David Byrne Plays Buildings Instead Of Talking Heads

The Talking Heads may be wandering the devil’s playground, but that doesn’t mean former front man David Byrne has his hands idle. He is set to turn one New York building into quite possibly the world’s biggest musical instrument. The Battery Maritime Building, which has stood virtually abandoned for decades, will host “Playing The Building” an exhibit of wind-induced sounds and vibrations set up by Byrne by latching various devices to the building’s physical indoor structure.

“No microphones, no electronics, no speakers. All the sounds come from the sounds the buildings make,” Byrne said at a press conference this week. Devices will link up to water pipes, beams, pillars and ceilings inside the building to induce sound from wind and vibrations controlled by a single antique organ set up in the middle of the building’s Great Room, which visitors are invited to play. “No one is better at doing it or playing it than anyone else. It’s not something musicians are good at and non-musicians are not good at,” Byrne adds. The Great Room will also serve as a waiting area for commuters riding the nearby ferry. The free exhibit will run from May 31 to August 10.