As I travel around doing projects and giving workshops I start to notice something when I explain what I do and how it relates to the culture of sound and listening. The inevitable question that always comes up is, how is this information useful? Working as a “sound artist” appears to many people (and actually is) a rather obscure profession, so I give examples of how research and use of sound as a medium appears in other disciplines, some more mainstream than others. But the more I explain this, the more I realize how much these disciplines and professions exist as parallel worlds and how little communication may exist between them. This is a typically post-modern condition when it comes to specialization where certain disciplines may attempt to look more credible than others for business reasons, status or otherwise. But things seem to be changing slowly, at least on the front of sharing information and getting a peek into what it is people actually do in their respective fields.
In using sound as a departure point, we can easily drift into any number of fields, each with its own focus. Even though the medium is the same and concepts and techniques are shared, we end up with an array of different possibilities. With the simple formula of paying attention to sound, recording it, then editing it the result can end up being “art”(sound art, installation, experimental music), “science”(nature sound, acoustic ecology), “engineering”(acoustics, studio recording) or “entertainment”(film sound, sound design, radio) just to name a few. Apart from some random crossovers, it appears to me that each of these fields exists relatively independent from each other. Yet there is one defining link, the use and dependence on technology. There is one problem I’ve encountered during the process of giving sound workshop. Not everyone seems to understand the fundamental significance of sound, listening and our own cognitive process until you give them a microphone and a pair of headphones. How is it that it a technological interface helps so much to spark people’s imagination? I’ve often asked this for myself. If I’m so interested in acoustic perception, what’s the point to record anything at all? Yet I do and I’m quite deeply involved in using technology for recording and reproduction of sound.
Getting back to the various strands of audio cultures, I’ve come across some good “blogs”, particularly in the sound design field, of people who like to share what they record. It is possible that revealing some transparency in the process will help bridge some gaps between different fields. As people can see and hear more what goes on behind the scenes we can take note of some shared interests in the process, regardless of the outcome, particularly when it comes to thinking about awareness of our sound environments. It is also key that we maintain diversity and quality of our practices rather than quantity and authority to keep these respective fields open and dynamic. On a side note… I’ve noticed that the various fields here tend to be male dominated. This is a topic for another post, but when giving workshops I see no evidence that interest and attention and creative ability to to work with sound has anything to do with gender.
Sound Design / Film Sound / Field Recording
- Noise Jockey
- fieldsepulchra
- the music of sound
- sound + design
- chuck russom – audio guy
- ONPa ふろく.
- Surround2011.org
- Fieldcore
Nature Sound / Acoustic Ecology
- Nature Recordists email group
- Curt Olsen soundblog
- acoustic ecology news
- wildlife sound recording society
- listening earth blog
Misc. Projects and Resources
- Listen to Africa
- resources for studying sound recordings
- sound is art
- soundwalk.com blog
- positive soundscapes
- everyday listening
And to close, here’s a Newsweek article about audio ecologist Gordon Hempton’s work to raise awareness about silence and natural sound environments.
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‘continued to be’ for w.t.d.
John Grzinich “Continued To Be” 30:05
composed from field recordings and electronic sounds made January-March 2010 in Ahja Estonia, Kiel and Berlin Germany, Istanbul Turkey and Austin Texas.
original composition for webcast on Wednesday, March 24th 2010
World TB Day
To Be Continued… 24 hours of live music from all over the world on http://www.stazioneditopolo.it
With World Tuberculosis Day marked every year on March 24, advocates and supporters in the fight against TB are preparing to raise awareness on the disease. Among the most unusual events is “To Be Continued…” which will take place in Topolò, Italy. To Be Continued – or TBC (which in Italian is the abbreviation for tuberculosis) – will be a unique sound experience – an original concert that will last a full 24 hours starting at midnight and ending at midnight on the following day, and therefore covering the entire March 24 World TB Day.
During this uninterrupted 24 hour marathon, invited musicians from all over the world will play live music and mark the day with sounds and musical pieces. Every musician, from all four corners of the world, will have at their disposal a 30 minute window, and thus create a relay of sounds and rhythms. The event will be streamed through www.stazioneditopolo.it website. Radio Onde Furlane from Italy and Radio Zero from Portugal will simulcast part of the event. The music featured will be varied, from classical music to the Jewish-influenced klezmer, from ambient to experimental sounds, from jazz to ethnic music, all uninterrupted for 24 hours.
The initiative is coordinated by Antonio Della Marina, a contemporary musician and computer music composer, and by Moreno Miorelli, artistic director of the annual gathering “Stazione di Topolò/Postaja Topolove”. The concert is under the aegis of the Global Health Incubator, the ‘laboratory’ established in July last year in Topolo’/Topolove within the ‘Stazione’ event, to create links between the worlds of creativity and science.
ToBe Continued… is part of the initiatives sponsored by Stop TB Italy for World TB Day. The event has been made possible thanks to a generous contribution by the Lilly MDR-TB Partnership and the collaboration with XDevel Stream Solution and the Culture Centre of the University of Klagenfurt, that will provide the facilities for the coordination of the concert.