Category Archive
The following is a list of all entries from the Sound recording category.
Donna Nook Seals
19 November 2011
The Seals at Donna Nook are important to wildlife watchers around the UK and Europe, attracting 40,000 visitors to the Lincolnshire coast each year. More than half of the worlds grey seal population lives and breeds around the UK coast. The largest populations are found at Donna Nook in Lincolnshire, on the Farne Islands, the Cornish coast and Strangford Lough in Northern Ireland.
Despite a large group of visitors I was able to record the sound of the seals and their young, as they were positioned very close to the shore line, (females or ‘cows’ give birth between September and November). The equipment I used to capture the recordings was an omni-directional microphone and a parabolic dish, the dish was particularly helpful to focus and amplify the sounds of the seals in such a tourist- heavy environment. On the soundtrack (below) the sound of two male (bull) grey seals can be heard in an aggressive attack (bear in mind they are the largest mammals found in the UK), whilst the haunting cries of a seal pup yelps at its mother for more milk (they can drink up to 3 litres in a day). More than 1,000 seal pups have been born at Donna Nook this year.
Listen to Donna Nook seals 2011, approx 2 minutes
Project space at the GC Gallery
6 Oct 2011
Since returning from a month-long residency in France (April), I’ve been thinking of ways to develop the ideas and techniques used to create sound installation The End of the Line. Most of the studio work was based on the interpretation of data, listing carrier pigeons successful and failed attempts at delivering messages during the Franco-Prussian War (pigeon post into Paris).
I’ve been using the project space at the Great Central Gallery in Leicester between July – September to create installations/experiments that analyse the social and flocking behaviour of pigeons, using scientific theories and models, whilst examining our current relationship with pigeons. I’ve been experimenting with creating installations using sound recordings taken from pigeon lofts and fanciers, using found objects and pigeon-related items (bird grit, pigeon feet, whole pigeon wings and feathers).
A pound of pigeon uses bird grit to demonstrate the average weight of a pigeon, positioned in the shape of the topological distance model to represent a flock of birds. The pigeon feathers; in a ‘V’ shape, show the wings when at their highest point, in relation to the flushing distance model (how close one can get to a bird before it flies off.)
Baguette microphone
20 July 2011
The ha
lf-baked baguette worked as a perfect host for my NT55 Rode microphone. Previous recordings of pigeons at the canal had been distorted due to the loud sounds coming from the nearby factory and also the canal, in particular the weir.
The pigeons took a little coaxing, (there was already a pile of bread crumbs left by someone else to compete with!) to feed off the baguette microphone, but once they started it was a challenge to get them to stop and they quickly found the microphone.
I wanted to record the sounds of pigeons feeding and was inspired by Chris Watson, at a course organised by Wild Eye. He spoke about his time in the dessert recording the sound of vultures feeding off a dead zebra carcass and how he had successfully added a microphone to the skeleton.
I walk along the canal and see the pigeons everyday, if they have been left food they tear it apart, so it is more manageable to eat, by flinging it with their beaks, fighting off seagulls and other birds. I wanted to record this intimate sound, but what I got was a muffled recording. The hum of the factory, the occasional snort, squeak and wing flap from a pigeon, but mainly an aggressive pecking which sounded like an attack on the microphone. This wasn’t the best way to record pigeons feeding, the microphone had an omni-directional head on it, so no matter where the pigeon was feeding from, its ‘peck’ could be heard. Perhaps next time I need to use a clip tie microphone attached to the baguette or make a frame for it to sit in above the bread to be able to take a more realistic and clear recording.
Listen to baguette microphone approx 2.30 mins
Bird recording
27 March 2011
Attenborough Nature Reserve. Image by Simon Cruickshank
Since 2007, I have been making sound recordings using in-ear microphones to produce binaural audio walks and installations. Since March 2010, Ive been keen to use different methods of recording sound, particularly the sound of birds. With advice from Wildeye, Jez Riley and the Wildlife Sound Recording Society, I have purchased a parabolic dish from Telinga and a Rode NT55 compact condenser microphone. The parabolic dish acts as a focal point for sound to be captured by the microphone, it is such a powerful tool for recording bird song that it has been described as making the sound 10 times closer to the person recording the sound. It is a non- intrusive way of recording birds from a distance, without scaring them away. A parabolic dish is “an acoustical filter, approximately compensating for distance.”
Last weekend I went to several places to test out the recording equipment, including the Attenborough Nature Centre in Nottinghamshire, the canal in Leicester (Rally Park), Watermead Country Park and Bradgate Park.
Here’s some recordings from that weekend:
Attenborough Nature Reserve, with a train track nearby it can be quite noisy, but it was large enough to be able to record some decent bird songs/calls.
Attenborough 1: Approx 2 mins, Celebrating getting the new mic to work, blue tits, geese, horses, a wood pigeon flying past, magpie? and the water lapping at our feet.
Attenborough 2: Approx 1 min and my favourite recording from the day: Blue tits, geese, gulls and mallards!
Contact microphones pick up vibrations, rather than air pressure. Here is the sound of a contact microphone wrapped around a steel fence that is being pinged and slapped and also the placed on the throat area to pick up the vibrations of the voice box.
Steel smack and throat: Approx 1 min 30 secs
Canal in Leicester (Rally park), a bit dodgy but still one of my favourite places in Leicester. The recording was distorted because of the sound of the weir and the factory nearby. Ive not added the recording, as I can barely make out the sound of any wildlife, let alone the pigeons.
Watermead Country Park, a great place for bird watching and not bad for recording sound, although it is positioned next to a dual carriage way, so the sound of traffic can interfere with recordings. Recording coming soon.
Bradgate Park, the biggest park of all the above and the only one with wild deer and a dovecote. This is where I was able to record the sounds of the birds (and pigeons!) and a bee trying to push its way under the earth. Recording coming soon.
Wildlife Sound Recording Society
23 March 2011
I’m a member of the Wildlife Sound Recording Society. The Society welcomes anyone who is interested in or has an appreciation of the sounds made by wildlife. Ive joined to develop a network with other sound artists and to learn which sound recording equipment is best for recording birds.
Roger Charters (another member of WSRS), has had many years experience recording the sounds of wildlife. He invited me to his house to discuss my interests, share his experiences and pass on some helpful tips and advice on purchasing sound recording equipment. We went to a nature reserve nearby in Leamington Spa, I used Rogers directional mics (crossed over for a stereo effect) to record the sounds of the birds in the trees. The batteries on my Marantz recorder ran out, so below is a very short example of some of the recordings!
Flock
13 September 2010
Flock is an origami bird installation consisting of 300 white swans, ducks and pigeons. It was installed with the support of the young curators on Friday 10 September and exhibited as part of Wirksworth Festival on Sat 11 and 12 September, 12.30- 4.30pm at Wirksworth teaching pool. A soundtrack accompanied the installation, created from several binaural audio recordings taken from Watermead Country Park in Leicestershire at 4am, when attending a dawn chorus to celebrate the return of hundreds of migratory birds.
The young curators made origami birds to float into the water and also decided where some of the birds would go, and helped attach to the wall and changing room as part of the installation.
Listen to flock
The birds were nailed into the wooden beams running across the ceiling and into the wall, window sills and changing rooms. Visitors were invited to make their own origami bird to launch into the pool and were also able to swim amongst the birds. The exhibition had around 240 visitors of all ages.
A selection of visitor comments:
I think that it is really fun!
I like the sounds.
Love it- George
Adam and Jack.
I think that it is very clever.
Its good- Josh.
I like it- Phoebe
Free/Serenity and good fun.
This was brilliant- Emily
Don’t Shoot the Messenger (Wirksworth)
8 Sept 2010
Listen to Don’t Shoot the Messenger
All tracks have been recorded using in- ear microphones to produce binaural audio recordings and need to be Listened to with stereo headphones.
Track 1 (4.45 mins)
Track 2 (6 mins)
Track 3 (2.30 mins)
Track 4 (3.30 mins)
To download all tracks onto an mp3 player please go to www.wirksworthfestivalsoundwalk.wordpress.com
Bread suit
11 June 2010
As part of the Don’t Shoot the Messenger Project (see earlier blog entry here), I decided to gather further recordings of feral pigeons at the canal (Evansweir) that runs through the Rally Park in Leicester. This is the place where I was first inspired to look more closely at the wildlife that lives within the surrounding area, to learn more about their behaviour through bird watching courses, and to incorporate birdsong and calls into the creation of soundscapes.
To gather the best binaural audio recordings of feral pigeons, I had to be able to get as close to them as possible… so here is what I did.
Wearing an overall and using tape to attach bread to my arms, legs and body, I made my way down to the canal, hoping that the pigeons would feed off me.
I was all ready to go, I had my recording equipment ready, my in- ear microphones turned on, googles on (just in case a beak came to close to my eye!) As I edged closer to walk into the centre of the group of pigeons… they flew away and then looked at me oddly as if it were a trick. So I sat down, but still they weren’t very keen, so I threw some bread around me and a few shuffled closer. Then I laid down and before I knew it was surrounded by pigeons, pecking bread off my legs and arms and jumping on top of me, cooing madly.
The above is a short sample of the recordings taken at Leicester canal for entitled Bread suit for Don’t Shoot the Messenger
Please listen via stereo headphones. Approx 1 min
International Dawn Chorus day
19 May 2010
It’s 4am on Sunday 16 May and I’ve just arrived at Watermead Country Park, to listen to the infamous dawn chorus. At this time of year the sound of birdsong is spectacular and at its loudest. It is also a chance to celebrate the return of migratory birds and to decipher bird song from the many alarm, contact and mating calls.
The recordings from the dawn chorus were used as part of a origami bird installation entitled Flock, the birds were installed at a teaching pool in Wirksworth for Wirksworth Festival 2010.
Listen to Flock
A swan with her cygnets at Watermead Country Park
School Soundscapes
13 February 2010
I recently worked with pupils from Newark Orchard and Grove Schools using mono, stereo and binaural recordings, using a standard dynamic microphone, in-ear microphones and hydrophones to produce three soundscapes, as part of the ‘School’s Out’ exhibition at Rufford Art Gallery.
Pupils were asked to explore the journeys they make while at school and to make a list of the sounds that they encountered along the way. Each journey was documented through a hand drawn map, which was then followed by a group of pupils. During the journey, pupils made notes of what they could see and hear, whilst others narrated live into the ear of Winston (the dummy head, who wore the in- ear microphones).
The group made a list of all the sounds they could hear including footsteps, squeaky gates, children in class rooms, kids playing football in the playground, planes and trains and the sound of lunch being prepared. Some pupils wanted to include a narration into the soundscapes that explored the notion of giving an inanimate and silent object (found in and around the school) a voice. The narration explores what the object would say to pupils- for example, the pupils felt that a lonely cold bench in the school playground would say “Do you mind? You’ve left me out in the cold and now your sat on me!”
All of the audio recordings were then edited together to produce three different soundscapes positioned within the ‘Schools Out’ installation and played through speakers.
Photo by Jo Wheeler, on behalf of Nottingham County Council
Photo by Jo Wheeler, on behalf of Nottingham County Council
Photo by Jo Wheeler, on behalf of Nottingham County Council
Photo by Jo Wheeler, on behalf of Nottingham County Council
Schools Out Exhibition details: Running between 2 February and 14 March, ‘Schools Out’ showcases the creative ideas of young people from seven Nottinghamshire schools. Through working with artists and architects they have been able to realize a new vision for their future school.
Building Schools for the Future is a once in a lifetime opportunity. The programme will rethink, rebuild, remodel every state secondary school in England to create inspirational learning environments designed for the whole community.
This exhibition showcases the creative ideas of young people at seven Nottinghamshire schools working with artists and architects to realize a new vision for their future school.
Children’s School Journeys approx 5 mins
What did you hear at school today? approx 1.30 mins
Toilet Talk approx 1.30 mins
Only the soundscape ‘Children’s School Journey’s’ was recorded using in- ear microphones so should be listened to via stereo headphones. The other soundscapes were recorded using a variety of microphones, therefore it is not essential to use stereo headphones for playback.
Meeting with ‘D’
December 24 2009
Today I met the man that I’ve seen almost everyday (on my way to work) sitting on the same bench by the River Trent.
I had wrote about seeing him further down my blog during August- October 2009, when I was gathering recordings from the River Trent (Nottingham) and River Soar (Leicester).
It’s Christmas Eve, so feeling festive and a tad whimsical I thought it would be a good idea for me to change my usual routine of power walking my way through town and be late for work.
I had to remind myself to grab a mince pie and a cup of coffee, I’m not particularly fond of either but I thought that the man on the bench might be interested.
As usual, I made sure that my recorder and microphones were working and was all set up and ready to go…it does sometimes feel a bit sneaky recording conversations with people when they are unaware of it.
The man has a name and it begins with a ‘D’, he lives in a care home in Nottingham, but used to live and work in London and Manchester in a seal foundation factory and more interestingly as a doorman for Playboy and for a punk rock club in Manchester. He feeds the ducks everyday, chain smokes, drinks Fosters and when it rains he sits in the crown court. His wish (which he shared with me, without any prompting) is to plant a tree in Hyde Park or St James Park in London to leave behind some kind of legacy.
The 'gay' duck that started our conversation
Please listen to Meeting with ‘D’ using stereo headphones. Approx 7 mins long.
Humberstone Gate IAC recording
October 2009
The Independent Art Centre (based in Leicester on Humberstone Gate) will create an opportunity for the introduction of the arts to the community with gallery spaces, a stage, cafe, studio, office and workshop spaces. The building has recently been refurbished and is due to open Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 October. The opening will coincide with Oxjam Leicester, a national music festival, with the aim to raise money and awareness for Oxfam. As part of Oxjam Leicester, artist led forum Stench (performance, experimental music and digital art based in Leicester) will host a day of experimental and electronic music featuring Stench members at The Independent Art Centre.
I was asked to contribute to the day and have produced a site specific binaural audio recording in response to The Independent Art Centre and the surrounding environment. The soundscape should be listened to whilst sat on one of the benches facing the Independent Art Centre through stereo headphones and is available to download.
Please listen to Humberstone Gate IAC here via stereo headphones or you can pick up a pair of headphones and mp3 player at The Independent Art Centre on Sunday 24 October 4pm- 11pm.
Panoramic view of Humberstone Gate
The Independent Art Centre
Other businesses surrounding The Independent Art centre
River Soundscapes
August- October 2009
My journey to work takes me past the Grand Union canal in Leicester and the River Trent in Nottingham.
For 1 hour each day of the week, I travel between Leicester and Nottingham. The scenery outside the train window takes me past the River Soar and when I arrive into Nottingham, I walk over the bridge and see the River Trent and the same man sat on a bench overlooking the water.
The River Trent is surrounded by an industrial estate and is used as a venue for extreme sporting activities and as a method of transport by narrow boat. It has been a point of interest for many creative initiatives, used by professional artists, writers and performers. Hinterland; set up to closely examine geographical areas that surround the River Trent in Nottingham, commissioned a series of site specific projects along the River Trent, including a series of talks and performances, that engaged the public in foraging trips, cycle powered cinema’s and much more to raise awareness and celebrate the river and the surrounding area.
The canal in Leicester is also surrounded by an industrial estate, a park and a new block of flats that overlook the wildlife that live in the canal. Sadly the residents see the canal as a bin, filling it with rubbish, rather than nurturing the area or using it as a source for inspiration.
Binaural audio recordings have been taken from the Grand Union canal in Leicester to produce a sample soundscape with the intention of comparing and contrasting it to a sample from the River Trent.
Please listen to Leicester Canal (sample) via stereo headphones. Approx 40 secs.
Bench man sitting opposite the River Trent.
Swan swimming in Leicester canal
Walk With Me
April- June 2009
Nottingham castle has a turbulent history- dating back to 1068 when the castle was built out of wood by William the conqueror, it has been re-made in stone, been host to royal residents, turned into a mansion, damaged by the civil war and burnt down during riots in 1831.
The ‘castle’ is now a museum and art gallery open to visitors all year round, hosting contemporary exhibitions, events and outdoor theatre.
I have been commissioned to produce a binaural audio walk for the grounds of the castle for visitors to access during Spring 2009. Please visit the link below for further information. www.castlewalkwithme.wordpress.com
Walk With Me is a site specific binaural audio walk for the grounds of Nottingham Museum and Gallery. Please listen to Walk With Me via stereo headphones. Approx 11 mins.
Walk With Me in the grounds of Nottingham Museum and Art Gallery
Annual
December 2008- January 2009
The Collection (gallery and museum) based in Lincoln, invited me to produce work as part of their ongoing artist in residence programme for a month.
I produced Annual, a binaural audio installation for the studio space of The Collection by capturing audio from around the city, including the Christmas fair and Lincoln Cathedral.
For more information on the Annual residency please visit www.lucythecollection.blogspot.com
Annual was a site specific binaural audio installation based at The Collection studio space. Please listen to Annual via stereo headphones. Approx 2 mins 30 secs.
The Christmas Market based at Lincoln Castle was a site specific recording to be listened to at Lincoln Castle. Please listen to via stereo headphones. Approx 1 min 30 secs.
Christmas Eve at Lincoln Cathedral was a site specific recording to be listened to at Lincoln Cathedral. Please listen to via stereo headphones. Approx 3 mins 30 secs.
Annual installation in The Collection studio space
Producing a soundtrack for Gold soundz
September 2008
The context for the artwork produced for the Gold Soundz exhibition is based on inspirational music.
I was introduced to the work of Amon Tobin, a Brazilian musician, DJ, and producer of sample-based music by a friend and DJ (Dez), who partly collaborated with me to produce the soundtrack for the exhibition.
The structure of the track was based on simple drum beats created by Dez and mixed together with binaural audio recordings taken from inside the gallery, including the upstairs studio areas, workshop space and kitchen and the outside area of the gallery. The window design using hazard tape was designed by Geoff Litherland (curator and artist for Gold Soundz).
Gold Soundz was a window space binaural audio installation, produced as part of a group exhibition for Southwell Artspace. Please listen to Untitled (Southwell Artspace) via stereo headphones. Approx 2 mins 30 secs
Lucy listening to soundscape
Dez listening to soundscape
Rome
June 2008
A short trip to Rome was a great opportunity to gather some unusual audio.
The audio taken from Santa Maria della Concezione and the crypt (below the church) was a surreal experience. As I walked into the church the blarring sound of the traffic disappeared behind me. I could hear the faint sound of people shuffling in their seats and the church bell chiming. I got up to walk to the front area and just as I did the people right at the front started to pray and chant, I quickly went back to my seat because I didnt want to intrude, but still sat to listen.
The crypt below the church presented a very uncomfortable and sad environment. The cold atmosphere and poignant music really affected its visitors, including myself- making me feel anxious and as if I were intruding. I managed to pick up the sound of the church bells and other visitors comments as they walked past me.
*Please listen to Santa Maria della Concezione and crypt via stereo headphones. Approx 3.30 minutes
View from our hotel in Rome
The Crypt below Santa Maria della Concezione
Singing waiters in Rome
The Big Session, Leicester
June 2008
The Big Session is a music folk festival based in Leicester.
The recorded binaural audio has captured many features of the festival including the bands, singer/song writers, the audience cheering and clapping, people talking, joking, laughing and sharing gossip.
The level of volume from the music and crowds of people reveals the change in ambience as the listener is taken on a journey around the festival.
Please listen to The Big Session 2008 via stereo headphones. Approx 3 mins
The Big Session 2008 flyer
Craft and food stalls at The Big Session
Main stage
Big Kids workshop assistants
Wollaton Hall Gardens and Deer park, Nottingham
May 2008
The binaural audio recorded at this site includes the environment inside Wollaton Hall, including the staff and visitors and sounds from the park area, including people playing games and traffic.
When recording binaural audio, it can be frustrating when great sounds are not recorded and documented, for example: an elderly couple arguing as they walked towards me and a couple shouting at a dog who had stolen part of their picnic! However, for me the whole process of recording binaural audio is about trying to silently observe the surrounding environment, but this can be a challenge when you desperately want to comment on your surroundings, laugh or sneeze!
Please listen to Wollaton Hall and Deer Park via stereo headphones. Approx 2 minutes
Stuffed animal heads inside Wollaton Hall
Wollaton Hall
Monkey Forest
April 2008
Trentham in Stoke-on-Trent has a monkey reserve containing one hundred and forty Barbary Macaque monkeys.
The binaural recording was a little disappointing because the monkeys didn’t make any sounds at all, although I did capture the tour guide giving a talk, as well as a video explaining how the monkeys survive the harsh British winters and the general ambiance of the place (birds singing and rivers flowing). With this soundscape I believe the best part of the audio to describe the experience was from the gasps and shouts of excitement from the children.
*Please listen to Monkey Forest via stereo headphones. Approx 3 mins
Monkey Forest, Stoke on Trent
Conscious Void
Binaural Audio Installation and Textile Hanging, December 2007.
The Upstairs Gallery, The City Gallery, Leicester.
Collaboration with Cat Preston
MA Fine Art Nottingham Trent University graduates Lucy Stevens and Cat Preston collaborated on a five- day exhibition at the Upstairs Gallery of The City Gallery to combine traditional textiles with binaural audio recordings.
Using the Upstairs Gallery of The City Gallery as a host, the installation allows visitors to interact with the physical environment by touching the textile hanging and moving through the shadows produced by the delicate and carefully cut flower design. Preston responds to the beauty of the traditional feminine craft and its endurance of creation, creating a textile divide within the gallery space.
The space behind the textile hanging invites the visitor to listen to binaural audio via stereo headphones. The spot lights and shadows act as a enclosure putting the visitor in a position of complete physical and mental immersion. The binaural audio was gathered on site at The City Gallery and from other locations, including Bridgford Park and the Nine Ladies Stone Circle to give a sense of transportation from inside to outside and much further away, as if accessing Stevens’ different memories all at once.
- Listening to Conscious Void
- The Upstairs Gallery at The City Gallery
*Please listen to Conscious Void via stereo headphones. Approx 3 mins
Bellytastic
Binaural Audio Installation, July 2007.
MAzing group exhibition, The Arts Organisation, Nottingham
For this particular binaural audio installation I felt it was important to produce a recording that was site specific and reflected the location and the events that took place. Not only did the location cater for art lovers but also as an entertainment source. I found myself in the audience of an Arabic Shimmies and Shakes belly dancing event.
The binaural audio takes the listener on a journey through the evening, as they experience a collection of audio including jangling skirts and jewellery bouncing off dancing belly dancers, a man talking loudly on his mobile phone, people from the audience whispering, talking and helping the host remember the names of the performers and a DJ who (no matter how hard he tried) could never get the correct song to each performance much to the annoyance of the belly dancers.
- Image from Bellytastic event
- Listening to Bellytastic
- MA Fine Art flyer
*Please listen to Bellytastic via stereo headphones. Approx 5.30 mins
Unheard Sounds
Binaural Audio walk, July 2007.
Feast MA Exposition, Nottingham Trent University
Visitors to the exhibition were invited to borrow an MP3 player and go on a guided walk. With the unsettling preamble: ‘I usually only hear it at night’, the narrator takes the listener on a journey, directing them down steps, round corners, through doors, to a dark space where ‘ the air feels heavy and damp, making it hard to breathe’ and where a moving black shadow appears just at the edge of vision. The narrator’s superstitions (‘I try to avoid the white tape on the stairs’) and fears (‘we’re being followed…’) are reinforced by sinister music, strategically placed, and by the ambient sounds of accompanying footsteps, of doors opening right on cue, of drilling, banging, a gasp of fear, thunder, running water, the echo of a voice, a brief, muffled commotion and then, the narrator’s voice stops – silence – until another voice, as if over a two-way radio, announces the discovery of a dead body.
Listening to the recording, our awareness is heightened at the same time as it is bemused, disorientated: the particular qualities of binaural recording create a 360- degree experience of sound which blurs the line between fiction and reality, so that we are thrown off-balance, unsure what is ‘live sound’ and what is recorded: prey to our own imagination.
- Deborah Dean, Visual Art & Exhibitions Manager, Nottingham City Museums and Galleries
- Listening to Unheard Sounds
- Unheard Sounds exhibition space
- MA Fine Art flyer
*Unheard Sounds is a site specific binaural audio walk, to be listened to at the Bonington building at Nottingham Trent University. Please listen to Unheard Sounds via stereo headphones. Approx 5 mins
The Sounds of the Playhouse
Binaural Audio Walk, June 2007.
Offsite MA group exhibition, The Playhouse, Nottingham
The Sounds of the Playhouse is a direct response to the Playhouse Theatre and a recent showing of the mystery thriller ‘I Have Been Here Before’ by J.B. Priestly. The play was based on the Russian philosopher P.D.Ouspensky’s theory about individuals repeating their life cycle unless they can seize opportunities to free themselves from repeating past errors.
This theory informs the binaural audio walk when changes in time, space and the narrative occur, distorting the listeners reality and physical surroundings with suggestions from the past.
Visitors follow the artists directions through the Playhouse Theatre and become involved in the stories embedded in the recorded instructions and suggestions. At the end of the walk listeners find themselves in a noisy bar, a telephone rings and an edgy voice instructs the participant to ‘collect a black briefcase with a red handle’ that has been left by a man positioned outside behind the Sky Mirror sculpture, with the added warning that they ‘don’t have much time left and to be careful because everyone is listening’. However the last suggestion to collect a briefcase was just a ploy to discover how immersed the listener became in the fictional reality that had been created.
The walk uses binaural audio- a means of recording that achieves incredibly precise three- dimensional sound to create an experience of physical immediacy and complexity.
- Listening to The Sounds of the Playhouse
- Listening to The Sounds of the Playhouse
- Off Stage exhibition flyer
*Please listen to The Sounds of the Playhouse via stereo headphones. Approx 4 mins
