Sound installation on the old railway bridge in Trencin

The sound installation Takt, set in the environment of the old railway bridge in Trenčín, is a new work of art by the TRAKT civic association. The interactive work was created together with other invited colleagues from the cultural and technological field. The work was created with the help of the ECC Trenčín 2026 team, which worked intensively on the candidacy of the city of Trenčín in this prestigious cultural event (European Capital of Culture). The sound installation was first launched to the public in a test phase at the turn of November and December 2021.

The author of the music is the young performer Toello, coming from Trenčianske Teplice, who layered 16 unique original tracks. These are triggered interactively by embedded sensors and thus react to people coming and going directly on the bridge. If one person enters the bridge the first musical layer is triggered, the next person crossing triggers the next, and so on. When the passer-by leaves the bridge, the track turns off again. If there are, for example, 10 people on the bridge at the same time, in the sensed environment directly above the river Váh, 10 sound tracks will play in parallel, which together will form a single musical unit. The maximum is 16 music tracks. At that point, passers-by will be able to hear the full track. If there is no one on the bridge, it will remain silent. Takt is available every day from 7:00 am to 4:00 pm.

The work responds to collaboration, togetherness and connectedness in a local context. For example, in the quest to become ECoC 2026, but also in the unification of the cultural and artistic community. However, it also responds to global contexts such as the polarisation of society in different areas. The sound installation presents in a rather illustrative way the idea of “unity is strength”, where only by being present with each other can people play a musical piece in its full scope. Although the individual plays an essential role, he or she cannot create the whole on his or her own.

Photos by Juraj Majersky and Lukas Matejka.