Sound Localities

Sound Localities Compilation released!

Downloaded the compilation online for free here: Sound Localities Compilation 2011

Sound Localities is a project that explores sound in the city through field recordings and exchanges from artists in 7 cities in the local, regional and international space around Mons, Belgium. From Ghent, Brussels, London, Madrid, Hong Kong and Seoul, the project seeks to produce a dialogue amongst disparate places and individuals through their localised experiences to explore possibilities of imagining a wider global space.

The process: Individuals from selected art organisations working with sound were interviewed about their work with sound and their relationship as a cultural organisation in their city. The organisations were asked to select artists working with sound in the city to contribute field recordings to share something about the place. The sounds were contributed to an archive that were collected and shared online with all other participants in the project. 

The participating artists were then invited back to create a mix from the collection of sounds from the  cities. The result is a compilation of their mixes – reflecting a crossing of cities and experiences, and perspectives on the World that are reinterpreted and then shared back to each other. The compilation is a the result of a project called Resonant Cities (2010) that connects individuals in different spaces and times in a complex and globalising space of contemporary urban existence. 

Includes mixes by: Julien Poidevin (FR), Will Montgomery (UK), Jiyeon Kim (KR),Sébastien Biset (BE), Edwin Lo (HK), Pauwel De Buck (BE), Yiorgis Sakellariou (GR), Sinyu Tsang (HK), and Martin Clarke (UK). 

Sound Localities is a project initiated by Ashley Wong an artist, curator and researcher based in London, UK during a 3-month residency at Transcultures in Mons, Begium supported by Pépinières européennes pour jeune artistes and partners.   

Underground Tube Network

Ghent Underground Tube Network 

Bram Bosteels

“This is a recording I made in a big underground tube network during public works in Ghent. I put the microphone about 3/4 metres deep in one of the ‘tubes’, the tubes are interconnected underground, I guess they reach several hundred meters far and because they’re interconnected you can hear sounds from different parts of the city come together. (one end of the tube, where the microphone is, leads to several other endings spread around the city. A kind of ‘natural city mixer’ in a way ), what fascinates me in this recordin ?- cause it’s a tube ,  it’s kind of a ’ black hole’ :   you don’t get to see what you’re actually hearing , you haven’t got any visual information so you can’t really know what you’re listening to   and can only guess what it is and where it’s coming from. it makes the listening experience more intense .- the recording is part of a series of fieldrecordings i made in dwells and tubes.   i like  how  sounds from inside the tube blend with sounds from the city surrounding it . the tube is kind of a vain that’s running through the city.  i like the musicality of the resonance inside the tube , and the way sounds from the outside are absorbed, changed and coloured through the tube.”  

Bram Bosteels is an artist/musician based in Ghent. He is one of two parts of Kaboom Karavan along with Stijn Dickel. 

http://www.myspace.com/kaboomkaravan

On Top of the Town, Ghent

On Top of the Town

Pauwel De Buck

“Due to the heavy snowfall last weeks, the whole city is covered with that white and damping blanket. The aural atmosphere of our town gets more absorbed. This natural acoustic filter results in a much more silent and less reflective environment and causes very subtle nuances in our audible perception.

With this transformation of our daily sounds in mind, I was looking for a spot where I was possible to catch the whole city, including the massive layer of fog and snow which blends all auditive action. So I climbed on top of town, more specific, I positioned myself on the roof of the ‘Boekentoren’ building, 210 feet high.”

Pauwel De Buck is a soundartist living and working in Ghent, Belgium. His soundworks have been presented in installations as well as in performances. He utilizes location recordings of the urban environment to combine them with analogue electronic sounds. The end result is as much time based as it is sculptural and spatial. The work traverse between concrete sound environments and abstract sonic spaces.

Pauwel De Buck participated in residencies, performed his work in Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany and the USA. Made installations, soundtracks for various purposes. His sound works are released at the London Based Entr’acte label.

http://pauweldebuck.yolasite.com

Paris, 19 of April 2010

Sound and Music, Sons de Barcelona and Aifoon came together to get to know each other better. After a “coq au vin” and a glass of  “vin rouge” we found out that we have two things in common:

• sound (no words, no music) as a communicative and poetic medium of expression
• using sounds to map the environment in a subjective way

This was the starting point for the project The City Rings.

Four organisations:

• Sons de Barcelona (E): Ariadna Alsina, Jaume Ferrete, Serafín Álvarez
• Sound and Music (UK): Becca Laurence, Jana Phillips, Pippa Murphy
• Sonic postcards (DK): Stephen Schwartz, Anne-Marie Schæffer
• Aifoon (B): Stijn Dickel, Bram Bosteels and Jürgen De Blonde

Four schools:

• CEPSA Oriol Martorell in Barcelona (E)
• Wispelberg and Mobi in Gent (B)
• Hellebæk and Helsingør Little School in Elsinøre (DK)
• Portlethen Primary School in Aberdeenshire (UK)

CityMixer:

With the online citymixer application you create your own fictitious city or environment.

The sounds in the citymixer come from the different locations that were involved in this project. This way,
you can visit Portlethen, Barcelona, Elsinore and Gent all at the same time!

http://thecityrings.org/city-mixer/ 

433 Ghent

433 Ghent

Stijn Dickel 

“Sound is time. 433 is a hobby. We collect sound recordings of people around the world that open their window and after 4 minutes and 33 seconds close it again. This is a nod to the oeuvre of John Cage and Alvin Lucier.”

This is a recording from outside of the window at Aifoon based on Nieuwevaart 117a in Ghent. 

Stijn Dickel is artistic director of Aifoon vzw. He worked as a musician / performer with Troubleyn / Jan Fabre for Je Suis Sang. He also composed music for theatre and is a member of music collective Kaboom Karavan.

www.aifoon.org

Aifoon is an educational art foundation based in Ghent, Belgium focusing on sound in audiovisual communication. We organise workshops and trainings for children, youngsters, (aspiring) teachers, (ICT-)coordinators, art docents, etc. We offer a number of formats but also organise tailored courses. 

The goal: each participant creates his/her individual sound story and looks for images to match.