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.   

Subway-Sadang, Seoul

Joo Won Park

Subway-Sadang, Seoul

“This is a recording of Seoul subway line No 2. This line is the one of the busiest line, but I recorded sound when it was least busy. Still, the subway is never quiet.”

Sung Nechun, Seoul

“This is a collage of sound in a park. The park was artificially created around a stream for Seoul citizens to exercise/relax. The place becomes most active during the night, when the citizens come out after long hours of work.”

Joo Won Park (b. 1980) is a composer/researcher of music within several genres. His music and audio applications have been featured in several conferences and festivals, as well as in print in Electronic Musician, Computer Music Journal, and The Csound Book.  Joo Won was an associate director of Florida Electroacoustic Music Festival, and currently serves as an assistant professor of music at the Community College of Philadelphia. His music is available on ICMC 2004 DVD, Spectrum Press, and MIT Press.

SeoulSoundMap is an online archiving project/public campaign initiated by Sound@Media in Seoul, Korea. SeoulSoundMap aims to create sonic maps of Seoul dedicated to raise awareness of sonic environment of the city with participation of the public. Participating in recording and sharing the sound of everyday that make up the city can make

habitants reflecting on their urban condition as well as recovering the joy of listening. Once registered in the campaign, the creative commons licenses are applied to all audio files by default. Anyone is welcomed to do a variety of artistic and public projects based on sound sources.

Sound@Media is an webzine for creation, promotion and criticism on sound artistic practices and audio culture in Korea. It is aimed to raise provocative discourses on sound culture and to recover long-disregarded ‘sense of listening’ in this visual oriented era. We also regularly organize two off-line events featuring new emerging experimental sound artists: New Music Series and Artist’s Talk. Alongside that, as a public project for 2010, we run SeoulSoundMap campaign which people can easily participate with recording, uploading and sharing of sounds of Seoul in purpose of making sonic map of the city. We wish this campaign remind people that sound is very fundamental frame to understand our environment and social phenomena. Sound@Media was initiated by Moonji Cultural Institute, Saii, and funded by Seoul Foundation of Arts and Culture.

SAII is a new generation cultural institute, created by one of the Korea’s leading publishers, and aims to investigate the intersection between writing, media arts and the humanities. They are an educational academy, a research centre and organizer of exhibitions, publications, symposia and online communities. SAII programs cover creative writing, interactive and electronic literature; contemporary culture and philosophy, media and sound art; as well as debates and discussions around social and political intervention within writing and art.

http://saii.or.kr/

Bridge Water, Seoul

Jiyeon Kim, Sound@Media / Saii

“I’m 28 years old, living and working in Seoul city. I usually go out on Sunday evening for recording, which is the only time i can fully devote out of my full time job. Also it’s the only time when the city turns to be calm and desert. I can barely see people on the street. Most people might stay at home on sunday night with relief of having family, job, and house. Some people might have them all and proud of themselves. A great new start of week is waiting for them.

For the last couple of months, on sunday night, I’ve been recording near Han River, which has over 20 bridges. I got to start this recording because I thought the feeling of being by the river at this time somehow shows the urban sense of ‘emptiness’ and ‘unseen fluidity’ I recorded atmospheric night sounds with Zoom h4, vibrant bridges with contact mics, and under water sound of river with a hydrophone.

Imagine you’re at the bridge over the river at the heart of city.

You can’t see nothing down the river. Only darkness.

But you can hear in and outside.”

Jiyeon Kim is the project manager at Saii, a cultural institute based in Seoul, Korea. With a background in literature (Seoul) and media art (London, UK), she has worked as a film production assistant with LJ Film (2005-07). Her interests then moved into new media and cultural activities where she has produced a number of interdisciplinary projects including ‘TEXT@MEDIA’ (2009) and ‘SOUND@MEDIA’ (2010) with support from the Seoul Foundation of Arts and Culture.