(Demolishing) Concrete Music

The article addresses two pieces of sound art that incorporate field recordings from the site of the Berlin Wall, during the deconstruction of its concrete presence in East Germany. The author examines two pieces as a case study for the consideration of the historical potential of soundscapes and proposes that the developing genre possesses the capability to preserve the sound of history, in ways that are not possible with written sources. The potential problems associated with the works' reevaluation as historical sources and further works that would benefit from similar reconsideration are discussed.