As an experiment I made a collage of video and sound. Video was recorded in Shoeburyness on a windy day in the time of low tide. During my walk I heard blowy, whistling sounds, that were coming from metal barriers near the sea. When I came closer it turned out that there were holes in pipes, which turned the construction in a flute-like instrument for wind, reminding the singing of the sirens ( not that I have ever heard one). The sound quality was bad on my phone, so I’ve decided to come back there few weeks later with field recorder.
It was a high tide this time, therefore the sound of the pipes is accompanied by the waves, some bottles under my feet and few passersby.
Murmuration of birds over Elephant and Castle roundabout. I believe that this is an example (on of many) of the entrainment among animals
People experiencing music are often tapping their feet, sway their bodies or nod their heads which is led by the main rhythm or pulse. But how do we find the pulse? Depending on the complexity of the rhythm this task can be less or more difficult. When we think of dance music, where the most common time signature is 4:4 but even broken beats are being played with frequent reoccurrence, entrainment occurs practically unconsciously. It gets more complicated when we deal with more complex rhythm and puls patterns like jazz and other polyrhythmic musical structures. Human movement studies have shown that we typically walk with the frequency of two steps per second, no matter of gender, age, height, or weight.
In the 17th century, Dutch physicist and mathematician Christiaan Huygens did an experiment with 2 pendulum clocks standing next to one another. They were not synchronised at first, but after a while pendulums adjusted to each other, which was caused by the oscillation that was being transferred from one clock to another through the surface. This is a concept that describes a relation where one pulse influences another.
In human aspect, entrainment with music can be observed in the early stages of human development, kids are trying to synchronise with the pulls and rhythms of music as early as they start walking. We synchronise our breath, steps and many other functions within ourselves, we synchronise with each other, our environments, machines etc. Entrainment can be observed in nature in various different areas of life, it feels to me that it is one of the most instinctive, widespread and essential aspects of our lives that, in a nutshell, let the world go around.
The concept of entrainment as a way people synchronise with each other musically is a very fascinating biological aspect of social life.
The way people unite through music and rhythm is something that can be observed all around the world. I think that deepening knowledge about the organic basics of how people unite and synchronise through the rhythm can unveil information that may be helpful in highlighting sound as a tool for propagating unity and community.
Silence as a begging of listening ,not the lack of sound.
Lena’s approach to field recording in creating of her album Nebiela was to let things happens. She left the recorder (SM4 recorder) outside over night in Mexican Cloud Forest in Santa Cruz. I have a special place in my heart for Mexico, and listening to her work, the album and meditations, awoke many emotions in me that I forgot about. Simplicity of her work that brings all the elements to the surface and lets them fully come in to surface, taking the listener into meditative state.
Narration and storytelling – working from the perspective of fiction and the ability to create the story helps to communicate. Fiction is a great way of creating interdisciplinary work, starting with research.
Working with binaural beats, simple sine waves and field recordings.
Brain entrainmentthrough binaural beats – different epistemology, not completely scientifical theory of the possibility of brain entrainment with binaural beats. entrainment – Entrainment is defined by a temporal locking process in which one system’s motion or signal frequency entrains the frequency of another system. This process is a universal phenomenon that can be observed in physical (e.g., pendulum clocks) and biological systems
In further weeks we got introduced to open-source visual programming called Pure Data. It runs on anything from personal computers to embedded devices. It can make pretty much any sound and digital instrument and apart from that, it has functions (called objects, or externals) for generating 3D graphics and video, and can also control external hardware like stage lighting or robotics.
I have never considered myself a tech person but looking at the possibilities and accessibility of Pure Data and its accessibility I will try and find some time to explore this free and open source tool. After building some very simple oscillator it became clear that using PD can be rewarding and interesting but also arduous, especially when creating more complicated projects.
Pure Data patch can be loaded onto a standalone device like Raspberry Pi or Bela Board. Bela is an embedded computing platform that helps to create interactive project without additional software.
We can now load our patch onto a standalone device with no need for a computer – introducing the BELA platform a maker platform for creating beautiful interaction. Create beautiful interaction with sensors and sound.
Bela brings the power of ultra-low latency interactive audio and sensors to your digital projects.
Composition – not something that is planned too much, without using grid, thinking less about tools amd thinking more about sound – growing the epractice, growing connections and frequencies with other people.
Sharing intellectual and music path in work
composition, collection of facts,
expanding ideas of formats and composition – time based essay
re-con-experimental space for sound, composition, space that is dedicated to listening, listening to somwething thats not obvious – listening to neglectic spaces and to neglect and to do something with that.
Lastesis – chillean collective
Q1: ’m interested in your sonic wild code, sound camps that you said you ran, that lasted 7 or sometimes 3-5 days. How did these sound camps in the rural countryside inspire or affect the artists you invited? Where they from more urban cities? Did they find any spiritual or meditative experience being in a less noise polluted environment?
My second question is about you and your rural living as part of your practice. What is it about living rural that you think that speaks to you as a practitioner? What does it offer you that urban areas don’t?
Q2: Can you talk a bit more about rural futurism? And how sound & listening practices can interact with the ideas from this manifesto?
Q3: am interested to hear a little more about two phrases that appeared in your presentation: radical mycology and trans-corporeal-feminism. Could you explain what you feel these terms mean? Side note: that Commodore 64 program was my first music software too! I got it age 5, it made very little sense to me but made such good sounds
start with a sound collage that can introduce the audience to what misophonia can feel like – an atmosphere of unease, anxiety, some folly or synthesised sounds
(maybe) misophonia test
Misophonia and other neurodiversity
Misophonia and working with sound
Follow Up Task:1.Write a short instructional score for yourself, as a performer of your Audio Paper.
Consider:
How you want to introduce your audience to the subject?
What instructions are required?
Identify what your goals are for the Audio Paper in terms of the information you want to share.
What approaches to the ways of listening can be incorporated to support your goals and the representation of the subject of your Audio paper?
2. Include this with a reflection on your blog.
Consider:•What frame of reference do you have?•What alternative views do you need to research?•What current issues are impacting, or are a legacy of, the subject of your audio paper?
The audio paper is multifocal; it assembles diverse and often heterogeneous voices.
The audio paper has multiple protagonists, narrators and material agencies.
The audio paper brings aesthetics and technologies together in mediation.
The audio paper is a constituent part of larger ecologies.
“The cult of Aphex Twin” is an audio mini-documentary about Aphex Twin. It is being told from the perspective of an author who through the montage of some archival recordings, interviews and testimonies of people who knew the musician interwoven by his work, from the famous ones to those less known, more obscure pieces.
1., 7. -The performative style of this podcast is achieved by a very clever editing of interviews and music. I like that it is not heavily performed, just naturally one part falls into another and everything makes sense. The spoken parts always complete the music part perfectly, telling the story alternately.
2- Idiosyncraticy of this recording is apparent from the very beginning, the author is clearly amazed, inspired and bewitched by Aphex Twins music, DJ-ing and performance.
3. – this one has proved very difficult for me, as I tried to understand the meaning of “situated and partial” but ended up getting entangled in many definitions, some of them contradicting each other, at least this is how it felt at the time. I stumbled upon this academic work:
In the Background section, the author is comparing the rationalistic approach and hermeneutics in the context of technology and science. Rational tradition requires the decomposition of complex systems into simpler parts in order to understand the system.
Hermeneutics define the system as an interpretation, depending on the context and environment. Therefore, the understanding of neither the components nor the whole system is fully possible. Knowledge remains incomplete (partial). “The whole system defines to exists a hermeneutic circle where there are no absolute facts but only interpretations of content within a context”.
“Hermeneutic circles are like fast spinning toy top. An external observer, one outside the toy top, is given the tasks of riding, or understanding, the toy top. His first attempt is to step onto the toy top and is immediately thrown off. To be successful, first the observer must gain momentum, and match the motion of the toy top, and then, step onto the toy top. One can’t understand the hermeneutic circle without first understanding the whole.”
Podcast is in my opinion partial and situated. The author uses Aphex’s tunes in production of the podcast, although he never managed to interview Richard himself. Interview are held in obscure locations, we can hear the sounds of clinging glasses in a cafe, loud, panned music while talking about the live performance.
The author is aware of the imperfection and faults of his methods of research. He (and others interviews in the podcast) are never entirely sure if Apex Twin is telling the truth. The large number of legends that he never denied or started/fuelled himself and the story about Aphex walking among the audience and smiling during his own performance, while performing on stage at the same time are a great example of partiality.
4. Affects and sensations
5., 6. Interviews and recollection of the live gigs, memories of friends and co-workers.
8. Podcast is ending by hypothetical fax that author would send to Richard.
Summarising I think the above podcast can be called an audio paper without a doubt. It’s creative, very well mixed and witty, using technology to emphasise the topic and also reflects on it’s own methodology.
Sketch the ideas you have for your audio paper in a different
format. Choose:
1. a landscape (places, paths, obstacles, terrains, vegetation,
etc.)
2. a recipe (ingredients, preparation, combination, flavours, etc.)
3. a story (characters, relationships, plots, twists, conflicts, etc.)
I am walking down Peckham Lane.
The smell of the streets is pretty unique in Peckham. It smells different depending on the time of the day, but the pungent smell of raw meet is always there. It’s loud, colourful, busy and vibrant. You can see people from all around the world coexisting in this lively spaces. Food stalls full of colourful vegetables and fruits, dead animals and exporter produce.
I have notices a while ago that Rye Lane has great acoustics. Few times there were street artists performing and the sound was traveling through the whole street and resonating with lined up buildings.
Wondering what to do my audio paper about. Still no idea came up that I would think of as good, interesting and original enough. Maybe I should read a book? Maybe I should watch something educational? Is there a contemporary issue that I would like to explore and that is has not been talked of too many times? Why is it so hard to come up with something? Am I not interested in anything worth a while? How do I get inspired?
Folly can be used in sound design as a portal into another perspective. During the session of recording folly sounds for chosen “Let’s talk about Kevin” scene, we tried to recreate a sound of moving sheets. Folly sounds are great for intimate types of sounds (or even ASMR), that can only be heard by a certain person in the scene. From the technical point of view, those sounds are very difficult to record in real-time, therefore folly is a great tool in creating the atmosphere.
Trailer to ”Moja Ozerna” the movie I am thinking if using in my project:
“Mona Ozerna” directed by Karina Bedkowska
NOTES
Sound design not always has to be heard – it can be subtle bass or drone that affects the way we feel.
Noise and vulgarity, sonic ways of knowing the world, music licensing recognition – way of getting to know each other. The knowledge that music implies.
General questions: Who is the voice?
Synchresis – fusion that happens between the sound and the image when occur at the same time
Added value – creating new meaning by adding sound
Wild tracks
Atmospheres
“The voice in cinema”
Kaja Silverman “the acoustic mirror” – she’s questioning the use of gender
MALE GAZE
Sound design – setting up the atmosphere, preparing for what’s about to happen (location)
“We need to talk about Kevin” – ambiguity of emotions expressed by the sound.
Watching the movie reminded me of a video made for Orbital’s track “The box”.
Orbital “The box”
It’s one of my favourite music videos of all times, but I think that it’s much more than just that. Dynamic narrative and electrifying sounds (plus unbelievable acting by Tilda Swinton) create a mood of unease and fear.
The androgynous creature is moving slowly and very carefully, while the world around them rushes in a much quicker tempo, leaving it looking ghostly, inaccessible and scary. The rhythm of the song is based on the amen break, which has a little bit jarring, slightly delayed rhythmical structure that matches the manner the person is moving through the racing world. Both rhythms merge. Here’s an article with more information and interesting facts about making the video :
I also liked Benstock approach to cinema in general. In his opinion cinema shouldn’t be to didactic, as it creates the possibility of creating propaganda. In one of his interviews he says that cinema should show what can not be seen and should not be easily red or taken apart.
