The voice of a loved one is a sound that is difficult to miss. It is a sound we yearn for in our loneliest moments. It is a memory we hold onto when someone is no longer with us; we often say, “I just wish I could hear their voice again.” What is it about a voice that haunts us? How do we reconstruct the most intimate impressions of a person through their voice alone?
With the advent of voice messaging on chat apps, people have substituted text messages for something more personal: their voice. You have one new message is an experimental composition of crowd-sourced voice messages and voicemails that have been sent or received in exchanges with loved ones. As we navigate a world where it is more challenging to be with one another, this project aims to recreate a feeling of intimacy and connection that we may all be craving right now.
You have one new message was created for the Sonic Memories residency presented by the Media Arts Committee. The project launch took place on 10 April 2021.
Voice messages contributed by Claire Bronchick, Kaitlin Chan, Sunny Chen 陈珊妮, Mira Fisher, Marlon Hedrick, Maggie Hope, Joyce Liao, Sarah Liu, Tina Ly, Kirsten Mendonca, Annie Orzen, Jane Shi, and Tintin Yang