Thursday 20th September 2012 – Soundscapes – Rivers and People

Posted on September 20, 2012 by Jay

Last Sunday, in collaboration with Lewisham Council, the London Bubble Theatre Company put on a work of experiential theatre based around the Ladywell Fields park and the River Ravensbourne. The event took place outside around the river and involved artists of various decsiplines to create a magical journey centred around the naiad, or river spirit. Storytellers, poets, choirs, musicians, photographers, actors and various visual artists worked among eerie lights, prompting the audience to move from scene to scene. Various happenings took place along the route; some obvious, others not so obvious and at three points along this route the audience experienced different soundscape installations which I had been commissioned to provide:

The first soundscape was located in an area where artist Ian Simons installed flowers and insects made from bottles and other discarded packaging, made with the help of local children. They formed chandeliers that were hung from trees which created a natural tunnel along a part of the path. To go with this, I wanted to create a work of recycled ‘found sound’. I explored Ladywell Fields with my handheld recorder and captured lots of audio of the river, natural ambiences and of people using the park. With the thought of creating a magical forest ambience, I found different sounds that could be manipulated to sound like various occupants of this forest: bouncing tennis balls became woodpeckers, the noise of a cruising bicycle became the noise of crickets, pitched dog barks became far off birdcalls (as well as the sound of an ice-cream van’s music); the filtered sound of children playing became the noise of a morning chorus; the bubbling river flow and aeroplanes flying overhead were filtered to became noises of life emanating from within the depths of the forest . The main soundscape was placed over two main speakers. Other speakers were hidden in trees and contained variations of the main recording to produce the effect of forest life coming from all around. This soundscape can be played below.

The second soundscape was a whispering forest located in a small spinney along the path. This section lead to folk storyteller Richard Neville and was populated with eerie lights and decoration as well as a librarian reading a local story aloud. Again, I hid speakers in trees but this time they contained recordings of local librarians whispering stories based around rivers. The third soundscape installation contained recorded accounts of local people talking about their experiences of parks and Ladywell Fields in particular. These emanated from speakers hidden along a footbridge that crosses the river.

The event was a great success and provided a wonderful platform for me to further explore space as I have done in previous works such as Secret Soundtrack and Some London Life. In particular, with the ‘magical forest’, the darkness, lights, otherworldly plants and insects and my magical forest soundscape provided a wonderfully atmospheric space rooted in and working with real nature to create a unique, alien space. I feel the natural setting and natural noises of the area combined with our creations to produce something anchored in reality which made it all the more vivid and enveloping. People commented on not being able to tell if sounds in the area were natural or synthetic and it is this blurring of reality which I seek to achieve through my work to enhance the physical and mental envelopment of atmosphere

The whispering forest soundscape was located in a more enclosed space and allowed me to explore the use disembodied human voice and how it effects perception. It pretty much goes without saying that the effect was quite eerie!

This event excited me very much and was a fantastic way to explore my ideas on scale larger than I have previously worked with. Jonathan Petherbridge, creative director at London Bubble was the guiding force behind the event and moulded everything into such a fantastic performance. Go check out the London Bubble website here to see what else they are up to.

Thursday 26th July 2012 – Deptford X Contemporary Arts Festival – London Sound Art.

Posted on July 26, 2012 by Jay

Y Secret Soundtrack - London Sound Art - Jay Harris ou may remember that when I planned my work of London sound art, Secret Soundtrack, Paul who runs Arch Materials suggested that I enter the project to be included in the Deptford X Contemporary Arts Festival. Needless to say, I entered and was lucky enough to be included!

The Festival is explained perfectly on the blog ‘Crosswhatfields?‘:

“Deptford’s annual contemporary visual arts festival kicks off this Friday to run concurrently with the Olympics until 12th August.

There is so much to go and see it’s too big a job for us to pick out what may be the highlights – so have a look at the website at www.deptfordx.org.

Apart from some big names invited by the lead curators Hew Locke & Indra Khanna, and work commissioned by Lewisham Council, there are over 50 fringe artists or projects popping up all over the place in shops and on the sides of buildings, in the streets and other more unusual places, plus gallery shows, open studios, events and performances.

There’s a free printed map to tell you where everything is, which you can pick up in various venues. To find out more about the actual work on show, download the brochure from the website or buy one for a quid at Creekside Cafe (on Creekside) and Arch Materials (in Resolution Way). The map can also be downloaded. Both are indispensible if you want to know what’s going on. There are also walking and cycling tours to help you navigate your way around and not miss the best stuff.

The curators’ theme for the festival centres on “the decorative”: “Surrender to the pleasure of the decorative. Revel in the excessive, embrace it and be dazzled…But… Layers of decoration contain levels of meaning, messages and codes – symbols of power, conspicuous consumption, signals of elitist knowledge, patterns of control and signs of social belonging…” All that glitters is not gold, perhaps?”

About Secret Soundtrack:

Secret Soundtrack is a work of sound where the recordings used are taken from the local environment and ordered in such a way as to create a performance. Mysterious, decorative posters will be located at Deli X cafe, the Deptford Lounge library and The Deptford Project Cafe. Each poster contains a QR Code and it is this that you scan with your QR Code reader on your smartphone. You then plug in your headphones and listen while exploring Deptford High Street, allowing the natural sound to compliment the recordings you are hearing to produce one immersive semi-live, semi-recorded performance.

So, what are you waiting for?? Download the festival guide here and the trail map here!

Thursday 31st May 2012 – Follow the Smart Trail along Deptford’s Secret Soundtrack – London Sound Art

Posted on May 31, 2012 by Jay

Local Sound Art to Showcase and Promote Deptford High Street.

‘Secret Soundtrack’ uses ‘3D sound’ recorded in Deptford Market, based on and around Deptford High Street, to create a theatrical atmosphere that people can experience as they wander around the market. Sound art, as a relatively undiscovered art form, seems like the perfect way to bring attention to one of south London’s lesser-known gems: Deptford High Street. I have created ‘Secret Soundtrack’, a work of sound art, which will be interactively-accessible on the High Street throughout June, in collaboration with local businesses/organisations.

To take part in ‘Secret Soundtrack’ you will need a smart phone equipped with a QR Code reader and a pair of earphones. ‘Secret Soundtrack’ can be accessed from 1st June to 30th June 2012 by scanning the QR code on one of the posters located at ‘The Deptford Project’ cafe, ‘Bearspace’ gallery, art supplies store ‘Arch Materials’, delicatessen cafe ‘Deli X’, and ‘Deptford Lounge’ library; all based on and around Deptford High Street and chosen as supporters of this neighbourhood and community arts.

Scanning the QR Code takes you to the ‘Secret Soundtrack’ website where you will be given instructions on what to do next. You will be encouraged to explore the market while listening to the audio streamed from the website, making sure not to drown out the live sounds. You can expect to hear sounds recorded from the market, reproduced in such a way as to become something new when played in conjunction with listening to the live sounds around you. It is this mixture, when experienced together, that gives you access to a secret audio world created from the local environment. The market takes place every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday and a visit on one of these days is recommended to experience ‘Secret Soundtrack’s’ full effect.

I wish to see the local area prosper so that it may continue to inspire and grow. With the 2012 Olympics, Britain and London, in particular, are being celebrated this year and I strongly believe that Deptford High Street is a fine example of what it means to be British: Culturally diverse, traditional, forward thinking and quirky. These are some of the area’s special qualities that provided the inspiration for ‘Secret Soundtrack’, which I hope to see flourish; and I’m hoping this work will contribute. Inspiration has also come from ideas put forward by experimental musician John Cage in pieces like 4’ 33”. His notions on what an audio performance can contain have been central to the project

It is free to be a part of ‘Secret Soundtrack’ but your mobile network may charge you for streaming the audio necessary for the experience. I have also created a separate audio atmosphere for ‘The Deptford Project’ café which will be on display there from 1st – 8th June.

What are you waiting for? Go and put a Secret Soundtrack date in your diary!

Deptford Market takes place every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, from around 7am until 4pm and is home to stalls that sell fresh fish, groceries, antiques, clothes and other collectibles.

Poster venue opening hours:
The Deptford Project -
(café – 121 Deptford High Street, Deptford, SE8 4NS)
Monday to Saturday: 9.00am – 5.30pm
Sunday: 10.00am – 4.00pm

Deli X -
(café/deli – 156 Deptford High Street, Deptford, SE8 3PQ)
Monday to Friday: 8am – 7pm
Saturday: 9am – 5pm
Sunday – Closed

Arch Materials -
(Art Supplies – 17 Resolution Way (off Deptford High Street), Deptford, SE8 4NT)
Monday – Saturday: 10.00am – 5.00pm
Sunday – Closed

Bear Space –
(art space – 152 Deptford High Street, Deptford, SE8 3PQ)
Wednesday – Saturday: 10.00am – 5.00pm
Sunday – Tuesday: Closed

Deptford Lounge –
(Library/public space – 9 Giffin Street, Deptford SE8 4RJ)
Monday – Friday: 7am – 10pm.
Saturday and Sunday: 7am – 7pm.

Take a look around my site for further works of sound art. You will also find soundscape works created for events, composing works and sound design. If you would like to commission a work of sound art contact me with your project’s requirements

If my work in soundscape for events, sound design for film, or composing interests you join my mailing list to find out more.

Thursday 17th May 2012 – How to Make a Robotic Dinosaur – Jay Harris – Sound Designer

Posted on May 17, 2012 by Jay

A couple of weeks ago, I saw an old advert that Geoffrey Lebreton had put up asking for help creating sound design and music for his animated short. The advert was old so he had found the help he was looking for, but as I really liked the trailer I asked him if he wouldn’t mind me making my own version of the trailer. He consented to this and here it is!

The trailer only really presented one problem and that is it’s fast-moving nature. This adds to the excitement and mystery of the animation, which is vital for a trailer but meant it could be difficult to follow. To ease this, I wanted to emphasise continuity and detail. Continuity was actually handed to me due to the presence of the ‘runner’s-eye-view’ sections that punctuate the piece. The idea behind adding detail to very short movements was that such detail would make the viewer catch these occurrences as they should serve to prick up the viewer’s ears. I had to be careful though as too much would make the whole thing messy.

With these ideas in my mind, I started work on my favourite part, and that was creating the noises that a gigantic mechanical dinosaur may make!

I started off with the roar at the end of the clip. I could have created my own dinosaur sound, and probably would have done it by combining the noises of various animals (I hear elephant and lion roars are popular) but I heard a perfect ready-made dinosaur sound so I used that instead! The interesting part here would be making it sound mechanical. I did this by trawling through my own recordings and included a clattering fairground ride, the noise of a very old and powerful motorcycle having it’s engine revved and another mechanical-sounding noise (I cant remember where this came from though!).

Next came the sound of the dinosaur running. This was achieved by combining recordings I had made of my electric car windows going up and down and also of the car door slamming shut. These were shifted down in pitch to make them sound lower and therefore more massive. These sounds still weren’t cutting it though as they still sounded far too small. To combat this, I found a synth recording that sounded like giant footsteps and overlaid it. This had a lot of bass in it and was therefore perfect for conveying immense size. On a technical note, I passed all of the sounds through the same compressor and reverb unit to ‘glue’ them together and make them seem as one. Finally, I fed the roar through a further compressor far too loud to make it distort and give a sense of the sound being painfully loud.

Next were the shuffles and movements of the other characters, which were recorded in real-time as a foley artist might. A few takes were made and combined to get things just right. Then, I recorded the gasps and vocalisations of the characters. These were made using my own voice and then processed and shifted in pitch to sound more alien, as if the characters would have made the sounds themselves.

Of course, some kind of background soundscape was also needed to place all of the characters in a realistic atmosphere. This was achieved by using three recordings of various deserts found online. These were trimmed to take out any parts I felt unsuitable.

After getting all of the volume levels just right, I played and recorded the instrument sounds to add atmosphere, got the levels right and then subjected the whole mix to the same reverb and compression to make it sound like that the recordings are all of the same space, and to also ‘glue’ them together more as a single experience.

Well, there’s only so much you can say about a 16 second short so please do have a watch! See if you can spot the noises that I added!

Feel free to peruse my website to find examples of other projects which I have been involved in as Sound Designer. You will also find other works of sound including orchestral and band composing as well as my soundscape work. Soundscape can be applied to film as well as your experiential marketing campaign and sensory branding to enhance your project’s success.

Contact me if you would like me to work on your film or discuss your entire audio package.

If my work in sound design for film, composing or the use of soundscape in events interests you join my mailing list to find out more.

Thursday 2nd May 2012 – Dinner Party Soundscapes

Posted on May 2, 2012 by Jay

Retail outlets, film and television, nightclubs and many other organisations all use music to help bolster a certain kind of mood. Film composers accent emotions that directors are trying to convey and may also contribute to the film’s styling; high-street retail outlets create an atmosphere corresponding to their brand image and also use music to help you part with money. Music is only half the story though, and in fact, could be arguably less than half. Music comes under the banner of sound, and non-musical sound can also be used to create unique atmospheres on it’s own, as well as in conjunction with musical sentiments.

Last week, The Deptford Project asked if I would like to create a soundscape for a ticketed dinner party, held last Friday evening in their train carriage cafe. My association with The Deptford Project started when I approached them about Secret Soundtrack and another site-specific project. The person in charge, Rebecca, was happy to be involved in these projects and I was delighted that she would want me to create another soundscape for her.

But what is a soundscape and what is the point of them? A soundscape is basically an immersive audio atmosphere and this could be natural or created for a specific purpose. For example, the bedroom, lounge or office that you are currently sitting in has it’s own soundscape: you may hear the hum of your computer, traffic outside, muffled noise from a TV in the next room, birds tweeting outside and a whole host of other sounds that you may only notice when you sit and intently listen. Sound is all around us, even if we only hear the the sound of our own ears working (this is what silence sounds like to a human).

You may also be curious as to the significance or point of recognising these areas of sound though. From a physiological and psychological viewpoint, our emotions and therefore our life experiences are connected to our senses, which means that different soundscapes can affect us in different ways. For example, you may have heard anecdotes about city dwellers that cant sleep when they visit the countryside, as it is too quiet; or maybe you have experienced the sound of grass being cut outside in that seemingly lightweight spring air. Have a think about how such sounds make you feel and you will realise how useful they could be.

The use of music, as mentioned above attempts to tap into this reservoir of human experience and in a similar way, so do artificial soundscapes. But in various ways, soundscapes are also superior to music: the politics of taste, genre affiliation and pseudo-academia are left outside which leaves room for the listener to just experience and be affected. Of course, certain types of emotion and sensation may not be enjoyed as much as others but they each have their use. But of course, we cannot just forget music or it’s obvious power to affect us in it’s own unique way; it is part of the application of sound.

The hosts at The Deptford Project wanted to create an immersive experience for their diners based on natural produce and the countryside, so it was requested that I create a relaxing nature soundscape to help bolster the concept. For this, I created a journey through various different countryside scenarios to give a sense of journey and add richness to the experience. The spaces that the sounds travelled through were central to the piece as each space evokes a different feeling: being in a forest feels different to being in the open field, and the noises occurring within these spaces work with the memory to produce these feelings. Of course, birds singing and trees swaying in a gentle breeze are evoking on their own, but setting them in a space adds so much more depth and emotion to the experience. I also included a couple of ‘occurrences’ in the soundscape to create possible talking points which I envisioned could contribute to a dinner party. Also, as with music, dynamics (or loudness) played a large part in the journey. Some parts were barely audible whilst other parts became louder whilst still knowing their place as background sounds. Again, I added this dimension to contribute to the richness of the overall experience and to help the social situation continually renew itself, which can be so important in a dinner party situation.

If you would like to know more about these ideas, or would like something similar for your own dinner party or event, it would be great to hear from you.

Click here to experience my nature soundscape.

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A Soundscape will contribute towards your event being an unforgettable experience. It could also be used to enhance your sensory branding to ensure that guests will think of you after they have left your event. Contact me for further information and read about past projects below.

If my work in soundscape for events, sound design for film or composing interests you join my mailing list to find out more.

Thursday 13th October 2011 – Watching the Stars

Posted on October 13, 2011 by Jay

Download:

This week, I have started work on some original bedtime music for children. Those of you that have been reading my blog for a while may know about the EP I released called Bedtime Nursery Rhymes, and this is a follow-on from that. This time, rather than use well-established children’s tunes, I wanted to create something with the same concept of sleep-promotion but with original music and with no association to anything lyrical (to keep the focus on the sounds).

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post about the concept I have been using to create sounds and I thought I would talk about my first go at creating this new bedtime music using these ideas. This track was started with just the name ‘Watching the Stars’ which, as you can see, provided me with two concepts: the idea of watching (stars), and the stars themselves.

I started off by creating the stars, as this would be most obvious and could lead to other ideas. I needed a sparkly, shiny sound; which I translated as high-pitched, pure with some kind of quick, defined attack (note onset). The initial sound would also fade quickly but echo as well as move across the soundscape randomly with varying strengths (some stars are brighter than others!). My synth of choice seems to be Logic’s Sculpture at the moment so I created this sound (along with the others used) using that.

Next, I looked at ‘watching’ and ‘watching stars’ in particular. From this I gathered a sense of space, in terms of being outside (better than watching under glass I think!) as well as the enormity of outer-space; a sense of wonder and amazement; and a sense of calm. As another issue, I realised that the piece would need some kind of melody to make it listenable, although this shouldn’t be too catchy or strong as these factors could impede relaxing and sleep. Having some kind of melody would also serve the second concept of ‘watching’. This is because a melody moves and gives a sense of movement and this is exactly what happens when you scan any particular scene; your eyes move as well as the thoughts accompanying them.

The initial melody I used, although calming, didn’t go anywhere and the monotony it created was far from creating the sense of wonder that I wanted, although the intended meditative affect was there. Thankfully, Sculpture has a great envelope function that allows you to change the character of the sound over time which adds some variation as well as a sense of ‘something bigger’. I also thought that things would need to be randomised a little to enhance the feeling of the enormity and again, ‘something bigger’. To do this I accompanied the main, varying melody with other notes created using a slight variation of the same synth sound and made them bolster the main melody but also to confuse it a little.

The final part of the puzzle was to ground the whole piece in a physical space. This was done using reverberation as usual, but also by using a backdrop of sound that I had recorded whilst in Italy over the summer. This is the sound of crickets that I had recorded near Rocco on the Italian Riviera which I trimmed to give a clean file that would seamlessly loop. The recording wasn’t perfect though as there was a bit of wind and rumble from cars, so I just cut out all of the low frequencies. As the noises that crickets make aren’t in the same range as low rumbles, this didn’t compromise the audio too much and it is generally the high frequencies in sound that give you the sense of space that I required. You will notice that the cricket noises aren’t very loud at all and that’s because I didn’t really want the cricket noises as such, but a sense of the atmosphere that the sounds were created in. To achieve this as subtly as possible, I made sure that the noises of the crickets were loud enough to be just heard, but when taken out left the whole piece feeling emptier. Of course, the actual character of the cricket noises do add a lot to the feel of the piece but I feel the setting deserved more attention than this subject matter.

Well, here it is below. Press play to have a listen and let me know what you think! I aim to create other pieces like this for the same concept but using other themes over the next few weeks.

Download:

Thursday 15th September 2011 – Some London Life

Posted on September 15, 2011 by Jay

Last week, I finally managed to get my new website up and running. This wasn’t without problems but that seems to be all part of experience when dealing with computers! As part of the new site I added the various pages that contain the different projects I am undertaking this year and the first of these to be completed is ‘Some London Life’ which I created over the summer (alongside some of the projects due to be finished). If you have read earlier posts about the creation of this you will already know a bit about it but I thought I’d introduce the finished collection and say a few more things about it and what I learned.

The collection ended up being five tracks that act as a sort-of fictional narrative based in reality. This narrative is based on the introduction, movement and passing of various spaces that I recorded in London and each one follows on from the previous. At the moment, I am thinking a lot about the importance of space in atmosphere and it’s manipulation. The use of artificial reverberation may seem to be the last word in this but for me it is so much more: A space is lived in (or otherwise) and is characterised but whatever is in that space, not just the sense of it having an echo etc.

As the idea behind the project was to present the fun side of London in response to hearing people complain about the city a lot I thought I’d use as little processing as possible. This was to intensify honesty which is needed in any good argument! I still used a bit when I thought it was necessary and ended up putting a slightly dark twist in at the end but I feel the essence of what I wanted to do remains and these little extras just enrich the project.

’Some London Life’ is my first experiment with ‘found sound’ and has really opened up my eyes with regard to what can be achieved with sound. An instrument or voice is a very expressive mode of communication but collected sounds can be arranged and manipulated to form something just as emotive or thought provoking. This may not be a big surprise to some of you but when you realise that something can be an integral extension of your work and not just an add-on, it is very empowering, opening up a brand-new and very powerful door. Such uses of sound have been eloquently used by artists (such as Janek Schaefer) and I can only hope to reach this level of experience and diction but it seems much of the time, when I’ve been exposed to such ideas used alongside more mainstream music, a sense of detachment between music and ‘effects’ usually prevails. This project has given me ideas and some insight to enable me to tackle this issue in my own way, and it is gratifying to feel that I may be able to put my own stamp on something this way in the future.

Head on over to ‘Some London Life’ to have a listen, download the audio as a single MP3 or download individual MP3 files. There is also a bit more information on the page including links to the articles I wrote when constructing the collection. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated; although I am showcasing my ideas, this is all exploratory work. It works in my head, and you could argue that this is all that matters, but the opinions of others will help me grow and improve.

Thursday 23rd June 2011 – London-on-Sea

Posted on June 23, 2011 by transientmusic

This week, amongst other things, I started my experiment of using sounds that I find around London to tell a sort of sound-based story…. The first part of this is called ‘A Drive to Hyde Pier’ and uses local traffic sounds, the sound of windy trees in Hyde Park and the sound of a funfair steam organ I recorded whilst on a usual London adventure. My original aim was to make this project calming to dispel the myth of London being an overly harsh and unforgiving place. It can be harsh… but it isn’t all the time… I haven’t started this theme yet but rather I decided to start with something playful; London is definitely playful…

So, noticing that the traffic on my local road in New Cross can sound like waves crashing against the shore, I used the sounds of various cars passing by for waves; the sounds’ origins at first obvious but using your past experience and the perception of combined sound, an audio illusion emerges that your brain is paradoxically aware of. The windy trees provide the foam and spray of the waves bubbling up the shore and the organ sound provides the destination of our little journey which helps to consolidate the illusion, along with the Gull noises. The Gull noises are actually from a sound-library but as you do get Gulls in London I thought this slight cheat wasn’t too offensive…

The sounds weren’t altered by any effects although I did bring out the tree noises more with a compressor. I also used varying degrees of reverb on all layers of waves as well as the other sounds to add to the sense of space. Have a listen to the result below; I hope you like it! I may or may not add more conventional musical sounds at a later date but we’ll see…

I’ll be on holiday next week celebrating Ma’s birthday and collecting ideas so see you in two weeks!

Best tried with headphones…..

Download:

The finished EP, Some London Life is available for free download and streaming here.

Thursday 24th March 2011 – Music is all around us.

Posted on March 24, 2011 by transientmusic

Some music is created using ‘found sound’ rather than conventional instrumentation; sound that you can record at any point in your life. Such sounds could be street noises, birdsong, the wail of a siren, a crashing of pots and pans or anything else that you can think of. They can be used exclusively or they can be used in conjunction with sounds that resemble music in a more traditional sense. Such ideas are used in conventional music by the likes of Bjork and Aphex Twin but there are others that lean more towards sound art.

This week I would like to talk a bit about the work of Janek Schaefer who works on music/sound art that uses these environmental sounds. Co-incidentally enough, like Iannis Xenakis (see last week’s post), he trained as an architect. However, whereas Xenakis took influence from the mathematical side, Janek Schaefer tends to look at sound with relation to the environment it is created in. He works a lot with ‘found sound’ and also distorts these field recordings using the technology at his disposal. He also combines these recordings with other created sounds such as the application of his three-armed turn-table.

This environmental aspect of his work really interests me. To me, music is all about creating atmosphere and what better way to do that than to use atmospheres that appear in our every-day lives. In my opinion, this can give work a realistic grounding and relevance to the listener’s life. Also, I particularly really enjoy the fantastical element that can be created by adding another less familiar layer or element to familiar ideas or atmospheres. To me, this is pure audio escapism.

Anyway, Janek Sceafer’s first audio work was entitled Recorded Delivery and for this he sent a sound-activated dictaphone through the post. The record function of the dictaphone was triggered every time a loud enough sound was picked up. The project was created in this way to combat the fact that the artist was taking part in an exhibition centred around a self-storage centre but was told that he was unable to visit. He wondered how he would be able to create a work based around something he had never experienced before. In terms of sound, the resulting project recorded the secret life of a package travelling through the postal system in London. This project is obviously more of a piece of sound art but some of his other work blurs the boundary between art and music.

You can have a listen to a shortened version of ’Recorded Delivery’ here:

Fast Tube by Casper

I own two of Janek Schaefer’s CDs which blur these boundaries. I bought them at an exhibition at the Barbican, London entitled ‘Future Beauty: 30 Years of Japanese Fashion’. As you can see from the title, the exhibition focussed on Japanese fashion but Janek had created a soundtrack called ‘Unfolding’ to accompany it. From the exhibition’s webpage, it ‘…was inspired by the ephemeral unfurling fabric of fashion, viewed through the vertical veils of the Future Beauty exhibition. The composition is made from 4 x 44 minute shifting loops spread out across four pairs of speakers in the space, subtly shifting the sound textures and tones all around the different levels and zones of the show. It forms an underscore for the work on display, weaving them together and suspending them in a sense of unfolding wonder.’ A very inviting description. The veils mentioned were literally veils hanging from ceiling to floor and created see-through walls sectioning off different parts of the exhibition. These were located throughout the ground floor but the exhibition also took place on the next floor; a mezzanine level where the exhibits below were also visible from. The resulting spatial atmosphere was almost mystical and the sound that went along with it emphasised this wonderfully (although I would have asked for a private viewing without annoying public chatter… and with the sound turned up a little…).

One of the CDs I bought, entitled, ‘Migration’ looked at space in terms of a journey and was originally accompanied by a site-specific dance performed opposite Grand Central Station in New York. Many of the sounds used here were collected on Janek’s travels and a listen really does take you on a journey to differing soundscapes. I can only try to imagine what the whole experiencing was like in New York city but the compositions take you on an intense journey. From quiet moments of calm and contemplation to intense agitation and even paranoia, the journey moves your emotions along with imagined locations painted with the colours of the various sounds used. The other CD I bought at the exhibition is called ‘Pulled Under’ and the journey that this work takes you on seem to be more claustrophobic although nonetheless still magical in a pleasant way. The sounds here are also manipulated sounds taken from Janek’s travel’s.

I had already started thinking about such applications of sound when I had found out about the work of Janek Shaefer and had created my first contribution to the audio/visual project I am undertaking with Lesley Flower. However, I think Janek Shaefer’s work will probably influence me more as time goes on. The passion and wonder with which he describes his efforts are intoxicating and the resulting compositions brim with these factors making sure they drip with atmosphere. Of course, I don’t want to try to replicate anything created by some one else as I have my own things to say (In fact I’m unsure this is even possible!) but I think I have caught the bug that infects Janek Schaefer and will definitely explore the ideas put forward using my own context. I have various ideas at the back of my mind and thought of putting them into practice makes me very excited indeed… Initially, there is talk of including conceptual ideas in amongst the songs of the Lunar Rising set. Here, I can imagine a continuous stream of sound where soundscapes appear in between the songs to create an enveloping experience. Hopefully, in the future, we will be able to combine this with visuals to create something to totally immerse the audience in. Also at a basic level, my upcoming Bedtime Nursery Rhymes project toys with these ideas. The music contains collected sound and synthetic sound to bring out the atmosphere of each piece with a general aim to provide something that progressively lulls the listener into peaceful slumber. It definitely works on me and some willing parents say it has the same effect on their little ones. More about this next week though…

So, in the context of my previous blog post, is this ‘shit’ music? Is it music at all? Well, yes it is music…You could say it is sound art but the compositions have the stories, atmospheres and movements that any piece of music has; and the fact that Janek Schaefer has been awarded with The British Composer of The Year Award for Sonic Art, 2008 and The Paul Hamlyn Award for Composers Prize is an indicator of his status and ability to make music. Is it ‘shit’ music..? Apart form the accolades, to my mind such an accusation would be ridiculous as this is some of the richest, imaginative use of sound to tell a story that I have ever heard…. I really recommend you check it out… and start off with Mr. Schaefer’s website at www.AudiOh.com…