harmonising drones alongside instrumentation inspired by early video game soundtracks and their similarly elementary characters/inhabitants. Named after the traditional stately dance and the ice resurfacing machine’s inventor, Sarabande for Zamboni is a hypnotic composition that played during each evening’s resurfacing.
Using motion tracking software coded by Music Hackspace resident Tim Murray-Browne, the piece used the live movements of the machine to influence and effect the instrumentation. With each performance - unique and reflective of the conditions of the ice - this audio artwork transformed routine maintenance into an unexpected spectacle.
The semi-automated ice resurfacing machine was invented by entrepreneur and engineer Frank J Zamboni in 1949. The vehicle, which is often referred to colloquially as the Zamboni, shaves off the top layer of scratched surface ice and lays a thin layer of water in its wake turned the lengthy, arduous task of rink resurfacing into a fifteen-minute endeavour.
