Klangwolke. Translated, it means "the cloud of sound". As an explosion echoes along the banks of the Danube River, what we see is a stage created on a boat, and one enormous opera being held.

Along with the establishment of Ars in 1979 was Klangwolke. Because it's known among Linz's citizens as a fireworks display, it is actually more famous than Ars Electronica. And like the great mass of people bathing in the Ganges in Varanasi, India, old men and women, children, everyone faces the riverbank in unison. From evening onward, the crowd was unbelievable. Perhaps a hundred thousand people, 150,000 according to one estimate. You could certainly feel the air getting thick. Like Japan's ultra popular high school baseball tournament, the Koshien, from the end of one summer to the glory of the next, preparations take an entire year. That is how big this event is.

This year war was the theme. I think the story was about if Austria had remained occupied by Germany, but I'm not exactly sure. Sorry. My impression? The show itself was honestly not that good. But the explosive sound of the jet ski was pretty awesome. It was so awesome I thought my back was going to break. Probably considered noise pollution though.

26 years ago, the first Klangwolke was really amazing apparently. All the citizens of Linz placed their radios by their windows and tuned in all at once to a station playing digital music. The entire city reverberated with the music. It rocked. In contrast, recently all that's being required is money. You watch and the moment it's over, you start thinking about dinner. It doesn't stick to your bones...

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