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Hildegard Westerkamp Spea king from inside t he sound s ap epresented at Hr Upp! Stockho lm Hey L isten!Conference on Acoustic Ecolo gy, June 8-13, 199 8

Except for the excerpts from Voices of a Plac e (footnotes 5 , 6, and9), all excerpts are from compositions, lm soundtracks or radioprogrammes y t e aut or. As we , t e spo e n vo ce n t e tapeparts, except for the babys voice in Moments of Laughter footnote 7 ,is that o the author.

CD Blind scapes / Paisajes c iegos

#01 Hildegard Westerkamp Silent Nig ht :1

#06 Hildegard Westerkamp Cool Dro ol 02 :17


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I wa s si tt ng in t he train to Stoc kholm. I had a Eurailpass, so Icoul tr a el st c la ss. Wi thin ten minut es after the trains depar-ture t he b us inessm en aro und me (I was the only woman) startedto ak e all s on t heir c ell phon es. Sinc e I wanted to do somewo r I g o v ery ir ritated. I got u p and sa id to the two gentlemenclos st to m e, Ex cu se m e, but i s this a n of ce or a train? Oneof t em a sw red , If yo u dont want to listen to our phonecallsther is a roo yo u can go to, an d he p ointed to the back of thecar. I a ns ere d, I don t feel I sho uld ha ve to move, as this is myrese ved ea t. Per haps t ho se who make phonecalls should go tothat roo m . We w er e bo th agitate d. He th en said that if two peo-ple ere av i g a conv er sation n ear me they would talk just aslo ud ly, an d I aid , No, i n my e xperienc e people who are on theph o e sp ak u ch mor e loudly . He sa id that that was not hisex pe ri en c a n b es ides h e had no t really w anted to talk to me thismo r in g.

Th is i s n t an exp er ienc e typica l for the Swedish soundscape. Itis a n ex pe rien e t yp ical f or much rst clas s travel anywhere in thewo rld. T hat is why I felt con den t to spe ak up. I was not treadingon l cal we ish t oes, j us t on tho se glo bal toes of the business-me n wh o we r c ompletel y uncons cious of how their voices domi-na te th e so u ds ca pe.

Th e ph on ec al ls d id not e xactly s ubside. So I put on my earplugsan d co nt inue wi th my work. La ter I no ticed that many of theno n ph o in g me n were wearing headp hones. Meanwhile theseal d-o ff tra in w as spe ed ing sm oothly t hrough the sunny land-scap e. E a h o e of us tr avellers e xisted i n our own private soundbu b le , with i the movin g sound bubble of the train.

So - - - - - W ere are w e now?It i s une 10, 99 8.We re in St o kh ol m, Swe den.

I am s pe akin to y ou for emostly as a com poser who has chosento c m po se ith the so un ds of the envi ronment. But I am alsospea king s some on e wh o once e migrated from one culture to an-othe , s o eo e w ho is co ncerne d about the health of the sound-scap e, s o eo e w ho is st ill learni ng to li sten and remains aston-ishe an d fa scinat ed by th e comp lexities of listening. Astonished,be ca us e t e p oc es s of l istening i s always full of new experiencesan d su rp r ise s. F as ci nate d, becau se sound and listening are inti-ma t ly c o ne cted w ith th e passin g of tim e and therefore with how

ti me is sp n t, ow life is l ived. Th e sounds cape voices the passingof t i e an d it ea ch es int o every moment of our personal and pro-fess io na l live s. It re ache s right in to this pl ace and this moment ofti me and ec omes a lived soundsc ape for all of us in this room.


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6868Speaking from inside the soundscape ] Hildegard Westerkamp

Tape (ID #1) listen lislisten list en lisliste n listen li sten list e li st en li st enlisten listen listen lislisten listen lislisten

We are inside the act of liste ning. We are h er e to l ist n t t he lis -tening.

Tape (ID #2) 2 Sound of footst eps. The n they s top. T he vo ce:To ay is t e 6t of Decem er. Im on

Hollyburn Mountain. Its a v ery sparkl ing, col d, sunny d y. I s v er still up here. I hardly dare to talk for fea r of

covering a t e itt e soun s t a t are a ppening aroun me e e. I a mstan ing on a trai t at goes t roug t e forest.. .

Tape fades.

Together we are creating a q uality o f listen in g and s un m ak ngin this sonic space, the quali ty of time passi ng .

Tape (ID #3) City ambience . Then v oice ove r ambi en ce: he ci t i sroaring tonight - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Its quite a clear evening - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - I hear a m ud dl of sound - -- -- -- - - -- -- -- - Tha ts the ci ty - - - - - - -

- - - - - - - - - A large unde ned so und -- - - ---- ano nymo us sou n o f th ecity ---- - from anonymous sou rces.

Trainhorn sounds in mid-di stance ( - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - l ng long

short long: signal for train c rossings ),

Childrens voices screeching a block away . Th ank Go for th e ki san for t ose signa s, train orn s -- -

Trainhorn sound -- - that giv e a de nition to th is pla ce , th at g ive it aname. Ambience fades.

I have been asked to speak about the mus ical, ar t st ic a sp ects

of the soundscape and all that tha t entails. The m o e I th ou h tabout this, the more I realize d that I cannot speak ab u t nyt h nginvolving the soundscape i f I want to stay t rue to a ec ol og icalconsciousness that positions itself in side the sou nd s ap e, a s p art

rom: This Borrowed Land,ational Film Board, 1982,rector, Bonn e Kreps.

2 From: Soundwalking:Silent Night, ancouver

o-operative Radio, Winter7 /7 .

From: Soundwalking:Trainhor n Vancouver,

ancouver Co-operat veadio, Winter 1978/79.


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of a d p a ti ci ant in the sounds cape, no t as outsider, observer orco m en t to r.

Ta pe ( ID # )4 oo tste ps o n snow f ade in u nder live talk.

So , y s p ak i g today wi ll be an attempt to speak from inside theso u ds ca e, ore s peci cally fr om insid e this soundscape, frominsi e r e em ere d soun dscapes, from in side my experience andkn o ledg of ou nd scap e, from in side the musical, artistic aspectsof t he s ou nd s ap e.

Ta p c on t inu es: Footst eps contin ue. St op. Then voice: Nobodyha s een h ere - - - - - si nce th e last sno w fell - - - - - - - - -

---- - - Li s en o t e icic es. Icicle s ounds, t hen tape fades.

Wh en w e we r b abies we did tru ly exist ins ide the soundscape. Welist e ed a d e made s ou nds fr om insid e that place. We were, infact , in ca abl of ste ppin g outsid e of it.

Ta pe ( ID # )5 av es crash ing. The n voice: A sound, to me, is verymu c a bo t t i e. T ime pa ssing. The quality

of t i e pa ssin g. H ow it pa sses. And if we list en to that, we are verymu c i nsi e th soun d, ver y much i nside

the s un ds ape . Wa ve amb ience fa des.

Th r ug h list e in g we g ot an im pression of the world into whichwe er e b orn , an d with s oundma king we expressed our needs, de-

sire s an d m o io ns. List en ing for us as ba bies was an active proc-ess f l ea nin , o ne way o f receiv ing vita l information about oursurr und in gs and about the peo ple who were closest to us. Andwh a ev er e hear d and listened t o became material for vocal imi-tati on, fo rst at te mpts t o articu late, ex press and make sounds.

List nin g an d so un dmak ing (inp ut and output, impression andex pr es si o ) ere o ngoi ng activ ities, lik e breathing, happeningsim lt an eous ly, alwa ys i n relati on to ea ch other, as an ongoingfeed ack ro cess . There was a ba lanced r elationship between the

ac ou st ic i for ation we received as babies and what we expressedvo ca lly, a b al nce b etwe en liste ning and soundmaking. And inthis al an ce e ne ver qu estioned how o ur time passed. It simplypa ss d b y virt e o f our be ing acti ve insid e of each moment.

4 rom: oundwalking:Silent Night, ancouverCo-operative Radio, Winter1 7 /7 .

rom: Voices of a Place,

y Sy v MacCormac,Vancouver, 1998.


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Tape (ID #6) 6 Rain/wave amb ience. T hen a mi x of v oi ce s p ak in words and phrases: elicate balance - - - - -

- - - - - - carve

- - - - - - carved ou t of ord inary time

--- voic s, i rd s,crickets, child, wind -- - sounds in the wi lderness ,

echo -- - - - - echo in the wildern ess- - - - -- voices - - car ved u t ftime -- child, wind -- echo in t he wilde rness - - -

c anging, exp oring, for isteni ng - - - - - - - voices , ir s, c ric et s, c i ,wind -- - - - - - - the pleasure of - - - - listening.

Ambience fades.

The pleasure of listening. A nd the p leasure of sound aki g.

Tape (ID #7) 7 Babys voice in side a w atery, c om posed oun ds ca e.

As babies we simply were i nside th e sounds cape. A d fr om t atplace of being we became g rowing, ever-cha ngin g h ma ad u lts .

Depending on the social an d cultur al env ir onme nt w e rew upin, this open and energetic approach to life g ot shape d, e p an edor curtailed to a greater or l esser de gree as we gre w i to our o nsurroundings. Children as they gro w up a nd dev el op t e ir o nvoices are told frequently to be quiet and to listen t o wh at a du ts,their parents and teachers have to say. In s uch a si uat on t eybecome reluctant listeners a nd rarel y have a chanc e t e x re ss , tomake sounds, to use their ow n voices .

Tape (ID #8) 8 Breathing sound s and heartbea t comp osed it hother sounds.

All creative process is base d on the desire to rec re ate a st at e of wholeness, a type of ocea nic stat e. To r each suc h a st at e of wholeness for us as grown people , has to b ecom e a c ns ci u stask. In fact, it may have to be devel oped int o a sk ill, a d isci pl i e,a meditation. The refusal to place o urselves a part fro t e wh leor to speak about the sounds cape, bu t instea d to p lace o u r s pe k-

ing and sounding squarely into its c entre, t ra nsfo rm s ou r wa ys o fspeaking, our ways of listen ing.

rom: Voices of a Place,y Sylvi MacCormac,ancouver, 1998.

7 rom: Moments ofLaughter, 988, Babys voice:

on a Rue saat at s x wee sof age.

8 From: Breathing Room, 990.


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Ta pe ( ID # )9 lowi ng wat er, wave s crashi ng. Then voice: Waterwi nd -- -- - - w i d wa ves - - - wonder - --

soun - -

l i ten soun d, water - - - -

cri ckets bird s- -

- birds cricketsesert - - - soun desert win d desert -- - - crisp ness - - - - - -

-- - l quid ri sp ess r ain ra in liquid- rain liqui d water -- wind -- windsoun -wi nd so nd f orest - - - body for est bo dy

r ea - - - -- eat i ng voi ce reat i ng crisp ness reat ing crispnessrain - - r a n rh thm rain wi nd rhy thm wi nd

rh yt m b r at h h yt hm -- v oi ce tiny sounds tin y sounds silence quietcris pn ess q iet ric ket liqu id crispne ss cricket

ri s qu iet iqu it y ti ny s oun s tiny soun s spirit rain spirit rain spirit fores s pi ri sp irit. Rain amb ience fades.

Gr e or y ate on says: T he pro blem of how to transmit our ec-ol og ical r ea soning t o th ose whom we wi sh to in uence in whatse e s to s t b e an eco logically good d irection is itself an eco-logi al pr b le . W e are no t outsid e the ec ology for which we plan

w ar e lwa s a nd ine vitable a part of it 10 .

Or ar k iegne r descri be s gen uine eco logical consciousness tobe : ... an wa rene ss that does not just thin k about ecological rela-tion hip s u t ogn it ively experien ces the activity of relating 11 .

Or as Th rea qu er ies: where ar e the wo rds, that speak for na-ture tha t til l ave earth c linging to their roots? 2.

Eq u ll y e c uld ask h ere: whe re are t he words that speak forso u ds ca e t hat stil l have some tr uth ring ing from the heart?

Th e pr ob lem of s ound o verload and exce ssive noise forces us tond tho se w o ds a nd to position ourselves inside the soundscape,

in f ac t, i n id e of a ny aur al experie nce.

Ta pe ( ID # 10 ) 3 Sou nd of electric o rgan pla ying Christmas songs,th en voi c o ver mu sic: Th is is live muzak -- - -

an e ect ric or gan an d two fa shionabl y dresse d women, smiling,

laug ing , lay i g, a lt erna ti ng in pl aying the music

-- -- - -- -- smo thl y slidin g from one song to another. Muzak fades.

rom: Voices of a Place, y Sylviac ormac, Vancouver, 1998.

10 regory Bateson, Steps toan Ecology of Mind, Y,Ba ant ne Boo s, 1972, p.504.

11 Mar R egner, Goet anScience: Toward a He g tened

mpat y with Nature , nEnvironmental and ArchitecturalPhenomenology Newsletter , o .9, o. 1, p.10.

12 uoted in Max Oelschlaeger,Earth Talk: Conservation anthe Ecology o Language , nWild Ideas, David Rothenberg,ed., University of MinnesotaPress, M nneapo s, Lon on,1995, p.47.

13 rom: oundwalking: Silent Night, ancouver Co-operative

adio, Winter 1978/79.


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In the spirit of genuine ec ological c onscio us ness w m st pl ceourselves inside even this s oundscap e n ot to be c n s me d byit, but to receive it with ope n, alert ears. A nd i n the a t of e-ing inside such a moment a nd suc h a plac e we b ecom ac ti n ,we create. My being there produced the spo ntaneo u w rds t atyou heard. What I called liv e muza k I woul d also c ll a fo rm o fmusic-as-environment (also called fu nction al music ). In this c ase,the music produced both th e mood in the ma ll as we l a s de m n-strated a product the ele ctric orga n or key board. I w a t to l in -

er with this topic for a mome nt. In my opin ion it is l ca t d at heopposite pole of what sounds cape c ompose rs are t ry i g t d o.

Music-as-environment, itse lf always a comm odity, d e er ine s hetone of commodity exchan ge. It tri es to co nc eal th r ug h it s v rytone, its relationship to mo ney and power, its fun ct i n a m ed ia -tor of human relations and its funct ion as mo odse tter . it h utit so its producers would like us t o think we ma no be a leto interact, may not feel safe . It eng ulfs us ac oustic ally, s ut s u tthe problems of the outside world an d make s the co su er e nvi-ronment sound as if thats where th e action is. It h a e st ab lis editself as a cultural system, a place in the wo rld, t h womb of twentieth century urban livi ng. Beca use urba n life r ev lve ar ou ndmaking and spending mone y, and b ecause t his fo cu on lif e setsup a particularly stressful life style, it is music -as-envi ro n en t t atseems to offer a bearable pa ce. But it is a fa lse wo mb , of cou rs e. I tcan only exist inside the wo rld of m oney 14 .

It is the type of music that no one really l is tens t o, ot nl y e-cause stress blocks us from really lis tening , but al so ec u se i isdesigned not to be listened to. It is delibera te ly d es ig e d to p l ceus inside the soundscape w ithout u s notici ng tha t e a e i ns deit, that we are at the mercy of its pr o t see king a ge n a. tr at e icmarketing design of sonic sp ace wa nts the co nsumer in a pa ss ive,non-listening place.

When we know that such for ces are at work that t ak e th e au th r-ity to put us into a silenced, passive positio n, it is h i h t me t atwe as soundscape compose rs, acou stic eco logi st s, sou d sc apedesigners implement our ow n listen ing sk il ls and s u n d es ignknowledge and speak back.

One very effective way of no t partic ipating in that listen r p la e-ment and acoustic marketin g strate gy is to recor d, o h gh light,to reveal and uncover this situation and b roadcast it b ck i to

the soundscape, hopefully on radio. Many o f us co p oser s, u-dio artists, sound recordists decid ed at on e poin t t s p in g i toaction with the use of aud io techn ology to do exac ly th at , o tonly to document a soundsc ape, to preserve d isappe a in g so un ds ,

4 Westerkamp, Hildegard,Listening and Soundmaking:

A Study of Music-as-Environment. imon Fraser

niversity, M.A. Thesis,, p. .


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to r cor d na t re s ou nd s, but to analyse both social and musicalme a in gs and act ively to speak b ack to that which seems unac-cept ble .

Ta pe ( ID # 11 ) 5 Ave M aria , store am bience , sound of cash register.Th e v oi ce: er e at Eat ons. A fe w days

before C hr istm s. This is th e mens clothing d epartment. Twoou ea ers a e p a ce c ose to t e cas regi ster.

Ru stli ng f bags - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - The mu sic invokes the image andat mospher of ca th edral. A nd the reby

t e emor o f e i gi ous ce e ration. - - - - - - - - It creates a o yat mosp er a roun t e ca s registe r.

Ma kes it a n al ar. Ma n as ks recor dist: jus t wondering what youare oin g . Reco rd ist an swers.

Oh, Im jus t eco rding th e musi c. Soun d of cash register- - - It is,as i f on e is inv ved in a h ol y

act hil e payi n g f or the goo dies. Mu sic fade s.

Th e mi cr p hone is a sedu ctive to ol: it can offer a fresh ear to bothreco dis t n d list ener; it c an be an access to a foreign place as wellas a ea r- op e er to the all-too-fa miliar, or a way to capture andsp ea k ba ck t o th e unbear able.

At t e p o int at wh ich th e ear be comes di sconnected from directco nt ac t with he s ou nd sc ape an d sudden ly hears everything thewa y the icr opho ne he ar s and the hea dphones transmit, at that

po in t th e eco dis t wake s up to a type of new reality of the sound-sc ap e. T h e s o nd s are hi ghlighte d, the e ars are alerted preciselybe ca us e t e s un ds are o n a reco rding.

Th e so un ds are n ot onl y highli ghted, b ut the whole experience feel s to t h e r e or di st as if he or she is mo re intensely inside theso u ds ca e , eca use th e sound is close r to the ear and usuallyam pli ed. B u in fa ct, th e record ist is sep arated from the originaldire t a ur al c nta ct with the soun dscape , especially from the spa-tial ea liti s o cl os eness and dist ance, fr om the ability to localize

so u d co rrec t y.

In t at c nt r di ct io n, h ow ever, lies the s eduction of the micro-ph o e: it fe el li ke acces s, like closer con tact, but it is in fact a

1 rom: Cool Drool, .


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separation, a schizophonic s ituation . Sounds cape r ecor d st s e istin their own sound bubble and hear the pla ce in wh ch h ey a re ,completely differently from everyone else in t he s am e pl ace. T eyare like foreigners or outsi ders, no matter whethe r th e pl ac e istheir home or foreign territ ory.

The microphone collects al l sound indiscri mina te ly. It oe s o tselect or isolate them. This is in fac t simila r to h ow ear be h vewhen we are in foreign sur rounding s. There our e ar s an ps y heinitially are incapable of sel ecting a nd mak in g se ns e f w ha t t eyhear. All sounds stream in u n ltered. They ar e as nak d a nd o penas the ear of the newborn an d can on ly bec om e se lec iv e on ce webegin to know and understa nd the s ounds of the p la ce.

In that state of nakedness, the newb orns ea r, the e ar in fo re gnplace, or the technological ear, the micro ph one, a r a ll equ allypowerful awareness raising t ools.

When the recordist is in a for eign cou ntry h e or she i s in f ct p si-tioned in a sound bubble wi thin a so und bu bb le: do u ly s p ar a edand at the same time doubl y expose d, naked by vi rt ue o f he ar ngthrough microphone or head phones and wit h a stra n er s e ar s.

Tape (ID #12) 6 A mix of conv ersation s with s ellers in the stre et fNew Delhi: Hallo hallo hallo hallo

Wherere you from? Canada Wh at is th is? This i s a mi cr o ho e.Youspeak? A microphone . This is a microp hone.

This is a microphone. Why yo u...? So, Im reco rd ing the ird s, wha t youre saying our conversation ...

Wherere you from?...Us talk ing. Do yo u want t o say yo ur n a e m re clearly? Whats your name?

My name Mu c a a o a o w ats yo ur nam e? My na e e a a. Whats this, Madam? Its a m icrophon e.

Microphone So, Im recording yeah? Yes . Good g ood. W he er e ou from? Canada. French or Engl ish?

No from Vancouver. Canada. W herere you from ? Cana a. Ar you

from Delhi? uuuhm Khajurao . -- - Cana da.

French or English. English. Wh erere y ou from? I m from ha . Fr owhere? Madhja Pradesh. UP -- - -

6 From: Soundscape Delhi,a work in progress, 1998.


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Ca n da T ron to M ontrea lVancouve r - - -Vanc ouver - - - - -Whats your job. ar do me Wh at s you r job? - -

Wh a s m jo ! Yea h.- -

hal lo hallo W hats yo ur name ? Ram AnjurRa m An ju r yo r n am e is A nis - - yes ---- -

An is Amu ? Wha t is your name? Rh adu Rh adu? And what is yourna m ? Sa je. nd L athu .

Ho w o a re you? M e? Twe ve. My name M u c a. Mu c a. Yea . n your nam e? M na me Che dalla.

Wh ere re ou f om? Canad a. Tape fades.

If a cous ti ec log y is the centre from w hich we choose to func-tion , we us t alwa ys ask ourselv es where we are situated fromthe o m nt f th e rs t listenin g, the r st recording to the lastbu il ing lo c in any pr oj ect. It is all too easy to get carried awayby o r s o nd ate ri als in to the w orld of sound experimentation,elec tr oa c us ti mu sic an d forget the con nection to the central fo-cu s f e co lo gi al th inking .

Ho do e a oi d th e ve ry real da nger o f simply creating yet an-othe pr o uc t, a C D with yet mor e amazin g sounds? Lets be clearthat whe n we ea r anim al sound s from, sa y, the Amazon on a CD,we are l is te ni g to soun ds that have bee n frozen into a repeti-tive or m t and me dium a nd hav e been i mported into our sound-sc ap e. T h ey have b ecom e in the best case interesting auralinfo m at i n f r us, a st or y, a typ e of tex t from another place. Inthe ors t ca s , th ey hav e become an im ported product, a neatso u d wi thou an y real m eaning b eyond the WOW experience, anex cu se f o fur her non-l istening, new age muzak, or yet anotherob je t o n ou r sh el ves. W e must a sk ourse lves, when we compose

a pi ce or p rodu ce a CD whethe r we, in fact, bring our listenersclos r t o pl ace or situa tion or whether we are fooling ourselvesan d are in ad v rt antly as sisting in the pla ces extinction.

En viro n en t l so un d is a type of langu age, a text. As well, thetech o lo y t hrou gh whi ch we tr ansmit t he sounds, has its ownlang age , it s wn proc es s. If we truly w ant to reveal meaningsthro gh r co r ed environ mental s ound a nd truly draw the listenerinsi e t he e mea ni ng s, t he n we m ust tran smit precise informationan d kn ow le dge an d demy stify te chnologi cally hidden processes.

Wh en w e ha ve d on e so me thing simple a s condensing the dura-tion of a awn cho ru s in o rder to t it int o a pre-determined timefram e on C , l et s say t hat and how we have done it. Lets namethe oic es o f the pl ace, l ets men tion the weather for example or


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the season, the landscape, t he socia l and na tura l co tex t. O r le tus at least be clear about the inher ent conf us ion ab out t ime a ndplace when we work with en vironm ental so un d.

Tape (ID #13) 17 Camel sound s audibl e undern eath a n b et we enspoken sentences.

At this moment its November 28, 199 2. Im rid ing on a am l i n t eesert near Jaisa mer in Rajas t an,

India. Yet at this moment its J une 22, 1993. I m riding o th e airwaves together with my came l. On 10 2.7 FM on

Vancouver Co-operative Ra io , CFRO . T is is W ire ess r af iti i e from t e Vancouver East Cu t ura

Centre. My name is Hildegard Westerk amp and this i s F om th eIndia Sound Journal.

Desert ambience fades out, then fade s up a ga in.

Camelvoice November 1992, here in Va ncouver, J une 93 t th Vancouver East Cultural Cent re on

Co-op Radio riding the airwa ves, disem bodied f rom th e sand , he he ,its voice. Where is the camel a t this

moment? Where is it eating? Wh o is rid ing it? Re cordin g its v ice , photographing its body, where is it now ,

reproduced many times all ov er this ...u hm... gl obal villa e. Is it st il t e same came c ewing an igesting

loudly in the village of Sam, Ra jasthan? Tape f ades.

Let us be honest, clarify co ntext an d let us not f oo l th e list e er more than necessary with t echnolog y, but i nstead i vit th e lis-tener into the place of our cr eative p rocess a nd our i agi ati o .

Tape (ID #14) 18 Urban Rumbl e, then voice: .. .an I c a t a r t arnacles in all their tinyness.

It seems too much effort to lt er the city out.

Urban rumble, low frequenc ies slow ly get ltered ou t.

7 rom: Camelvoice, performedat t e ancouver East

u tura Centre, une 22,993.

From: Kits BeachSoundwalk, 989.


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6] 7

Lu c il y w h ave ba ndpass lters and equaliz ers. We can just go intothe s ud io nd et rid of th e city,

pr et end it n ot he re. Pret end we are somewhe re far away.

A de ns e t xt u e of h igh frequenc y sounds .

Th ese ar e he t ny , th e inti ma te voice s of nat ure, of bodies, of dreams, ofthe i ag inat io .

Hi g f re q en y s ou nds fa de out .

Ea c r ec orde wo rk wh ether a sound do cument, nature record-ing r a s u n sc ap e co mp ositio n each work itself becomes anen ti rely n w s und scape experien ce, with new contexts and a newloca ion . o r he record ist/comp oser it is lifted out of a remem-be re d an d lived ti me and a more or less fa miliar place into the en-tire l n ew of t n unknow n place and time of its reproduction. Forthe list en r i t a s been l if ted out of unkno wn, unlived time and afore ign or p er aps remem bered pl ace into a lived time span and amo r o r l ss f m iliar plac e.

Ho ca n we os si bly ac hieve re sonanc e between our the re-co rd is t/ c mp ser s ex perience and tha t of the listener? Howcan e b r idg e th es e diff er ent plac es of ex perience?

Pr ef rab l the e q ue stio ns continu e to be questions in our creativemi n s. I n my opi ni on t he y can only be tackled inside each indi-vidu al s o nd s ap e prod uc tion or project. Ideally, if we have man-ag ed t o st ike a c hord in our listen ers, the listening experience willre-e erg e as alua bl e me mory and informa tion at a later point, orit w ill en cour ge listener s to visit , hear a nd experience rst handthe rig in al p lace o r situ at ion of w hich the work speaks.

Th e w e ave com e full circle. T he wor k has created the naked,op e e ar n the li st ener, a curiou s ear th at has moved him or herinto act io , i n o in te ract io n with the sou ndscape.

All ur re co r in g ac tivi ti es canno t re-cre ate the healthy balanceof l i te ni n g a d s ou ndma king of the youn g baby. But the nakedear of th mi rop hone c an achie ve a wak efulness in our listeningthat has a d ir ct in uenc e on how we sp eak with environmentalso u ds t rou h o ur com position s and productions. A new bal-

an ce b et een rec ording /listening and c omposing/soundmakingcan e a c iev d. It may be a cultu ral deto ur but it belongs to thisan d he n xt cen tury.


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Re-learning to hear and de cipher the sound scape li k a ew l n -uage; treading carefully wi th curio sity and o pennes , a are t at

as recordists we remain ou tsiders; a lways at temp ti n t o cr ea t atype of naked, open ear; the se may be wa ys to co ntin u f or hecomposer who wants to spea k from inside th e so un d ca p e a nd a tthe same time transmit a gen uine eco logica l cons ciousn e s.

Tape (ID #15) 9 Water sounds, birds, fro gs, proces sed ra in ro ps .

I would like to than ylvi MacCormac fo r provid ng exce rptsrom her composition Voices of a Place or thi s presentati on. I

would like to thank Henrik Karlsson for givi ng me the op portunityto spea here. And I would like to thank you all or bei ng ere andor listening with me.

9 From: Talking Rain, 1997.


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