Introduction: Voice, Voicetracks, New Materialism

I begin with a clearing of the throat, a cough, as I remember a crucial conceptual art piece by Yoko Ono recorded in 1963—her cough piece. In this work Ono coughs for 32′31″ (Ono 1961)—making a most significant work for conceptual sound art at the time and resonating still. This is a work that affects me most deeply and viscerally, evoking both an affect and a memory, each time I listen.