Found Sound and Field Recording - Sound and Memory

The idea for this post came from a conversation with my other half about an event he is curating at The Hepworth Wakefield (more info here), the theme for which is nostalgia, and my existing interest in found sound and field recordings. Our conversation topic was; Are particular sounds, such as a song or particular environmental sound, inherently more likely to evoke memory or emotion than our other senses, such as sight or smell, and how much of an impact does this have on our listening experience? This also ties in nicely with the compositions by Daniel Kordik I discovered in HCMF week, which I'll talk more about below.

Firstly though, one of my favourite sounds or collections thereof; the London Underground. I recently took a little handheld recorder down to London to record a collection of environmental sounds. I was primarily interested in recording the crowd at a football game I was attending (which was pointless as the fans were rubbish!) but ended up recording some other sounds too, such as the underground and some general street noise. When I got back, I listened to the recording, and was immediately stuck by my underground recordings - not just because of the sheer breadth of frequency and volume, but by the fact that I felt almost immediately transported to a different time and place. It was as if I was automatically drawn or attracted to these sounds by a specific memory, but strangely much more strongly than I was when I was actually there on the tube.

I did use to spend a lot of time in London in and have not really visited since, which would explain the immediate connection. What it does not explain however, is why I did not have this reaction when I was actually there but instead, afterwards when I got home and listened to my recordings alone, separate from their environment. I immediately commenced a search for works using Underground sounds, and came across this work by Matt Rogers commissioned by the TFL. A video explaining the idea behind the works, and also his emotional attachment to these sounds, is below.

In my search I also came across this beautiful collection of bridge sounds recorded at the Millennium Bridge in London; the drone-like sounds are similar in harmony to the partials I heard at the La Monte Young concert at HCMF, probably due to the properties of the taught suspension wires that make up the bridge. From this I can see why and how Young's fascination with resonant partials and just intonation came about; the resulting harmonies are mesmerising.

The Millenium Bridge, London. Found here: http://www.parkgrandlondon.com/blog/millennium-bridge-london//

Whilst on the subject of field recording and environmental sounds, I should mention a particular work by Daniel Kordik which has struck me in quite a profound way, [Sy][ria]. The work is made up of field recordings taken from certain areas of Syria which have been sampled and mixed by the artist. Although I have never been to Syria, my memory of news articles, video clips and other such reference to the conflict taking place there is enough to alter my perception of these works. As such, the sounds of call to prayer juxtaposed with birdsong, engine noise, and simple street noises are haunting in a very ghostly way. There is something about listening to these sounds (particularly on headphones) that transports me to the place unlike any other media.

I may experiment with some of my tube recordings and the recordings above over the coming weeks in a similar way to Daniel Kordik's work, to see if I can create an emotionally engaging work of my own.