Soundscape in Complicite, or Mnemonic as a radio play

Abstract

Deprived of visual elements, the radio play Mnemonic by Complicite is analysed as a curious exploration of the sonic elements of communication. As a recorded text, the radio play constitutes, on the one hand, an autonomous and complete artistic entity, and on the other should be treated as part of a more general sequence of artistic nature (theatre performances, dramatic texts). Detailed analysis of the initial four minutes and thirty three seconds of the recording reveals the whole spectrum of technical devices, which – as it turns out in the second part of the argument – are pivotal for the semantics of the entire piece.