soundscape

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Returning Sound to the Commons

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Returning Sound to the Commons

am always teaching that sound is immediate, it enters our being before we can prepare, before thought can form a perceptual shield against it. From the time we are in the womb, before ‘King Sight’ (Walter Murch in Chion’s Audio Vision) has taken over we are learning and understanding about the our world through it, and then when we born, our existence in the world is to be immersed in it, pulled into relations that we do not choose but cannot escape. Unlike sight, a sense which allows for distance and framing, sound insists on intimacy, it places us inside the world and ourselves. Ever since, just over 50 years ago, R. Murray Schafer tried to “tune the world” and formalised the notion of ‘soundscape’ and thus soundscape studies which has lead increasing formalisation within the frameworks of academia and now government legislation (for example in the Noise and Soundscape Plan for Wales 2023-2028).

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Sound Diaries as a method for soundscape study

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Sound Diaries as a method for soundscape study

A sound diary or journal is both mindfulness and archive, practice and creation. By noting the sounds of daily life, we bring hidden elements of our lives, memories and soundscapes into focus. This practice grounds us in the present while also tracing personal, social, and cultural histories. Over time, the diary becomes a sonic map: a record of how places, and we ourselves, sound.

Soundtalking: Extending Soundscape Practice - UKAN conference poster

Soundtalking: Extending Soundscape Practice - UKAN conference poster

This study explores the practice of "soundtalking," a novel method of participant-led sound practice, within the environment and soundscape of the Dee Estuary in the UK. Over the course of twelve months, the Our Dee Estuary Project facilitated monthly meetings where participants engaged in in-depth discussions and sound-making activities, fostering a deeper connection with both their local and auditory environments.

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Train journey from Crewe to London Euston // Soundscape Recording

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Train journey from Crewe to London Euston // Soundscape Recording

Soundscape recording of parts of a journey from inside a Virgin Pendolino train, travelling from Crewe to London Euston. The soft low rumble of a train over the tracks, the gentle sounds of the trains air conditioning, the sounds of quiet conversation.

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London Binaural Soundscape // Tottenham Court Road to Charing Cross Road soundwalk

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London Binaural Soundscape // Tottenham Court Road to Charing Cross Road soundwalk

This recording was made on the 3rd April 2008 as I undertook a soundwalk from Tottenham Court Road underground station, along Charing Cross Road (via Denmark Street). This is a part of London which 13 years later is VERY different, many of the landmark buildings have gone to make way for Crossrail and the new TCR station.

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Train station // Binaural soundscape

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Train station // Binaural soundscape

I love the buzz and vibrance of a train station platform. There is always so much to take in sonically, but often we are distracted by the hustle and bustle of what is going on as we wait. I find soundscape recordings of train stations give you another insight and perspective to the inner workings of our hive like behaviour at transport hubs.