Wall of Sound began in September 2006 as part of the exhibition Protections at Kunsthaus Graz, curated by Adam Budak and Christine Peters. The project had two phases.

In the first phase, Etchells invited people to write to him about songs they had used as protection at some point in their lives. Wall of Sound approached songs as forms of advice (ironic or otherwise), songs as escape, retreat or distraction, songs as a dark space in which to revel, songs as encouragement, songs as a form of self-definition. Simply – songs as private (or communal) means of protection.

The texts which people sent ranged from personal narratives to speculations about certain songs, or fragments about songs in general, their personal uses and importance.

Once this material was collected, Etchells initiated the formation of a choir of security guards – led by Franz Jochum, the choir comprised members of the firm which provides security at Kunsthaus Graz. From time to time during the exhibition, the choir performed live a small selection of the protection songs in arrangements by Franz. The video documentation of live performance was shown in the gallery, alongside a laptop where visitors could browse and read original contributor texts about the songs.