I wonder what a busy modern city would sound like to someone bought up in an aurally dominant tribe?
Would the unnatural and unidentifiable sounds that we encounter daily be distressing or would they help to explain the environment?
Sunday, 23 August 2009
Tuesday, 28 July 2009
it's been a while
Wow, it seems like a long time since I've sat down and posted a blog. I've had a few things going on but its good to get back writing again. One thing that has kept me busy recently is a night I've started organising at Nexus art cafe called Tactile Affection, where a couple of times a month i put on some inventive live acts, play a few interesting records and dare people to enjoy a night of live music without any alcohol. Some people this think its great and that it encourages people to focus more on the music, others get drunk outside first. If anyone would like to find out more please visit http://myspace.com/tactileaffection
I have also been busy making field recordings around Manchester and am working on a project writing music based around the natural rhythms found around the city. Roadworks, trams, escalators, anything really, its all in there and I'm working hard to construct these sounds into interesting pieces.
I took my portable recorder to the Spanish countryside for a few days too and have some beautiful recordings of crickets, dogs, goats and birds, all surrounded by light breeze and the sound of peace that you just cannot find in a city. I'll post some of these soon.
Anyway, the thing that really made me want to write today was when sitting in work the air conditioning suddenly cut out and I literally felt my body and mind relax within what appeared like a vacuum of quiet. I physically felt the tension run from my body, my posture changed as I became looser and my mind felt calm.
I find it quite frightening that I and many others are surrounded daily by sounds that after prolonged periods cause our bodies to become tense and stressed. The whirring sound in my office soon started up again, at first noticeably annoying but after a minute barely noticeable at all until it cut out again and I experienced the same feelings of relief and relaxation. This cannot be good for our health.
I have also been busy making field recordings around Manchester and am working on a project writing music based around the natural rhythms found around the city. Roadworks, trams, escalators, anything really, its all in there and I'm working hard to construct these sounds into interesting pieces.
I took my portable recorder to the Spanish countryside for a few days too and have some beautiful recordings of crickets, dogs, goats and birds, all surrounded by light breeze and the sound of peace that you just cannot find in a city. I'll post some of these soon.
Anyway, the thing that really made me want to write today was when sitting in work the air conditioning suddenly cut out and I literally felt my body and mind relax within what appeared like a vacuum of quiet. I physically felt the tension run from my body, my posture changed as I became looser and my mind felt calm.
I find it quite frightening that I and many others are surrounded daily by sounds that after prolonged periods cause our bodies to become tense and stressed. The whirring sound in my office soon started up again, at first noticeably annoying but after a minute barely noticeable at all until it cut out again and I experienced the same feelings of relief and relaxation. This cannot be good for our health.
Saturday, 6 June 2009
Can the Sonic Save Gordon?
So what with the labour party seemingly disintegrating before our eyes, and despite whispers of minority parties being the main beneficiaries, the Tory's now looking firm favourites to take charge within the year, I question how different things may be if our society were less visually dominant.
I pose this question because way before recession, expenses and party infighting there was the nagging doubt that Gordon Brown was not the charismatic, photogenic poster boy that Blair was and that Cameron strives to be. Brown is a man of thought and policy, and although many of us would still disagree with the direction taken by Labour over the last few years, there is no real suggestion from the Tory's that they have any better ideas, and I would seriously question any sweeping statements they make about being the new party of the people.
But this appears not to matter because the Tory's are fronted by a man who is younger, smilier and never one to miss out on a photo opportunity. Pit this against the only pictures we seem to see of Brown these days, either head in hands or grinning like a mad man and it is easy to see why people have lost faith in him.
I have no doubt that take away Cameron's smug, smarmy face and Browns jowly tautness and actually listen to the two men and things wouldn't appear quite so black and white. To listen is to consider, to let vibrations pass through your body, to think and engage. Images can be too easily constructed to tell a different story altogether. I believe that as a nation we are largely focusing on the visual, the bold headlines and striking images whilst letting the sonic content wash over us. This has to change.
So how would British politics fair if it weren't for the imagery? I suppose we would still live in two party system given their hold over the media but it would be interesting to see how we voted. Would the majority of us even engage if our thoughts weren't already constructed for us? Can we even engage with a topic without visual accompaniment anymore?
Yes, we do it when we read, we construct our images based on the text by using our minds and imaginations, engaging our brains, digesting information and making informed choices. Based on this theory I think that Gordon Brown would look like a dignified professor, probably wearing a tweed jacket, definitely sat in a grand old chair in the corner of a family living room, a trustworthy man with our best interests at heart. And Cameron...yeah he'd still look like a smarm faced simpleton. I know who I'd vote for.
I pose this question because way before recession, expenses and party infighting there was the nagging doubt that Gordon Brown was not the charismatic, photogenic poster boy that Blair was and that Cameron strives to be. Brown is a man of thought and policy, and although many of us would still disagree with the direction taken by Labour over the last few years, there is no real suggestion from the Tory's that they have any better ideas, and I would seriously question any sweeping statements they make about being the new party of the people.
But this appears not to matter because the Tory's are fronted by a man who is younger, smilier and never one to miss out on a photo opportunity. Pit this against the only pictures we seem to see of Brown these days, either head in hands or grinning like a mad man and it is easy to see why people have lost faith in him.
I have no doubt that take away Cameron's smug, smarmy face and Browns jowly tautness and actually listen to the two men and things wouldn't appear quite so black and white. To listen is to consider, to let vibrations pass through your body, to think and engage. Images can be too easily constructed to tell a different story altogether. I believe that as a nation we are largely focusing on the visual, the bold headlines and striking images whilst letting the sonic content wash over us. This has to change.
So how would British politics fair if it weren't for the imagery? I suppose we would still live in two party system given their hold over the media but it would be interesting to see how we voted. Would the majority of us even engage if our thoughts weren't already constructed for us? Can we even engage with a topic without visual accompaniment anymore?
Yes, we do it when we read, we construct our images based on the text by using our minds and imaginations, engaging our brains, digesting information and making informed choices. Based on this theory I think that Gordon Brown would look like a dignified professor, probably wearing a tweed jacket, definitely sat in a grand old chair in the corner of a family living room, a trustworthy man with our best interests at heart. And Cameron...yeah he'd still look like a smarm faced simpleton. I know who I'd vote for.
Thursday, 28 May 2009
The Sonic Organs of the City
Having spent the last few months examining a variety of soundscapes and documenting their sonic components, I have begun to drill deeper, to analyse and consider the make up of the components themselves, to listen to the sounds within the sounds.
Where my fridge hums and gurgles I have delved in with a mic to discover the subtle rhythms, pops and crackles it omits, deciphering how these change in pitch, depth, speed and resonance from one part to another, combining to form the whole audible to the naked ear.
In search of clarity I have explored Manchester's backstreets and alleyways in the early hours to find particles of sound unaffected by crowds and traffic. This is where the most interesting pure sounds can be found and dissected, air vents behind buildings, whistling, grinding, a cacophony of tone and pitch, layers compressed so tight as to give the impression of a single airy blast, actually constructed of infinite vibrations.
Where the sound of space and machinery is synonymous with certain industry, the retail and service sectors prefer to create their own sonically controlled world, laced with muzak and hollow foyers, pushing the true sounds that power them into the no mans land of non spaces.
Where my fridge hums and gurgles I have delved in with a mic to discover the subtle rhythms, pops and crackles it omits, deciphering how these change in pitch, depth, speed and resonance from one part to another, combining to form the whole audible to the naked ear.
In search of clarity I have explored Manchester's backstreets and alleyways in the early hours to find particles of sound unaffected by crowds and traffic. This is where the most interesting pure sounds can be found and dissected, air vents behind buildings, whistling, grinding, a cacophony of tone and pitch, layers compressed so tight as to give the impression of a single airy blast, actually constructed of infinite vibrations.
There is something about these sounds that draws me towards them, the audible signifier of the life of the building, the hidden engine, the sonic organs hidden beneath the sheen of capitalist venture.
Where the sound of space and machinery is synonymous with certain industry, the retail and service sectors prefer to create their own sonically controlled world, laced with muzak and hollow foyers, pushing the true sounds that power them into the no mans land of non spaces.
So maybe it is the empty spaces that allow these sounds to develop, maybe the lack of capitalist distractions in these forgotten areas allows you to tune into the drone, to hear the true unaestheticised life of the city, breathing, wheezing, choking, laughing.
Monday, 18 May 2009
A Futuresonic Weekend
It's not often that I discuss music on this blog, but then futuresonic was much more than a music festival, it was festival of ideas, concepts, thoughts and feelings.
My first taste of the festival was visiting the cube gallery late on Friday to witness The royal college of art and Yamaha's exhibition of strangely crafted instruments, all requiring quite definate movement and tactility, emphasising the deep connection between sound and body. Part argument against the aparent lack of bodily connection in digital culture, part persuation that everything is sound, from the sporadic rhythmic clipping of a typewriter to the rustling and scratching of clothing, affected both by its material makeup and that of the human orchestrator.
Saturday had me sat in Nexus art cafe for much of the afternoon as people made their own tapes and constructed one off sound pieces with the clunking and rolling pressing equipment as artists performed on the stage. Again this was a physical sonic experience combining heavy machinic movements with careful folding and stamping. It was also participatory and inclusive, the audience interacting with the performers to break the barrier of artist and fan. By the time Denis Jones took to the stage people were purposely using the equipment in a way that heavily influenced the sound and direction of his pieces. It is exciting to see samplers being used in such a comunal and improvised manner, and also to hear interesting live music composed and recorded in front of you out of a mixture of laregly industrial machinary.
After such a relaxing and thought provoking saturday it was then off to Club Underground for the night to let Kode9 and friends transport us somewhere else entirely. I haven't been so immersed in dancing ever before and I can't remember thinking a single thing for the entiraty of Kode9's set, my body and mind completely overtaken by the sheer speed and depth of some of the records he was playing, lost in the pulse and addrenaline of the music, the bass thundering through my chest and deep into my legs, involuntary movement and overwhelming joy.
Walking home we tried to discuss what he'd been playing and how he'd been manipulating records but the night was beyond theorising, again it was physical, tactile and in a different way interactive, bodies and faces coliding and merging to enhance the mood, voices shreeking, little whelps of joy.
A friend realised that there is something about bass heavy music that affects her sinuses, I was reminded that what I love about sound is its physical and interactive possibilities, we all had a great weekend!
My first taste of the festival was visiting the cube gallery late on Friday to witness The royal college of art and Yamaha's exhibition of strangely crafted instruments, all requiring quite definate movement and tactility, emphasising the deep connection between sound and body. Part argument against the aparent lack of bodily connection in digital culture, part persuation that everything is sound, from the sporadic rhythmic clipping of a typewriter to the rustling and scratching of clothing, affected both by its material makeup and that of the human orchestrator.
Saturday had me sat in Nexus art cafe for much of the afternoon as people made their own tapes and constructed one off sound pieces with the clunking and rolling pressing equipment as artists performed on the stage. Again this was a physical sonic experience combining heavy machinic movements with careful folding and stamping. It was also participatory and inclusive, the audience interacting with the performers to break the barrier of artist and fan. By the time Denis Jones took to the stage people were purposely using the equipment in a way that heavily influenced the sound and direction of his pieces. It is exciting to see samplers being used in such a comunal and improvised manner, and also to hear interesting live music composed and recorded in front of you out of a mixture of laregly industrial machinary.
After such a relaxing and thought provoking saturday it was then off to Club Underground for the night to let Kode9 and friends transport us somewhere else entirely. I haven't been so immersed in dancing ever before and I can't remember thinking a single thing for the entiraty of Kode9's set, my body and mind completely overtaken by the sheer speed and depth of some of the records he was playing, lost in the pulse and addrenaline of the music, the bass thundering through my chest and deep into my legs, involuntary movement and overwhelming joy.
Walking home we tried to discuss what he'd been playing and how he'd been manipulating records but the night was beyond theorising, again it was physical, tactile and in a different way interactive, bodies and faces coliding and merging to enhance the mood, voices shreeking, little whelps of joy.
A friend realised that there is something about bass heavy music that affects her sinuses, I was reminded that what I love about sound is its physical and interactive possibilities, we all had a great weekend!
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