Spectral
City
The Anthropocene is not only causing the pollution of our oceans, air and land but also our soundscapes. Urban spaces are noisy and intrusive sonic environments which have a negative impact on those that inhabit them. By bringing these outdoor soundscapes - that we often ignore and are forced to tolerate - indoors, perhaps individuals can become aware of the subconscious impact of these soundscapes and formulate ideas about how to reduce or, at least, manage urban sound.
An 8-channel speaker array surrounds the perimeter of the space, creating an immersive listening environment. The room is dimly lit by two car headlamps, and benches are placed around the space. Individuals can enter and leave the soundscape at will. The 10-minute piece is created in Ableton Live and is mostly constructed from manipulated field recordings made at various locations in Leeds. The recordings are manipulated through the use of comb filters with high resonance settings, resulting in slow-changing, drone-like textures that follow the contour of the passing cars. The dense texture is interspersed with recordings of sirens, light bulbs flickering, engines revving, buzzing electronic devices and mains humming as well as synthesised sounds that mimic the recorded sound.
