London Placard
“One of the highlights of a long hot summer” — The Wire
“Ludicrously straightfaced” — The Guardian
“Freebie of the week” — Time Out
“A far cry from Glastonbury or Reading” — New Statesman
“the only way to understand the most communal musical gathering is to come along and plug in” — kultureflash
2008 Season
We’ve got two headphone sessions this year, one at Cafe OTO on the 20th September and another at Shunt as part of the Net Audio festival on the 24th October. Use the menu on the left to find out more…
Histoire
Le Placard started in 1998 in Paris, France. At that time finding venues for alternative music was difficult, and police raids on unlicensed events were frequent. So instead Erik Minkkinen organised a headphone party in his small apartment, called ‘placard’ after the French word for ‘cupboard’.
Since then this concept has grown to an international streaming festival, with tens of cities providing listening rooms for local and remote performances. Placard has formed part of the Mutek, Transmediale, Garage and Pixelache festivals. The event in Paris has itself grown into an institution, running for 72 hours straight where the audience sleep with their headphones on, still listening.
Scheduler
London Placard
The first London Placard was in 2003, with its own innovations including 20 minute quick-fire performances, organised by a robot directing and switching between performers exactly to schedule. his way 42 acts can be squeezed into a 14 hour session from midday until 2am.
The London Placard has been a group effort supported by many collectives over the years including midRange, [no.signal], State51, the slow sound system, openlab, lurk, Moshi Moshi Records, Coombe Records, Highpoint Lowlife records and idoia.org.
Leafcutter John, London Placard 2003
London Placard is a collaboration of many, where everyone, including the artists, have worked for free and use of the venue has also been provided gratis.
Performers
Around 40 acts perform at each event, and have included Leafcutter John, Adem, Jem Finer, Max Eastley and David Toop, Hot Chip, Icarus, Slub, John Chantler, Dallas Simpson, Motion, Yee-King, Sanso-Xtro, Si-Cut db and Janek Schaeffer.
Many performers play with the headphone situation, for example by passing microphones into the crowd without fear of feedback or using the detailed, wide stereo field of headphones sometimes using binaural (in-ear) microphones.
Distribution
Listening experience
Audio is powered by a bank of 16 headphone amplifiers, passively split into 108 stereo outputs, distributed around the space via four multicore cables. Listeners choose between four sound levels by picking a socket to match their headphone impedence. Listeners bring their own headphones, adaptors are provided for those with minijack inputs.
With headphone cables everywhere, moving around the space becomes an intra-audience performance art, part of the placard experience. Wireless headphones have been considered but would spoil this aesthetic, and also introduce practical problems with recharging batteries.
Information projection
A headphone listening room has a close atmosphere, the audience directly connected to the music maker. Listeners are often seen to remove their headphones for a while to take in acoustic sounds of a singer or instrument, or the quiet burbling of their neighbours’ headphones.
Previous years
2003 - Anthony Guerra, Brown Sierra, Chesh, Colin Potter, Corlab Smac, Crowdformation, Cursor Minor, Dallas Simpson, Dual, Fabrice Moglini, Frankie The Robot, Gagarin, Gary Jeff, Holkham, Icarus, Iris Garrelfs, Ixi Project, Jem Finer, John Eacott, Jonathan Coleclough, LJ Kruzer, Leafcutter John, Max Eastley, Motion, .m u r m e r. , Peter Cusack, PowerBooks For Peace, Rashamon, Richard thomas, Si-cut.db, Sick Lincoln, slow sound system, Tex La Homa, Voodoo Muzak, We’re Breaking Up
Listeners
2004 - 8 Hours (adem), 87central, A.M.P. Studio, Akira the don, Antenna Farm, CK Dexter Haven, Cedric Pin, Cheapmachines, Chris Coode, Claire Hope, Cylens, Dallas Simpson, David Toop, Discom, Dual, Duncan Whitley, Ed Bennett vs Cormac Heron, eg0, Emanuela de Angelis, Fisk Industries, Heller, Holkham, Hot Chip, Janek Schaefer, John Chantler, Jonathan Coleclough, Karina ESP, Leafcutter John, Main, Max Eastley, Michael Rodgers, Murmer, Nada, Nebogeo, Nullpointer, Paul Hood, Rashamon, Romuald Wadych, Same Actor, Sanso-xtro, Smack Miranda, Table, The
Sound Of Squaljax & Farbulous, Thorsten Sideb0ard, Viv Corringham, Yellow6
From our headphones to yours
2005 - Ardisson, Boca Raton, ButterflyCut, Cheapmachines, Chris Tosic, ClaudiusMaximus, Cormac Heron, Dithernoise, El Muniria, Empty Quarter, Foneq, Gagarin, Gavin Starks, John Chantler, John Macedo, Julian Weaver, Klipp av, Leafcutter John, Les 7 mondes, Liberation Jumpsuit, Matt Gray, Pete Marsh, Pline, Poptatari, RDA, Riccardo Mantelli, Sanso Xtro, sanspiral, Signals, slow sound system, Stefano Tedesco, The Reverbarater, Tonic Train, Unked Mobile Unit, VJ Ubergeek, Walker, slub, u:sun.
The London placard headphone festival gratefully acknowledges support from the PRS Foundation.
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