volume 16 | 017

Sounds Emergent: Diverse Ecologies Part II

The Journal of Acoustic Ecology

 world forum for acoustic ecology (wfae)
The World Forum for Acoustic Ecology, founded in 1993, is an international association of affiliated
The Journal of Acoustic Ecology organizations and individuals, who share a common concern for the state of the world’s soundscapes.
volume 16 | 2017 Our members represent a multi-disciplinary spectrum of individuals engaged in the study of the
issn 1607-3304 social, cultural, and ecological aspects of the sonic environment.
Soundscape: The Journal of Acoustic Ecology is an
English language publication of the World Forum
for Acoustic Ecology (WFAE). The publication board members of the wfae and its affiliates
is conceived as a forum for communication and
discussion about interdisciplinary research and World Forum for Acoustic Ecology (WFAE) Canadian Association for Sound Ecology
practice in the field of Acoustic Ecology, focusing Executive Board: Eric Leonardson (President) (CASE) / Association Canadienne pour
on the interrelationships between sound, nature, (ASAE), Leah Barclay (Vice-President) (AFAE), l’Écologie Sonore (ACÉS) Carmen Braden
and society. Soundscape seeks to balance its content Eric Powell (Vice-President) (CASE), Nigel (Chair), Eric Powell (Vice-Chair), Matthew
among scholarly writings, research, and an active Frayne (Treasurer, Past President) (AFAE), Griffin (Treasurer), Carol Ann Weaver
engagement in current soundscape issues, both in Christopher DeLaurenti (Outgoing Secretary) (Secretary), Tyler Kinnear (WFAE Rep.),
and beyond academia while serving as a voice for (ASAE), Tyler Kinnear (Incoming Secretary) Randolph Jordan (Blog Moderator), Sarah
the WFAE’s diverse and global community. (CASE) Brown (Member-at-Large)
Editorial Committee
Phylis Johnson (ASAE, Editor-in-Chief), Sabine WFAE Affiliate Representatives: Leah Barclay Suomen Akustisen Ekologian Seura (Finnish
Breitsameter (ASAE), Andrea Dancer (CASE), (AFAE), Jay Needham (ASAE), Tyler Kinnear Society for Acoustic Ecology—FSAE)
Ioanna Etmektsoglou (HSAE), Gary Ferrington (CASE), Simo Alitalo (FSAE), Andreas Meri Kytö (Chair), Simo Alitalo (Vice-Chair,
(ASAE), Nigel Frayne (AFAE), Meri Kytö (FSAE), Mniestris (HSAE), Tadahiko Imada (JASE), WFAE Rep.), Kaisa Ruohonen (Secretary &
Anthony Magen (AFAE), Jay Needham (ASAE), John Levack Drever (UKISC) Treasurer), Olli-Taavetti Kankkunen, Ari
Katerina Tzedaki (HSAE), Heikki Uimonen Koivumäki, Heikki Uimonen, Eeva Sairanen
(FSAE), Hildegard Westerkamp (CASE, Emerita WFAE Communications: Phylis Johnson
Editor-in-Chief), Eric Leonardson (WFAE Pres.) (Editor-in-Chief, Soundscape), Hildegard Hellenic Society For Acoustic Ecology
Westerkamp (Emerita Editor-in-Chief), Jon (HSAE) Kostas Paparrigopoulos (Chair),
Issue Editors Pluskota (Editor, WFAE News Quarterly), Ioannis Matsinos (Vice-Chair), Katerina
Guest Editor: Jay Needham (ASAE) Christopher DeLaurenti (Web Manager) Tzedaki (Secretary), Kimon Papadimitriou
Editorial-in-Chief: Phylis Johnson (ASAE) (Treasurer), Ioanna Etmektsoglou (Advisor),
Emerita Editor-in-Chief:
Australian Forum for Acoustic Ecology Andreas Mniestris (WFAE Rep.)
Hildegard Westerkamp (CASE)
(AFAE) Leah Barclay (President, WFAE rep.),
Editorial Assistant: Honna Veerkamp (ASAE)
Toby Gifford (Secretary / Treasurer) Anthony Japanese Association for Sound Ecology
Layout Magen (Member), Nigel Frayne (Member), (JASE) Tadahiko Imada (Chair), Atsushi
Andrea Schmidt Andrew Skeoch (Member), Vicki Hallett Nishimura (Secretary/Treasurer)
(Member) and Jesse Budel (Member)
Cover Photo
United Kingdom & Ireland Soundscape
Todd Birdsong (For more context, see page 1.
For Artist Statement, see page 36) American Society for Acoustic Ecology Community (UKISC) John Levack Drever
(ASAE) Phylis Johnson (President), Thompson (Chair, WFAE Rep.)
Original Design and Soundscape Logotype Bishop (Vice-President), Honna Veerkamp
Robert MacNevin (Secretary), Jonathan Pluskota (Treasurer),
Brandon Mechtley (Web Director); Members-
Membership Committee at-Large: David Aftandilian, Eric Leonardson,
Nigel Frayne, (WFAE Secretary), Toby Gifford Jeremiah Moore, Stephan Moore, Jay Needham,
(AFAE), Brandon Mechtley (ASAE), Matthew
Christopher Preissing, Andrea Williams
Griffin (CASE), Meri Kytö (FSAE), Andreas Mni-
estris (HSAE), Nishimura Atsushi (JASE), John
Levack Drever (UKISC)
contributions
Design and Publication
The design and publication of this edition of the Ideas for journal themes, proposals for new sections, as well as visual materials, are welcomed.
journal were made possible through membership You may submit either a proposal or a complete manuscript of a potential article to Soundscape.
contributions and donations. The Editorial Committee would generally prefer to communicate with you beforehand
regarding your idea for an article, or receive a proposal, or an abstract (contact information
Contents copyright © 2017, Soundscape. below). Please also download our Guide to Contributors: Instructions for the Preparation
The authors retain copyright on each article. of Materials for Submission to Soundscape (PDF) on the WFAE Website at: www.wfae.net
Republication rights must be negotiated with the Submissions. Texts can be submitted for the following sections in the journal: Feature Articles;
author. Credit for previous publication in Current Research: a section devoted to a summary of current research within the field; Dialogue:
Soundscape—The Journal of Acoustic Ecology must an opportunity for editorial comment from readers; Perspectives: reports of events, conferences,
be given. Photographers, artists, and illustrators installations etc.; Sound Journals: personal reflections on listening in the soundscape; Soundwalks
retain copyright on their images. from around the world; Reviews: of books, CDs, videos, websites, and other media; Students’ and/
Opinions expressed in Soundscape—The Journal or Children’s Writings; Quotes: sound and listening-related quotations from literature, articles,
of Acoustic Ecology are not necessarily those of correspondence, etc.: Please send correspondence and submissions to: Soundscape – The Journal of
the Editors. Acoustic Ecology, (c/o Leah Barclay, Editor-in-Chief). Email contact: [email protected]
 oundscape
The
TheJournal
JournalofofAcoustic
AcousticEcology
Ecology
volume 6 volume
number 216| fall / winter 2005
| 017

Liliane Karnouk

Contents Introduction
Contents Editorial
Listening and Hearing Pauline Oliveros: Remembering Her Gift of 'Sonic Awareness'
Contribution Guidelines . . inside front cover

I
Symposium – Sounds
n the context of Emergent:
the upcoming Diverse
WFAEEcologies,
he Part II
developed the Hirano Soundscape
Contribution Guidelines: inside front cover
2006 International Conference on Acoustic Museum between 998 and 2004 as part of a

W
Introduction
Editorial. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  Ecology in Hirosaki, Japan, November grass-roots activity for community develop-
by Phylis Johnson, Editor-in-Chief . . . . . . 1 elcome to part two of the sympo- that draw deeply from inside our respective
2—6, 2006, it is with great pleasure that ment. It is not only a fascinating account
Report from the Chair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 sium “Sounds Emergent: Diverse frames of reference, as we make sense and
we are presenting you with an issue of of the author’s own deepening involvement
Report from WFAE President, Ecologies.” As we conclude music from the range of frequencies that
Regional Activity Reports .............2 Soundscape whose focus is on Japan. with and understanding of the community
by Eric Leonardson. this series, the World Forum of Acoustic surround us. Even better yet is when we
UKISC . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2. 2 Soundscape research and education as the project progresses, but also a descrip-
Ecology’s Editorial Board is saddened by choose to harmonize with the sonic texture
AFAE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 in Japan began in the second half of the tion of how the development of the Hirano
the passing of legendary composer Pauline in which we are immersed. In this issue, Jay
Guest Editorial
FSAE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 1980s through the single-handed initiative Soundscape Museum can, as he says, “poten-
Oliveros on November 24, 2016. The rever- Needham invites us to eavesdrop into such
Sounds Emergent:
JASE . Diverse
. . . . . . .Ecologies,
...............3 of Keiko Torigoe, who had come to Canada tially provide a conceptual base and some
berations of her life are felt through the sonic conversations as the sound community
by Jay Needham . . . . . .. . . . .. .. . . . .. . . . .. .. . . . .. .3. 4
CASE/ACÉS completing her Master’s degree at York methods and tools for soundscape design.”
words of those selected for this special issue, pays tribute to one of its own.
ASAE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 University in Toronto researching and writ- In the third article of this issue Acoustic
similar to the various signals that rebound Phylis Johnson, Ph.D.
FKL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 ing about the work of the World Soundscape Ecology Considered as a Connotation:
Feature Articles: within our very beings. We tune to round Editor-in-Chief, Soundscape: The Journal of
Project at Simon Fraser University. Since Semiotic, Post-Colonial and Educational
Remembering
Dialogue . . . Pauline
. . . . . . . Oliveros,
.................5 two of “Sounds Emergent” being once again Acoustic Ecology
her return to Japan she involved herself Views of Soundscape, Tadahiko Imada
One Year Later curated by guest editor Jay Needham, who
deeply and continuously in the study of the intensely examines the usefulness of sound-
Feature Articles
A Sounding Happens: Pauline Oliveros,
connects the musical notes in this issue, not Phylis Johnson is Director and Professor
Japanese soundscape, in educational and scape studies—“to simply listen to sounds
Expanded Consciousness
to create acoustic borders, but in the hope of Journalism and Mass Communications at
Insights Taken from Threeand Healing
Visited soundscape design projects, raising more critically and socio-culturally”—as a way to
by Edward Shanken & Yolande Harris . . 4
that paths will open up new ways of hearing, San Jose State University, San Jose, Califor-
Soundscapes in Japan and more awareness of soundscape studies reconnect to Japanese roots in the face of
deeply across the aural plains of which only nia. She is author/co-author of four books,
By KeikoforTorigoe
Haiku Pauline,. .as
. .Pauline
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 and acoustic ecology in her own country. years of much exposure to and imposition
a handful have led, one being Distinguished machinima reviews editor for The Journal
by Seth Cluett & Tomie Hahn . . . . . . 15 Aside from translating R. Murray of Western thought.
Acoustic Ecology Considered as a Research Music Professor Pauline Oliveros. of Gaming and Virtual Worlds, and has
Schafer’s The Tuning of the World (in 986) In the Perspectives section you will find
Connotation: Semiotic, Post-Colonial She has been a mentor to many, some of extensively presented and published interna-
Three Recent Moments and his Sound Education (in 992) into an interesting variety of reports, which
and Educational Views of Soundscape whom recall her impact on their lives and tionally. She is the immediate former editor
with Pauline Oliveros Japanese, as well as introducing some of take us to another 100 Soundscapes project,
By Dr. Tadahiko Imada. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 careers in this issue. We are reminded that of the Journal of Radio and Audio Media, and
by Stephan Moore . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 the wsp’s documents to Japan, she laid the recently conducted in Finland, and modeled
A Tiny Field for Soundscape Design: not sound, nor life, should be confined by Editor-in-Chief of Soundscape. She writes
ground in her country for the establishment on the original Japanese project; to an envi-
Athis
Caseday/that
Study ofday, by ione . . . . . .
the Soundscape Museum 18 tradition or artificial boundaries. Every day on sound, new media, and virtual reality as
of the Soundscape Association of Japan ronmental art project also in Finland; to the
in Osaka, Japan we all compose our own life songs, ones culture and practice.
(saj/993—), which now has 200 members. Ground Zero memorial in New York and its
Commentary
By Atsushi Nishimura . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 We were particularly pleased when the potentially inappropriate acoustic environ-
Japanese Association of Sound Ecology ment; to the 12th International Congress on
A Soundscape
Haiku . . . . . . . .of. .a. Demonstration
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 (jase), one of the operating divisions of the Sound and Vibration in Lisbon, Portugal,
by Honna Veerkamp . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Perspectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 saj, decided to become an affiliate organisa- July 2005; and finally into the addictive
tion of the wfae a few years ago. sonic powers of video games. Check out
Research
Current Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 We present you with Coverthree Art by Todd
important Birdsong
Dialogue and Reviews for thought provoking
Soundwalking . . . . .Space
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 articles from Japan, which in our opinion and critical ideas. A soundwalk on the west
Augmenting Urban
My images for
are representative this editionother
of numerous of Soundscape
exam- (also coastsee
of pages
British5 and 7) are inspired
Columbia and the sounding
by Leah Barclay
Reviews . . . . . . .. . .. .. .. . .. .. ... .. .. . .. .. .. . .. .. .21
. 36 ples ofbysoundscape
the works of activities,
Pauline Oliveros
thoughtandand
the essay by Edward
words Shanken
of Japanese andare
haikus Yolande
meant to invite
Harris. More
philosophy specifically,
in this country. they attempt
In her to visually
article you capture a practice
into another that compelled
atmosphere of listening.
Reviews Insightslistening not just
Taken from Threeto Visited
the conventional
Soundscapesdetails of And
a given traditional
finally, we wantaudio
to experi-
thank Katharine
in Japanence—melody,
Keiko Torigoe harmony,
reports rhythm—but
on her fol- alsoNorman
to the sounds
for herof contributions
space and noise.
and support
Makis Solomos, et al., Musique et écologies du low-up field research of the original 100 in our editorial process during the last few
son Propositions théoriques pour une écoute du Todd Birdsong received his MFA from Southern Illinois University in
Soundscapes of Japan project, completed in years. She recently decided to leave the
NOTE: Announcements,
monde / Music and ecologies of sound Carbondale in Mass Communication and Media Arts. He is an interdisciplinary
997, for which she visited specific localities editorial committee of Soundscape in order
Resources and Sound Bites can now
Theoretical Projects for a Listening of the artist who works with both analog and digital processes within photography,
that had been recommended as significant to move on to other things. We have very
be found in our Online wfae
World by Maile Colbert. . . . . . . . . . . 35 sound and transmission art, time-based media and instrument making using found
soundscapes by the local people. Three much appreciated her clarity, efficiency, her
Newsletter: objects and electronics. Execution of his work takes the form of conceptual
soundscapes from very different geographi- intelligent and pragmatic, indeed profes-
installations and performances.  Concepts of indeterminacy and randomness are
www.wfae.net/newsletter
Frances Dyson, The Tone of Our Times cal and climatic zones of the country are sional approach to the task of editing and we
used to examine the ideas of mindfulness and being present in the moment of
by Heather Contant. . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 discussed. already miss her dearly!
Submissions should be sent to: witnessing, understanding and decoding our daily lives.
Atsushi Nishimura takes us into the
[email protected]
Membership Info. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 comparatively small area of the historical —Hildegard Westerkamp,
neighbourhood of Hirano in Osaka, where For the Editorial Committee

1
Report from the WFAE President

I
f you are new to the WFAE and this journal, I would like to say measure. Printing and mailing physical paper copies to our members
hello and introduce ourselves. The WFAE began in 1993 to serve and library subscribers exceeded what the WFAE received from
as a world-wide collaborative network of Affiliated Organizations its affiliated organizations, who constitute the major part of our
who produce and promote research, education, events, conferences membership, in addition to support from our library subscribers. It is
and publications revolving around the interdisciplinary field of important to emphasize that our stepped transition into an engaging
Acoustic Ecology. This is our basic mission. Publishing this annual and accessible format is underway. Two important ingredients for this
journal is one way we realize this mission. Our affiliated organizations are the support of dues-paying members of our Affiliate Organiza-
represent the individuals who do the production and promotion, tions and library subscribers. If you are interested in becoming a
while a small number volunteer to run the WFAE. WFAE member but have no local or regional Affiliate Organization to
Most of the affiliates have chosen to be defined by their geographic join, please consider an individual membership. Information on how
borders and national identities. This is not required for starting a to become a member are is provided in the back pages of this journal.
WFAE Affiliate Organization. Other identities and cultural affinities Another important ingredient for our journal’s success is the people
can form an active community and use names that reflect this. who comprise our Editorial Committee and our Editor-in-Chief
Many individuals are contacting me about starting new WFAE Phylis Johnson and Guest Editor Jay Needham, American Society for
affiliates. They represent local communities from around the world, Acoustic Ecology members.
including Malaysia, India, and Taiwan. Others are interested in Following five years of dedicated service as Soundscape’s Editor-in-
reactivating affiliate groups that have been dormant. Of those, I am Chief, Phylis Johnson is transitioning her role over to Leah Barclay,
pleased to report that Luz Maria Sanchez has convened a meeting at who is working on the next volume of the journal, due in June 2018
Fonoteca Nacional in Mexico City to discuss formation of either a celebrating AFAE’s 20th anniversary and the Symposium and Interna-
new transnational Latin American affiliate, or a more national affiliate tional Ecoacoustics Congress 2018. On behalf of the WFAE, I want to
of Mexico. express our great appreciation and thanks to Phylis for picking up the
I was fortunate to be able to participate in the WFAE endorsed reigns from Hildegard Westerkamp in 2012, working with the guest
Invisible Places 2017 (http://invisibleplaces.org). Held in Ponta editors of the next five, high-quality volumes of Soundscape.
Delgado, São Miguel Island, Portugal in early April, the beautiful In August, Christopher DeLaurenti decided to step down as WFAE
landscape was a perfect backdrop for presentations, touring, and Secretary. I am deeply grateful for the three years of dedicated service
installations. Meeting with my cohort from Portugal afforded us he gave the WFAE, especially in the daunting project of migrating the
a change to revisit the possibilities of forming a Portuguese WFAE WFAE website following Gary Ferrington’s transition. Chris earned
Affiliate Organization. my deep respect as an exceptional artist and composer with a wealth
I was unable to attend the WFAE endorsed Sound of Memory of skills. Chris helped us find a successor, providing highly practi-
Symposium (https://www.kent.ac.uk/smfa/events/soundofmemory cal advice in distribution of tasks and a smooth transition for Tyler
symposium.html) in late April, in the United Kingdom. However, I Kinnear, who I am relieved and gratified to report has stepped up to
did go to the Sound + Environment 2017 conference in June/July at succeed Chris as our new WFAE Secretary. Tyler has been serving
University of Hull. This provided a chance for WFAE Vice President, on the WFAE Board as the Rep for the Canadian Association for
Leah Barclay and I to meet and discuss the WFAE with its partici- Sound Ecology (CASE) and comes highly recommended from CASE
pants. We were especially gratified by the large number of people who leaders. Tyler is resuming the WFAE website rebuild with assistance
expressed interest in reactivating the UK/Ireland Soundscape Collec- from Chris and Leah. Rebuilding the WFAE website includes adding
tive (UKISC). Efforts are now underway by Rob Mackay and Marcus the online library; a free and accessible archive of the WFAE’s online
Leadley to organize an active leadership team. Newsletter, all the past volumes of Soundscape, supplementary
Leah Barclay organized the fourth WFAE endorsed conference of articles, and other historical resources. The fully implemented website
this year, the 2017 Biosphere Soundscapes International Workshop and is intended to receive input from the WFAE’s network of Affiliated
Symposium “Perspectives on Listening” (http://www.acousticecology. Organizations, raising the profile of their diverse activities and content
com.au/blog/perspectives-on-listening-international-symposium- more frequently, enriching the global discourse in Acoustic Ecology.
showcasing-interdisciplinary-research-in-acoustic-ecology).
Taking place in Brisbane, Australia in early December, it featured
keynotes from Steven Feld and Monica Gagliano, “… in addition to Eric Leonardson, a Chicago-based audio artist, serves as the Execu-
panels, performances, immersive installations and field trips across tive Director of the World Listening Project, founder and co-chair
the rainforests of the Sunshine Coast and aquatic ecosystems of of the Midwest Society for Acoustic Ecology, and President of the
Noosa Biosphere Reserve in Queensland, Australia.” World Forum for Acoustic Ecology. He is Adjunct Associate Profes-
In addition to directing Biosphere Soundscapes, Leah serves as sor in the Department of Sound at The School of the Art Institute
President of the Australian Forum for Acoustic Ecology (AFAE), of Chicago (SAIC). As a performer, composer, and sound designer,
celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2018. The AFAE and WFAE have Leonardson created sound with the Chicago based physical theater
endorsed the Symposium and International Ecoacoustics Congress company Plasticene (1995–2012). Leonardson performs internation-
2018, organised by the International Society of Ecoacoustics (ISE) ally with the Springboard, a self-built instrument made in 1994 and
in partnership with QUT and Griffith University. The call for often presents on acoustic ecology to new audiences. As an artist and
proposals goes out in January. educator Leonardson's practice inhabits the elusive lines that separate
Most likely you are reading this journal on a digital device display art media and disciplines; the promise of technology to enable new
rather than paper. As mentioned previously, in my report for Volume possibilities in art, discovering connections between physical action,
15, the move to a digital journal became necessary as a cost-saving sound, images, and ideas through artistic collaborations and research.

2
 Guest Editorial, Sounds Emergent Part II
by Jay Needham

T
o resound on the insightful and varied career of 20th century Nora Farell. This recent history of hertzian dreaming charts works
composer and improviser Pauline Oliveros, is to think such as Sonic Babylon through all their important progressions and
ecologically. Understanding the breadth of her musical, paths of influence.
spiritual and communicative legacies requires us to extend our Ione, Pauline’s partner and collaborator shares with us her poem
figurative margins and dream in volumes of thought and volumes of This Day/That Day. The piece is a fitting coda for this colloquium
sound. This good work is ongoing and while some of Deep Listening’s as it celebrates not only their shared memories but it also reminds
life lessons and profound ideas are traced within this continuation readers that politically empowering moments occur while actively
of the Sounds Emergent thematic, it is designed as an overture to listening. The poem also affirms that these days of ours are wound
help chronicle aspects of her influence and to make evident an often together, listening collectively, dreaming and composing ideas of
unexplored but wonderfully nuanced kinship to Acoustic Ecology. It peace.
is my hope that the collective works in this edition serve to inspire
and that those who might not be familiar with her work, now have Acknowledgements
several new reference points that are rich in detail and insight.
It has been my great pleasure to work with Dr. Phylis
Our authors have added to an already resonant ecology of words
Johnson, a gifted thinker and scholar who has helped the journal
surrounding the important work of Pauline Oliveros and we are
in many insightful ways as Editor-in-Chief. She is an excellent
proud to present them here.
collaborator, listener and I look forward to opportunities where
For this edition of Soundscape, Edward Shanken and Yolande
we can continue to foster an atmosphere of shared knowledge and
Harris have co-authored an important new work, A Sounding
practice. I would also like to thank the WFAE and our journal
Happens: Pauline Oliveros, Expanded Consciousness, and Healing.
editorial Board for the opportunity to guest edit two editions of
Their fascinating approach to collaboration has rendered a hybrid
Soundscape—the experience has been very rewarding. My thanks go
form of arts scholarship that is poetic, historical, compositional
to all of our contributing authors; your work awakens me. Additional
and inspiring. In the work, Harris's sonic sensitivity is coupled with
thanks to our cover artist Todd Birdsong. I could not work in the
Shanken's acumen for history and the result is profoundly personal.
field or in the studio were it not for the good patience, humor and
One might say that their approach is eco-editorial as they co-compose
love of my wife Jennifer and daughter Miranda.
and dream art historical modalities between the lines.
Seth Cluett and Tomie Hahn playfully reflect on Pauline’s heartfelt – Jay Needham, Carbondale Illinois, October, 2017
influence in their Haiku for Pauline, as Pauline. Their contribution is
an artful meditation on the infinite possibilities of listening, as love,
as practice and as a fond remembrance of a teacher, collaborator Jay Needham, MFA is an artist, Professor, scholar at Southern
and friend. Their words provide clues to accessing a partial list of Illinois University Carbondale. He utilizes multiple creative
listening essentials, a minimal catalog of soundings made all the platforms and his works often have a focus on recorded sound,
more relevant to us because both Cluett and Hahn have each played archives and the interpretation of artifacts.  His sound art, works
a vital role in preserving Pauline’s archives. for radio and visual art have appeared at museums, festivals and on
Three Recent Moments with Pauline Oliveros, is artist Stephan the airwaves worldwide. Through applied aspects of his research,
Moore’s detailed contemplation on how his former teacher’s ideas Needham strives to affect positive change and bridge the gap between
still reward and inform. For Moore, Pauline’s voice gently guides the arts and the sciences. His most recent sound installation is on
his conception of a generative sound work in Melbourne just as it permanent display  in the BioMuseo, designed by Frank Gehry in
mentors him as he works through a temporary bout of tinnitus. His Panama. His research is published in the journals, Exposure, Sound-
duality of scale, that of the global din of traffic and to the reception of scape: The Journal of Acoustic Ecology, Leonardo Music Journal, and
his own interiority helps to frame the scope and import of Oliveros’ in the book Hearing Places: Sound, Place, Time, Culture. He has been
teachings. Ultimately, Moore would like the tenets of Ecology to invited to speak and present his work at many notable programs
blend and balance with those of Deep Listening and his proactive including the Amsterdam School for Cultural Analysis, the Depart-
bearing on scholarship and practice is an inclusive call to action. ment of Techno-Cultural Studies, University of California, Davis,
Amid our layered electronic landscapes, media artists have California Institute of the Arts and the School of the Art Institute,
sought to engage the specificity of site through sound in a number Chicago. Needham is a member of the boards of the World Forum of
of compelling ways, often-times aggregating the roles of archivist, Acoustic Ecology, the Institute for Neotropical Conservation and is
ecologist, artist and historian. Leah Barclay’s Augmenting Urban President of the Board at Carbondale Community Arts. He received
Space with Environmental Soundscapes and Mobile Technologies his MFA from The School of Art at California Institute of the Arts.
is a satisfying history of her many collaborations with the late www.jayneedham.net

3
 “A Sounding Happens: Pauline Oliveros,
Expanded Consciousness, and Healing”
by Edward Shanken and Yolande Harris
Santa Cruz, July 2017

A sounding happens. The sound continues or is followed or joined by another sound. The trajectory of sounding gradually constitutes a long line
of soundings that is perceived as a shape or form that is music. Within that trajectory are myriad decisions that are intuited and join to refer back
to the initial sounding and forward to the ending sound. – Pauline Oliveros 1

O
ur essay is written with the deepest (pun intended) respect The proper relationship of attention and awareness can be
for the life and work of Pauline Oliveros. We draw on symbolized by a circle with a dot in the center. –Pauline
her performances, recordings and writings, those of her Oliveros 6
numerous collaborators and others who write so well about her,
It is 1997, I am 21 years old and I am walking alone for four days
and on our own experiences. By writing together, by generating a
and nights along the Devon coast and Dartmoor, leaving sound
dialogue, or, perhaps better, by performing an improvisation around
sculptures for an ‘absent public’ with found materials along the
Pauline’s influence “a sounding happens.” Our metalogue of multiple
way. As a music student, I am absorbing the American experi-
voices, fragments of situations, and historical resonances parallels
mental composers and trying to figure out how my music and art
and reveals the subjective, experiential and embodied modes of
making relates to the environment. It is the first day of my journey.
knowing and healing that Oliveros’ work ultimately achieves and
Crossing a field with my dog Mungo, we are chased and encircled
teaches. As in publications by Oliveros and her collaborator Ione,
by a herd of aggressive young female cows. This occurs at the height
we blend methods of analysis and intuition through different modes
of the BSE ‘Mad Cow Disease’ epidemic and millions of cattle are
of writing.2 This format is designed to encourage the reader to allow
being slaughtered. I know that people have recently been trampled
connections and continuities to emerge. 3 Mirroring the participa-
to death by herds like this. They come in close and push us with
tory role of the audience in many of Oliveros’ compositions, your
their heads, rolling their eyes, stamping their feet, pushing Mungo
performance as a reader plays an integral role in producing meaning
over, cow saliva covering us. My dog is crouching on the ground
out of our words. Please listen and sound with us!
shaking but I hold him on the leash so that he doesn’t run and get
Listening to this space I sound the space. Listening to the trampled when he gets caught at the edge of the field. I am shouting
energy of all who are present I sound this energy. Listening and lunging at the cows, throwing my arms at them, stamping my
to my listening and your listening I make music here and feet, swaying around in circles to ward off the cows coming at my
now with the assistance of all that there is. I dedicate this back, trying not to be knocked over with the big pack on my back.
music to a world where peace is more exciting than war. We are encircled and there is no one around to help. I see a gate at
–Pauline Oliveros 4 the edge of the field, but we are in the middle. I steadily work my
way towards it, somehow keeping my feet, dragging Mungo along
Our process led us repeatedly to Oliveros’ goal of expanding
with me. Nearly there, I see a very large bull appear behind me.
consciousness. Our meditations converged on exploring what that
We make it to the gate, I throw myself over it, Mungo squeezes
actually means and where it may take us in the future. It is no small
underneath, we are both lying in a shaking heap, lost but safe from
feat to bridge such apparently contradictory worlds as technology
death by trampling.
and intuition, what we call “techno-intuition”. Allowing rational and
supra-rational forms of knowledge to occupy the same space is by “Listen to everything, all the time and remind yourself
its very nature open to criticism from one side or the other. Yet, as a when you are not listening.”–Pauline Oliveros 7
musician, Oliveros grounds these ideas and apparent contradictions
This oft-quoted imperative statement by Oliveros is actually two
in practical work, the practice of making music in the moment and
statements in one. The first part, “Listen to everything, all the time,”
the importance of the body in this process. She writes:
instructs us to be constantly attentive to sound, the sounds inside us
I consider my task to be to increase my conscious aware- and those outside, the interactions among those sounds, how they
ness as much as possible each day of my life and respect affect us and the environment in infinite feedback loops. Although
what the body signals to me through sensations and the two parts are joined by the conjunction “and” suggesting “a +
feelings just as much as what my verbal mind tells me b,” the second part, “remind yourself when you are not listening,” is
through thoughts and intuitions. Synthesis and integration more than additive; it is also contingent. The second part functions
of all of these modes of perception and knowing empowers like a conditional construct in a computer program, e.g., “if not
my musical being in the world. –Pauline Oliveros 5 x, then y.” Here the conditional construct takes the logical form,
“if not a, then a” or in narrative form, “if you are not listening to
Following her lead, we embrace her synthetic and integrated model
everything, all the time, then remind yourself to listen to everything,
of creating knowledge. Doing so provoked us to seriously investigate
all the time.” In other words, it is a recursive loop with a redundant
the following topics: altered states of consciousness, telepathy and
safeguard designed to lock the practitioner into the desired behavior.
telematics, the artist as shaman, healing, and deep listening for
The first part is itself a mantra: a self-programmed guiding principle
environmental transformation.
that reminds us to refocus on what is important. The second part is

4
subterranean constellation
Photo by Todd Birdsong.

Sounds attack, decay and fold – 

their latency enveloping and
possessing you like a spirit.

5
a meta-mantra; as a reminder to perform the first mantra, it loops of self, environment, and the relationship between them. To listen
us back to it if we should happen to stray. In cybernetic terms, the to everything all the time must incorporate both “focal attention”
second part functions as negative feedback that helps us maintain and “global attention” to use her terms and, ideally, one simultane-
our mantric self-programming, to regain our own inner balance and ously tunes-in to both. The performer must listen in a global mode
preserve homeostasis. The meta-mantra implicitly acknowledges in order to respond meaningfully but must shift to focal mode in
that the task is highly challenging and perhaps impossible to achieve order to “verify that the response was correct.” The performer must
in the ultimate sense, short of becoming divine. remove intentionality from the equation, for if she is focused on her
I am listening again to Oliveros’ most well-known recording, Deep own intentions she will be distracted from listening to everything all
Listening (1989), performed with Stuart Dempster and Panaiotis in the time. “The best state is for the player to have nothing in mind,”
a two million gallon underground cistern, precipitating the birth of Oliveros instructs. In improvised music performance, only by listen-
Deep Listening as a practice. Listening to the recording takes me ing to everything all of the time—other performers, the audience,
into this place deep underground and immerses me in a liquidity of the environment, oneself, and the interactions between them as a
sounds let loose by the musicians in collaboration with the cavern- temporal-spatial phenomenon—can one participate in the sort of
ous space. The long forty-five second reverberation makes these musically meaningful exchange to which Oliveros aspired. To this
sounds hang in the space, filling it as if with water, like adding a drop end, she thought that her role as a composer was to create an “atten-
of pigment into a bowl of water. Anthropologist Michael Taussig tional strategy” that structured how performers play and develop a
illustrates how color is not simply a quantitative characteristic piece as it unfolds through collective improvisation.
added to an existing object, but rather a “polymorphous magical Oliveros’ mantra/koan “Listen to everything…” applied not only
substance” that has the ability to transform states of consciousness.8 to her composition and performance practice but to her life and
This sense of color resonates with the sonic palette of Deep Listening: to life in general. As vital as it was to music, she believed that this
trombone, accordion, didgeridoo, voice, all sounds of the breath method was equally vital to human interactions and to interactions
and air. The musicians are pushing the air around them, mixing and between humans and non-humans on global and cosmic scales.
stirring these polymorphic magical substances. I imagine inhabiting Artist Cory Arcangel, a former Oliveros student at Oberlin College,
a three-dimensional liquid space, being free from gravity, in outer- recounted that,
space or underwater, and at the same time deeply grounded. As this
The thing I took away from your class was about living
sound-cauldron bubbles underground, the concentration is evident
more, about how to conduct yourself on a daily basis. It
as the musicians are absorbed into their environment. As a listener
sounds crazy, but I just remember thinking about creativity
I am pulled into the moment of each sonic happening, each sound-
as something bigger than “composition” or “counterpoint”
ing. These are ecstatic mental spaces, sonic spaces laid out for us to
or “performance.” It was a way of being that involved
explore in multiple dimensions, conjured by musicians with supreme
listening to others and the world . . . and responding.10
command of their improvisational abilities. In their own way and
with their own music, they are tapping into the age-old understand-
Oliveros believed that if everyone (or even many people) followed
ing of how music gives access to fields of expanded consciousness, to
this path, the resulting global expansion of consciousness would
trance states, those that are broader than the everyday awareness of
have healing effects on individuals, human civilization, and the
our conscious mind.
Earth. As she noted, the Sonic Mediations can catalyze healing under
I use the term “sonic consciousness” to access such states of
several conditions, including when “individuals feel the common
being.9 By this I mean a heightened awareness of sounds around us
bond with others through a shared experience” and “when one is
and of the materiality of sound. Learning to listen more acutely to
aware of and in tune with one’s surroundings.” In this sense, listening
the sonic environments we live in day-to-day is literally ear-opening
to everything all the time is itself an attentional strategy, a noble way
to my students. They inhabit an oculocentric world, in which their
of co-existing, and a survival technique.
sonic environment has been usurped by recorded music inces-
santly played through headphones. Listening to other beings, other The proper relationship of attention and awareness can
phenomena, other machines, strengthens relationships between us be symbolized by a circle with a dot in the center. The dot
and our environment. It demands our attentiveness to other beings, represents attention, and the circle, awareness. In these
and calls into question distinctions between human and nonhuman, respective positions, each is centered in relation to the
sentient and insentient. Sound is often referred to as immaterial other. Awareness can expand, without losing center or its
because it cannot be seen—a visual bias. Yes, it is non-visual, or balanced relationship with attention, and simultaneously
perhaps invisible, but its material nature allows it to be created, become more inclusive. Attention can be focused as fine
sculpted, and manipulated. Sound asks for and requires us to pay as possible in any direction, and can probe all aspects
attention. It requests a relationship with us. And it is active in these of awareness without losing its balanced relationship to
demands, which happen in the moment and can be fulfilled at that awareness. –Pauline Oliveros 11
moment. Sonic attention is acute and diffuse at the same time. It
It is 1998, I am 22 years old, sailing across the Sargasso Sea. I’m
has the effect of situating us within a field of relationships, a field
trying to complete my graduating project, this time by making a
of different qualities. Oliveros’ challenge to listen to everything all
journey at sea to assess an “absent public” in the Bermuda Triangle,
the time has the effect of shifting our state of awareness from one
legendary for disappearing ships. The sky is full of fast-growing
consumed with doing, to one attuned to being.
thunderclouds that pile up in high columns. We nervously watch
Oliveros admitted that listening to everything, all the time is a
them growing around us. We have never sailed in this part of the
“seemingly impossible task.” In this sense it is both a mantra and a
world before. There is almost no wind, so we motor for hours day
koan, an enigmatic riddle that serves an aspirational function. As
and night avoiding clumps of floating Sargassum seaweed. It is hot
intimated in Jack Kerouac’s beat manifesto, On the Road (1951), the
and the sun is powerful. We make the mistake of not rigging up
journey is at least as important as the destination. We may never
shade for fear it will impede our speed. Three or four days have
fully realize Oliveros’ command but the active pursuit of it reveals,
gone by and the heat overtakes me. Accompanied by the fatigue of
onion-like, ever-richer layers of “sonic consciousness,” a term that
menstruation my body gives in to exposure and heat-stroke, vomit-
suggests how listening deeply can generate a heightened awareness
ing, shaking and hallucinating. Look! I can see the tall masts of old

6
sailing ships over the edge of the horizon! All this time the inboard a remarkable convergence of psychedelics, hippy culture, rock
diesel engine is throbbing, producing a drone that resonates the and roll, electronic music, and experimental dance and theater,
boat. Half delirious, I pass the time singing with the vibrating “a meeting of the San Francisco avant-garde arts scene and the
overtones and difference tones. It never changes but I am always counterculture.”13 From Brand’s perspective, “The Grateful Dead
content to sing to myself. I realize that days and nights have gone and the Merry Pranksters pretty much stole the show.” The audience
by and despite seeing the water and weed pass by the hull of the “sort of applauded politely” for the avant-garde performances, but
boat and the small trail of disturbed water behind us, it appears as “they wanted to dance.”14 Ken Babbs, a Merry Prankster who helped
if we have moved nowhere. I can trace our position on the chart but organize the Trips Festival, credits the Dead with playing a central
I can see no visible change in my surroundings. We are floating in role in the Acid Tests: they were “the power that propelled the rocket
the center of a disk, never moving closer to the circle of the horizon ship everyone rode to the stars and beyond the whole night the acid
that surrounds us. test took place.”15
It is unlikely that Oliveros rode the Dead’s rocket ship to the
Psychedelics were probably the single most significant
stars and beyond in 1966. Indeed, she and Subotnik were alarmed
experience in my life. Otherwise I think I would be going
by Sender’s involvement with Richard Alpert and the psychedelic
along believing that this visible reality here is all that there
movement in 1965.16 They politely declined invitations to partake
is…. [T]here are levels of organizations of consciousness
with Sender, despite his efforts to convince them of “the beauty of an
that are way beyond what people are fooling with in day to
LSD trip and how it could inform our humanity and creative work.”17
day reality. –Jerry Garcia 12
According to the Trips program, Oliveros performed with Elizabeth
Oliveros, like the beats and the generation that came of age in the Harris and the 12-foot light sitar as part of the Sunday 10pm Acid
1960s in the US, was seeking alternatives to the restrictive, parochial Test, with a long list of participants including the Grateful Dead.
culture of post-war US:  McCarthyism and the House Un-American At a “Side Trip” at the Encore Theater on Sunday at 3pm, Oliveros
Activities Committee, the fear of the bomb, homophobia and other performed A Theater Piece: an hour-long, collaborative, multimedia
sexual hang-ups, patriarchy and the subjugation of women, the event. Sound sources, including Oliveros’ compositions Mnemon-
military-industrial complex and the Viet Nam War, sprawling and ics III and Rock Symphony both recorded at SFTMC in 1965, were
monotonous housing developments like Levittown, and the cookie- processed by tape delay.18
cutter lifestyle these elements conspired to sustain. Economic Like many artists of her generation, Oliveros was on her own
prosperity and a large, post-war generation fueled a powerful youth path to expanded consciousness that had a kinship with psychedelic
culture that opposed the “Leave It to Beaver” world of their parents. culture but without all the accouterments or popular acclaim.
It witnessed, participated in, and benefitted from a concomitance of Through her initial study of Karate and subsequent exploration
factors, including the Civil Rights movement, the attitudinal shift that of other non-western disciplines and systems of knowledge, her
beat poets and writers offered, the Women’s Liberation movement, practice and process became increasingly meditative. By 1970, she
the sexual revolution, the proliferation of rock and roll, the availabil- had begun writing the Sonic Meditations, a landmark in contem-
ity of marijuana and psychedelics, and widespread protests against porary music composition that continues to inspire composers and
the war in Viet Nam. They were emboldened to question authority performers nearly half a century later. As William Osborne observes,
and to reshape the world in a new way.
“Oliveros’ phenomenological analysis of listening led
The Summer of Love, the Grateful Dead, the Haight-Ashbury
her to a special interest in the involuntary changes that
hippies and drug culture were thus all part of a larger shift in
occurred while the Ensemble sustained tones…. [S]he
consciousness, sometimes referred to as the “new sensibility,” a term
began to lead improvisations that encouraged spontane-
popularized by Susan Sontag and Tom Wolfe. One aspect of this shift
ous, subconscious transformation.” In this respect, her
was explicitly involved with trying to expand consciousness through
“involvement with meditation synthesized academic
music and psychedelic drug experiences, often in combination. The
research with the revolutionary, consciousness-expanding
Grateful Dead (or the Dead, as they are known for short), performed
characteristics of the new sensibility.” 19
at some of the mid-sixties “Acid Test” parties hosted by Ken Kesey
and the Merry Pranksters, in which people “turned-on” to LSD, Although she shunned drugs, Oliveros recognized parallels between
which was legal at the time. the elevated states of consciousness induced by psychedelics and
Both Oliveros and the Dead were committed to improvised music, those stimulated by her own methods. To wit, regarding the Deep
which was essential to their common passion to always be creat- Listening class that she taught at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in
ing something new. The Dead experimented with LSD and other the 2000s, she explained,
psychedelics both onstage and off, and their music, particularly with
I teach experiencing a heightened awareness of sound and
respect to improvisation, evolved in relationship with these experi-
sounding and silence, without drugs…. What happens is
ences. The Dead’s extended improvisations—they are the original
that your own serotonin—dopamine—is released when
“jam band”—are a distinctive feature of their live performances. Like
you experience the pleasure of listening and you don’t
Oliveros’ improvised music and attentional strategies, in the Dead’s
necessarily need anything to amplify that, although some
jams and their even more abstract “Space” group improvisations, the
people need drugs to break through to the point where
band members closely listen to each other, intuitively anticipate and
they can have that experience. It’s why there’s so much
respond to each other’s sounds, and channel musical ideas from the
drugging going on in the student population. Deep Listen-
audience and from other sources.
ing is an inexpensive, healthful, and accessible alternative
Oliveros and the Dead both performed as part of the legendary
to drugs. Drugs take over the body whereas the effects of
Trips Festival, a three-day acid test in San Francisco in 1966, with
Deep Listening come from one’s own abilities.20
“Side Trips” at other venues. The event was co-produced by Kesey
and the Pranksters, Stewart Brand (who published the Whole Oliveros shared a passion for the nexus of music improvisation and
Earth Catalog in 1968), and Ramon Sender, who co-founded the expanded consciousness with the Grateful Dead and psychedelic
San Francisco Tape Music Center (SFTMC) with Oliveros and culture. She tuned-in to and followed her own idiosyncratic path
Morton Subotnick in 1962. The Trips Festival thus brought together with the rigor that her vision for the future demanded. In common

7
with the utopian dreams that characterize the new sensibility, she healers. The processes and techniques in which we were immersed
unflaggingly pursued a new musical language that pushed the limits had notable healing effects, both in the short and long term. Healing
of the western concert tradition and entered into the domain of takes place through the use of sound itself, the use of voice, specific
healing. Ultimately, this pursuit strived to bring “music to a world vibrational frequencies as they affect the body, the support of one’s
where peace is more exciting than war.” 21 breath, the support of the group, and the focus of listening. As
Stuart Dempster, trombonist in the Deep Listening Band, writes,
It is 2009, I am 34 and in Amsterdam, telling my Dutch therapist
“The therapeutic component is so strong in this practice that one
how disturbed I am that the EMDR treatment he has been giving
can make a case for it being the primary purpose of the work. There
me has changed an old repetitive nightmare. While listening to
are audio, dreaming and movement exercises throughout containing
clicks once per second alternating between my ears, I have been
either a direct or indirect healing message or result.”24
recounting the moment of explosion of my Satellite Sounder
In the Deep Listening Retreats, Oliveros’ own techniques are
lithium ion batteries in a hotel and the subsequent fire. I remember
amplified by those of her collaborators, Heloise Gold (dancer/chore-
exhibiting my GPS instruments at the Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt
ographer and T’ai Chi/Qi Gong instructor) and Ione, (playwright/
and it is going well. I put the batteries to charge at night to be ready
director and “Dream Keeper”). This combination of approaches
for the next day’s events. A sudden flash and what seems to be
places the composer’s work in a context of therapeutic healing rather
an electric shock jolts me awake. I smell foul smoke and open my
than academic scholarship and electronic music. The early Sonic
eyes to see a fire just an arm’s length from my head! Remember-
Meditations were initially developed as a way of bringing presence
ing hotel fire codes I do my best to smother the fire with a pillow,
and voice, and the healing that they bring, to women who were
open windows, and try to find the emergency number through
under-represented in musical life in her community at UC San
a swimming sea of numbers on the hotel telephone. It rings, “I
Diego.25 In the Deep Listening Retreats, Gold, Ione, and Oliveros
have a report of a fire in your room” … (I later discover that John
combined practical techniques of sound improvisation, dream work,
Cage was in a fire in Frankfurt too, somehow that intrigues me,
and movement to help participants recalibrate, transform, and heal.
what kind of initiation rite is this anyway?!) But that was not the
By providing a model of compassion and generosity throughout,
nightmare that has changed. Now, instead of the cows chasing me
trust is built up through the collective relationships formed by the
and waking in a panic, the cows are walking the other way! How,
participants. The Deep Listening community that develops around
please tell me how this is happening?! He answers that he wishes he
these retreats and continues afterwards demonstrates the need for
was a psychotherapist and able to interpret dreams but this is not
methods that enable people who feel marginalized to claim their
his expertise and he really doesn’t understand how EMDR could
voices and strengthen their positions.
achieve such results. He becomes so concerned that he immediately
stops the therapy. I realize I need a dream helper to heal myself! It is the summer of 2010, I am 35, and immersed in a week-long
Deep Listening Retreat with Pauline Oliveros, Ione, and Heloise
Healing is central to Oliveros’ work and her approaches share affini-
Gold, at a small art center in rural Catalonia. I am staying in a
ties with recent therapeutic methods. The last decades have seen a
very primitive stable and I wake very early, walk across the field
dramatic increase in the clinical use of mindfulness practices such
high with wild flowers at dawn, meet others under the small pine
as MBSR (Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction) to treat multiple
trees; silence, no talking, walking meditation up through the woods,
forms of stress and psychological illness.22 Mindfulness and medita-
stopping and lifting the arms in a great arc breathing in and pulling
tion practices (purposely detached from any religious or spiritual
the energy into the lower body, to a large golden field; T’ai Chi and
tradition) have entered the mainstream, from large corporations to
Qi Gong, group movement improvisations, facing the six directions;
the military, as ways of increasing success in stressful environments.
the slow walk back to the small house and rough land around it for
There has also been a cultural absorption and often, appropriation,
breakfast under the trees; all very open, warm summer weather,
of meditation and body practices that come from various spiritual
calmness throughout and an expansion of listening, an expansion
traditions, notably Buddhism and Hinduism. While acknowledging
of general awareness, a sense of being part of the place and not a
her specific influences and interests in spirituality, Oliveros does not
separate visitor on it.
espouse any particular way but encourages a complete openness.
As a participant in a Deep Listening session, or as a listener to her We are eating breakfast in silence—aware of the awkwardness of
concerts, or as a reader of her many writings, one is never required to being with others and not using words to navigate—how to thank
adopt a specific spiritual path. Rather, while drawing on an eclectic without using words, how to ask for something? Yet this attunes me
mix of influences her work embraces and celebrates the individual’s to other’s needs, closer to the subtler exchanges of the group and
choice.23 individuals. Food of course tastes better, eating is more conscious,
Through her intensive studies of Zen Buddhist, Tibetan Buddhist being with people without using words I feel more present and
and yoga meditation and the body practices of T’ai Chi, Qigong engaged. My sensory awareness of the early morning environment
and Karate, Oliveros developed a discipline and language of mind- is magnified.
body energetic flow and control. Like the techniques upon which
After practicing sonic meditations with Pauline (the Tuning
she drew, her practice and pedagogy are designed to rebalance the
Meditation is particularly powerful for the group) Ione the Dream
body’s complex systems and thus promote health. It is inspiring to
Keeper leads us into the week’s work we will be doing on dreams.
observe the flowing forms of a group doing Qigong. However, it
This is partly so that we can learn to listen all the hours of day
is transformative to experience in one’s own body how each form
and night while awake and while asleep. Ione asks us to always
activates particular energetic fields and flows. In other words, these
recount our dreams in the first person present tense, which helps
practices must be directly experienced in order to gain an embodied
to bring them into present consciousness. She also lets us know
understanding of their physical and mental effects. Similarly, one
that there is no one proper interpretation of a dream, and that a
cannot fully understand or be transformed by Oliveros’ work without
dream fragment contains a kind of holographic image of the whole
experiencing it directly. Her Sonic Meditations and Deep Listen-
dream. We form dream-pods, mine is a group of three women, and
ing workshops were designed in order to enable non-musicians to
we work on our dreams everyday together. I start to notice that I
participate. In addition to musicians like myself, The Deep Listen-
dream almost every night of explosions and fires, usually in cities.
ing Retreat that I attended also included a number of professional
By bringing the dreams into my conscious mind and intervening

8
sounding; resounding
Photo by Todd Birdsong

There is a binary relationship

with sound; the internal
and external that can be
expressed like morse code
moving between us and our
environments.

9
with them through lucid dreaming I begin the long but real process tions and certain individual artists as the shamans whose neurotic
of healing. incantations could liberate us from those metaprograms, for the
shaman “magnifies every human gesture until it assumes archetypal
It is about two months after the retreat and I wake with an unusual
or collective importance.”27
dream that I intuit concerns the dream-pod, so I share it with
The work of Roy Ascott, like that of Oliveros, emphasizes
them. We are now in Amsterdam, Catalonia, and Colombia and
consciousness and joins art, science, and technology with various
have not communicated since the retreat. This is the unedited email
spiritual traditions.28 In late 1990s, Ascott’s conception of art was
correspondence between the three of us about this dream:
dramatically impacted by his participation in shamanic rituals with
Yolande’s dream, 5 September: I am crossing a big bridge over a Kuikuru pagés in the Amazon and through his indoctrination into
canal and walking through fields to get to the river banks over there the Santo Daime community in Brazil. Ascott (who has organized
to swim, it is hot so i take off my shirt, there are people around, it the annual “Consciousness Reframed” international conferences
is quite busy out here, hot day. two young women are coming out since 1997, when he also first encountered the pagés) writes that,
of the water with all their clothes on, wet. going on through a path “The shaman is the one who ‘cares’ for consciousness, for whom the
with bare feet and tall tall grasses, i come to a young woman with navigation of consciousness for purposes of spiritual and physical
long hair, she stands up and announces in a strong voice “i have wholeness is the subject and object of living.” In states of conscious-
been dreaming! it was here, these fields, full of white ostriches!” i ness expanded through highly developed ayahuasca rituals, the
ask if she’s seen ostriches before? “yes, but this field is full of them, shaman can “pass through many layers of reality, through different
hundreds.” I think of white feathers. realities” and engage with “disembodied entities, avatars, and the
phenomena of other worlds. He sees the world through different
Olga’s response, 10 September: Our project is called PARINAMA
eyes, navigates the world with different bodies.”29 The shaman can
(impermanence in Sanskrit language) … the couple of the centre
embody the consciousness of other beings, including other animals,
call us the “eco-misticas”!
and in so doing gains insight into how, for example, humans can
Three days ago we went to a fabulous place in the middle of the prey on much more powerful animals like leopards and alligators
jungle, with a water fall and a natural piscine in between trees and that might otherwise prey on far smaller, weaker, and slower animals
many plants... we feel so peaceful there that we start to imagine like us. The shaman can exorcise evil spirits that have overtaken
and reproduce a part of our performance. someone. By absorbing that spirit and then purging himself of it,
the shaman can restore the victim to health. This procedure can be
We decided to start our performance with us both coming from
extremely dangerous, so the shaman must be very strong of spirit,
under the water and going outside with our clothes on… wet…
capable of healing himself, and very knowledgeable in his craft.30
Also we are planning to do a curtain of feathers… to put in the Oliveros performed some of the shamanic roles described by
middle of the jungle… to transmit the message of in between two Burnham and Ascott. The “navigation of consciousness for purposes
realities… of spiritual and physical wholeness” was “the subject and object” of
her personal and professional life. Her compositions develop atten-
Ximena’s response, 11 September: One week ago when I read your
tional strategies that enable performers and the audience member
dream Yolande, I smile and smile, because the weekend before in
to “pass through many layers of reality, through different realities.”
Colombia for the first time in my life I see...Ostriches! We went to
Finally, as many personal testimonials demonstrate, the healing
a farm where they have a tour and explain the life of Ostriches,
aspect of Oliveros’ work is profound.
and then we can play with them, and feed them. The guide was
More closely connected to Pauline Oliveros’ circle, American
telling us how it is lucky to collect feathers, and he gave me a bunch
Experimental composer Sam Ashley, son of composer Robert
of these to take home. We were on horses, and from my pocket
Ashley, self-identifies as a shaman.31 In response to eulogies shared
the feathers were trying to fly. Beautiful feathers, incredibly soft
on the occasion of his father’s death, Sam Ashley wrote:
and with a special oil that’s used to heal scars, amongst others.
Ostriches are very incredible animals strong and fragile, strong and I have been a mystic for more than 45 years. An actual
fragile. The eggs are strong like rocks, but fragile as porcelain. 
 “shaman.” That’s not a word I toss around because it’s cool.
I’m sure I’ve spent at least one third of my actual lifetime
On some level, music, sound, consciousness and religion
in trance. Being a mystic for real just means one thing
are all one, and she [Pauline Oliveros] would seem to be
ultimately: trance, lots of trance (“meditation”, whatever).
very close to that level. –John Rockwell 26
Like hours/day every day. Everything that could be
Oliveros’ praxis bears striking affinities with shamanic rituals. A considered real “shamanism” flows from that.
shaman is a special individual, one who is partly self-selected and
Oliveros strove to listen to everything all of the time. Meditation
partly anointed by other shamans to play a unique role in a commu-
and other mind-body practices were integral to her work. Like Sam
nity. The shaman is at once revered and feared because of their
Ashley, she must have spent a large proportion of her lifetime in a
powers, which can both cure and harm. Often a shaman proves their
trance. She pursued this path not because it was cool but because
shamanic potential through a self-healing process. The shaman is
she was compelled to do so. It was, to paraphrase Burnham, a naked
both of this world and of the world beyond. The shaman communi-
projection of her personality. Her very being questioned and resisted
cates with spirits and ancestors in the beyond, learns from them, and
the status quo of classical music and western culture in general. She
brings that knowledge or wisdom back to this world in order to cure
contributed to healing them by revealing, as Burnham proposed,
ill members of their community and to protect or heal the commu-
their mythic structures and metaprograms, by exorcising toxic spirits
nity as a whole. In “The Artist as Shaman” Jack Burnham states that,
that unwittingly inhabit us and our cultural forms. From Bye Bye
“it is precisely those artists involved in the most naked projections
Butterfly (1965) to Sonic Mediations (1974) to Deep Listening (1989-
of their personalities who will contribute the most to society’s
ongoing), Oliveros reprogrammed us to “listen to everything all the
comprehension of its self.” For Burnham, society’s pathologies could
time,” helping us to heal ourselves and to mend our relationship with
be overcome only through revealing its “mythic structures” and
others. Over decades of self-induced trances Oliveros expanded her
unfolding its “metaprograms.” He saw art as a vehicle for such revela-
consciousness, tuned into the consciousness of others, and helped

10
others do the same. As a result, her work plays an important role in occurs naturally. Allow the intensity of the vibrations
stimulating new ways of thinking that are the prerequisite to healing to increase very slowly. Continue as long as possible,
society’s pathologies and to recreating the world in a more sensitive, naturally, and until all others are quiet, always observing
inclusive, and caring way. your own breath cycle.”
As arranged through their correspondence, both artists performed
This altered state of consciousness in performance is the Sonic Mediations over the same weekend, May 21-22, with their
exhilarating and inspiring. The music comes through as if own groups in remote locations (Oliveros in Joshua Tree, California
I have nothing to do with it but allow it to emerge through and Lockwood in Epping Forest, England)34. Lockwood recently
my instrument and voice. –Pauline Oliveros 32 noted that they were “interested in a telepathic exchange between
our two groups, in seeing if it was possible. I think I recall some
It is 2011, I am 36 years old, and I am transitioning to the second
intriguing convergences but could not swear to it after all this time.”35
stage of labor with my first child. I am experiencing an altered
state of consciousness. We are at home as is the Dutch custom, in When we tread, do we tread feeling through our sensitive feet, part
an Amsterdam apartment four floors up. I have been meditating of the place we are in, or do we tread heavily on top of it as a visitor
on my breathing through the contractions for 18 hours without or a clumsy one who stumbles in unaware? Can we feel the roots
making a sound and the endorphins, the body’s pain relief, have grow down through each step, the vibration of the ground for other
swamped me and presumably my baby too. I need to communicate creatures, as our weight lands? Do we feel the lift up, the flight into
something to Eddie who’s been with me all along, but the hormones the air around as the birds lift off? Can we inhabit this exchange
flooding my system make me able to speak only one or two words. of weight and lift, ground and flight? Flying? Lightening the energy
The midwife comes close, holds my hands, looks in my eyes and through the body and upwards, moving it with the breath through
tells me I must listen very carefully to her, which I hear and try to to the voice and with other voices for lift-off.
register. But my body is beginning to explode and a deep loud long
It is 2014, I am 39 years old and giving a performance / lecture
roar rushes through me from the depth of my belly. I experience it
on my recent work at Design Media Arts UCLA. Ed calls this my
as a massive force taking over my whole body released through my
“coming-out”. I’m trying to explain how I experienced flying with
mouth where my vocal chords are just part of the huge vibration
bald eagles over the Puget Sound. I am very nervous about this in
rushing through me. I have never heard or felt anything like this. I
an academic setting in case its dismissed as an irrational anecdote,
loose my voice. I lose my voice.
which would be reasonable after all, but it is so central to my work
Relying on the body to play the music, listening not in musical styles that I can’t adequately describe what I’m exploring without at least
that come through the intellectual mind but listening to what comes attempting to talk about it. Pauline Oliveros’ example gives me
through and to the musical body, creates a different kind of flow, a confidence. I read aloud:
different choice of musical material, and an openness to change in
“I am a hermit. I inhabit an eyrie. I look down on the resting eagles.
the moment that is external to stylistic musical sense but has bodily
I fly with them. There is no sense of time in this journey. Just the
musical integrity. An embodied knowledge is built up through
gliding of wings through air and the motion of water. Can you
experience and deep listening to all sounds all the time, integrating
look through my layered lenses, open your ears and hear the air
global attention with focal attention. Such music is not reactive but
moving? Can you listen to the distance with me?”36
super sensitive and alert. The sound is channeled through the body
of the receptive musician. Sometimes it’s as if someone else is playing Telepresence and telepathy were recurring themes in Oliveros’ work.
through you, that the music comes from another place that is not Perhaps her first explicit reference to telepathy appears in her theater
your conscious mind. piece, Aeolian Partitions (1969), which calls on both players and
audience members to influence the sounds performed. The third
Humanity has been forced to a new frontier by the
sonic mediation, which consists of “Pacific Tell” and “Telepathic
accelerating rate of change instigated by technology. This
Improvisation” is amplified by the fourth (untitled) which instructs
frontier is the exploration of consciousness: all forms of
groups of participants to perform either part of the third mediation
consciousness and especially human consciousness.
while “attempting inter-group or interstellar telepathic transmis-
–Pauline Oliveros, “Software for People,” 1980.
sion.” Telepathy also is manifest in the dreamwork element of the
The joining of western science and technology with non-western Deep Listening Retreats, as described above.
systems of knowledge demarcates a domain of inquiry that Oliveros Also joining telepresence and telepathy, in the early 1970s, visual
shares with a number of composers and artists of her generation, artist Nina Sobell began developing her brain-wave drawings.
though with only a handful of women, notably Éliane Radigue Whereas Alvin Lucier’s Music for Solo Performer (1965) utilized
and Annea Lockwood. Oliveros and Lockwood, the pioneering biofeedback to allow a single artist to trigger sound, Sobell’s Brain
electronic music composer who also had been studying meditation, Wave Drawing LA (1974) deployed biofeedback and closed-circuit
had a lively correspondence. A note from Oliveros to Lockwood in video to visualize nonverbal communication between two people
November 1970 ends with the warning, “Watch out for telepathic as represented by the interplay of their alpha waves. Two subjects
pitches. I send them out once in a while.”33 In May 1971, prior to were connected to EEGs, with output sent to an oscilloscope, which
their publication, Oliveros shared several early Sonic Mediations displayed the combined brain wave emission of both subjects. “I
with Lockwood, including “Teach Yourself to Fly” and “Telepathic arranged for them to sit very closely together, watching their faces
Improvisation.” on a monitor in front of them, and their Brain Wave drawing was
superimposed on their faces,” Sobell explained.37 One person’s brain
Teach Yourself To Fly: “Any number of persons sit in a
waves were represented on the x-axis and the other’s on the y-axis,
circle facing the center. Illuminate the space with a dim
forming a lissajous pattern (an irregular circle). If both participants
blue light. Begin by simply observing your own breathing.
simultaneously emit brain waves of similar amplitude and frequency,
Always be an observer. Gradually allow your breathing
the circle becomes regular; if they are not on the same wavelength,
to become audible. Then gradually introduce your voice.
so to speak, the circle will distort. Paralleling Oliveros’ research on
Allow your vocal cords to vibrate in any mode which
networked improvisation, in 2007, Sobell and her collaborators

11
made a brain wave drawing over the Internet between Poland and community and healing through music making; the ability
Los Angeles. As she recounted, “we could see each other’s physi- to sound and perceive the far reaches of the universe much
cal image, color-keyed brainwave output, and text message, all in as whales sound and perceive the vastness of the oceans.
web-time. My idea is creating a non-verbal intimacy in cyberspace, This could set the stage for interdimensional galactic
one world one time.”38 improvisations with yet unknown beings.44
As mentioned above, Ascott’s work, like that of Oliveros, empha-
Even as Oliveros consistently frames her work within the inexorable
sizes expanded forms of consciousness. His praxis draws parallels
march of technology and scientific research, at the same time she
between cybernetics and psi phenomena, telematics and telepathy,
insistently grounds her practice in embodied experience, an element
and virtual reality and expanded states of shamanic consciousness.
that Ascott de-emphasizes. In this respect it must be noted that since
At the same moment that Oliveros was writing the Sonic Meditations,
the 1960s, women artists have been the primary force in making the
Ascott’s 1970 essay, “The Psibernetic Arch,” drew parallels between
body central to art discourses.45 Oliveros was a key champion of this
“two apparently opposed spheres: cybernetics and parapsychology.
aesthetic shift. Throughout her career, she has combined technol-
The west and eastsides of the mind, so to speak; technology and
ogy and intuition in body-centered practices that rely on affective
telepathy; provision and prevision; cyb and psi.” He further proposed
experience and subjective reflection.
that, “art will become, and is perhaps already beginning to be the
expression of a psibernetic culture in the fullest and most hopeful I trust the accuracy of my body in this enterprise. I am
sense: the art of visual and structural alternatives.”39 bypassing “thinking” my way in the improvisation. I
The work of Oliveros and Ascott joins technology and intuition.40 am counting on and trusting my body to manifest the
Oliveros’ artistic aims for expanding consciousness and transform- music purely and freely …. I have progressed through
ing culture share affinities with Ascott’s aspirations for joining many changes in music technology from the end of the
“cyb and psi” and for instant, global artistic exchanges. Recalling 1950s to the present. Along the way I developed a bodily
his first experience with computer networking, Ascott wrote, “In relation to machines for making music. It has always been
Mill Valley, California in the spring of 1978, I got high on network- necessary for me to have a bodily performing relationship
ing. I had anticipated the condition ... years earlier, formulating a with sound. I now understand this to be so because of the
prospectus for creative work that could, as I saw it, raise conscious- essential knowledge of the body that is preconscious and
ness to a higher level.”41 Joining east and west, ancient Taoist nonverbal.46
oracle and silicon techno-futurism, Ascott’s Ten Wings (1982)
Oliveros is techno-intuitive. Her methods for extending embodied
connected artists in sixteen cities on three continents via computer
knowledge and expanding consciousness, together with her vision-
networking to facilitate the first planetary throwing of the I Ching.
ary proposals for the musical application of future technologies
In a tellingly-titled essay, “Art and Telematics: Toward a Network
in ways that “create community and healing”, lay a foundation for
Consciousness,” the artist explained the result: “We got close to
transforming our relationship with the Earth. Sound is relationship.
eighth hexagram, pi (holding together/union), but the bottom line
Listening deeply brings us into a relationship with the environment;
of the lower trigram was unbroken, which transformed the reading
we merge with it. Oliveros’ emphasis on our embodied relation-
into the third hexagram, chun (difficulty at the beginning), which
ship to sound leads to the recognition of our inherently embodied
was undoubtedly true.”42
relationship with the environment. Which leads to the many threads
Ascott’s praxis, especially his theorization of telematic art, offers
that link Oliveros to areas outside her domain of music, sound and
profound insights that could inform research on networked music
healing, in particular to current ecological thinking and art making.
performance. Participants in Ascott’s telematic art projects experi-
In Becoming Animal, eco-philosopher David Abram explores the
enced an emergent, global field of consciousness, which the artist
sensual relationship between human and the “more-than-human”
framed in terms of Teilhard’s concept of the noosphere, Gregory
world. He warns of “machinic modes of activity that stifle the eros
Bateson’s notion of “mind at large,” and Peter Russell’s model of
between our body and the leafing forest” and claims that “it is time
the global brain. In words that might as easily have come from
to listen … [to] the animal stirrings that move within our limbs” and
Oliveros, Ascott proclaimed that telematics “constitutes a paradigm
to “the tensions expressed by the sounds or movements of another
change in our culture and … what may amount to a quantum leap in
creature ... [that] sometimes trigger a resonance in my own flesh”.47
human consciousness.”43 Throughout their careers, both artists have
Embodied sentient knowledge is central to our understanding of
pushed the limits of their art and consciousness. Oliveros’ musings
other life on our planet.
on quantum listening and quantum improvisation from the late
Deep Listening is web-like in its implications: “Listening involves
1990s to the mid-2000s parallel Ascott’s musings on technoetics and
a reciprocity of energy flow, and exchange of energy, sympathetic
photonics from the same period, both offering artistic visions for
vibration: tuning into the web of mutually supportive intercon-
the future.
nected thoughts, feelings, dreams, and vital forces comprising our
Oliveros embraces emerging technology and is especially inter-
lives—empathy, the basis for compassion and love.”48 In 2009, artists
ested in applying it in ways that are intuitive or not purely functional.
Beth Stevens and Annie Sprinkle (who once worked with Oliveros)
In “Quantum Improvisation” (1999) she lists the ideal attributes for a
married the Earth, launching the “EcoSexual” movement, which
future artificial intelligence “chip” with which she could make music.
celebrates the human relationship with the Earth as a lover, promot-
They include the imaginable technical ability to calculate at speed
ing caring, responsibility and activism. The EcoSexual Manifesto
and complexity beyond the human brain, as well as more abstract
calls “We invite and encourage ecosexuals to come out. We are
psychic abilities, including:
everywhere. We are polymorphous and pollen-amorous”.49 Donna
the ability to understand the relational wisdom that Haraway describes their work as having a “polymorphic sensuality
comprehends the nature of musical energy; the ability that is for and of the earth”50, which recalls Taussig’s “polymorphic
to perceive and comprehend the spiritual connection magical substance” of color and Oliveros’ first Deep Listening
and interdependence of all beings and all creation as the recording in the cistern. Like Oliveros, the ecosexuals present a
basis and privilege of music making; the ability to create positive, highly charged, celebration of life, aligned with Haraway’s

12
mantra “Staying with the Trouble”, a call to keep focused and to not people’s musical memories rather than through memories’ surrogate,
allow end-of-the-world nihilism to deflect our energies away from notation, creates a sensation that the music is alive. It is as if the music
healing our troubled-planet.51 In her Camille Stories, which follow has a life of its own, that it is continuous, and that musicians tap into
five generations of a symbiotic human-butterfly child, Haraway it to bring it into our present hearing. This aliveness and continuity of
revives the importance of story telling, or “speculative fabulation”, music, requires the necessary channeling by the musicians to bring it
proposing the method of creatively imagining possible futures alive in our sensual world.
across multiple generations. It reminds me of Oliveros’ incantations I come to these realizations while driving through the desert
on future listening, for example “how will we meet the genius of expanses of Joshua Tree, California. Finally Jasmin is asleep in the back
more rapidly evolving interactive culture—a genius of culture that seat, and I say to Eddie, “that’s it! Its as if the music is always there,
could give us freedom of perception beyond present, physical, and every music possible is always there, and we as musicians tap into it,
mental limitations? Will we stop the evolution with destruction and channel it through us, bring it into our waking consciousness—that’s
annihilation, or embrace it courageously to go forward into the new what I mean by sonic consciousness!” The desert and the ocean tend
world we are creating with all of its edges?”52 to induce such realizations in me. The desert speaks to me, clarifies
Visionary imaginings of future ecological states of being are my thoughts, I see things clearly and held in a crystal air full of bright
invoked through Deep Listening. Oliveros’ proposed ways of light dark shadows dust and distance. It may be called a hallucination,
listening, rather than being confined to the audible (as is Acoustic yes certainly music is always everywhere all the time all around me
Ecology), opens up richer possibilities of interaction with multiple and all around everyone else far away from here. Its clearest here right
sensual modes of perception and being. Deep listening expands now a water fall of falling sounds music that I catch dreaming some
the possibilities of relationships beyond any kind of sensory hierar- things sounded some things not yet sounded some never sounded the
chy—listening deeply teaches us how to relate to webs of interrelated ecomisticas the ecomusicas. Yes even a waterfall can appear in the
phenomena on varying scales. It is this potential of sound to reach desert. I can fly.
beyond sound, that helps me think of artists who are engaging in
practical solutions to current and future ecological problems. Artists Endnotes
Helen Mayer Harrison and Newton Harrison, who were colleagues 1 Pauline Oliveros, “Improvising Composition: How to Listen in the
of Oliveros at University of California, San Diego, have designed Time Between,” in Gillian Siddall and Ellen Waterman, eds. Negotiated
large-scale interventions on the scale of watersheds and continents, Moments: Improvisation, Sound, and Subjectivity. (Duke University
transcending geopolitical boundaries and the aesthetic confines of Press, 2016): 89.
art institutions. Their visionary scale of reimagining the world and
2 Harris’ personal reflections interspersed in our essay emulate Oliveros’
the practical solutions they have developed emerge from an ongoing
Deep Listening: A Composer’s Sound Practice, iUniverse, 2005 and Ione’s
forty-five year dialogue between the artists and the life-web. “We
Listening in Dreams, iUniverse, 2005, which both include extensive
always have to listen to what the life-web wants,” they explain.53
personal commentaries written by participants who worked with them.
Echoing the land ethics of indigenous people and the tenets of
biodynamic farming practices, early in their career the Harrisons 3 For another example of joint writing inspired by Oliveros, see Ximena
made a promise that their art would never take more from the life- Alarcon and Ron Herrema “Pauline Oliveros: A Shared Resonance” in
web than it gave back.54 This commitment of being an agent within Organised Sound 22–1 (Cambridge University Press, 2017). Ximena
a web, rather than an external force controlling it, is again a teach- contributes in the section on telepathy and dreams later in this essay.
ing of the practice of Deep Listening. Composer David Dunn, also 4 Pauline Oliveros “Pauline’s Solo” in Sounding the Margins Collected
friend and colleague of Oliveros, has honed his ability to listen to Writings 1992–2009 (Deep Listening Publications, 2010): 266
sounds and understand their potential role in maintaining or tipping 5 Pauline Oliveros, “Improvising Composition: How to Listen in the
ecological balance. His research has led to the implementation of a Time Between,” in Gillian Siddall and Ellen Waterman, eds. Negotiated
patented method of sonic intervention to combat bark beetle infesta- Moments: Improvisation, Sound, and Subjectivity. (Duke University
tion in forests across western North America.55 As Annea Lockwood Press, 2016): 89.
observed, “[Oliveros] has left us an extensive teaching and much
6 Pauline Oliveros, “On Sonic Meditation” in Software for People. Smith
writing to guide us and as she anticipated, it will continue to expand
Publications, 1984.
and bloom because it is essential—to deeply listen to one another, to
fully hear other phenomena on the planet; from that comes respect 7 Pauline Oliveros, “Quantum Listening: From Practice to Theory (to
and caring. This is healing, and fundamental. Her work and that Practise Practice) Music Works (Spring 2000): 38.
of her spouse, Ione, is profoundly generous, deeply informed, and 8 Michael Taussig. What color is the sacred? University of Chicago Press,
continues.”56 2010.
It is 2017, I am 41 and playing Balinese Gamelan again, now in 9 Yolande Harris, “Scorescapes: On Sound Environment and Sonic
Santa Cruz. I learn the parts by listening, watching, copying and repeat- Consciousness” Doctoral Dissertation, Leiden University, 2011.
ing over and over again. Gradually my body becomes so confident in
10 Cory Arcangel, “Pauline Oliveros by Cory Arcangel” Interview. BOMB
the part that my conscious memory plays little if any role, my bodily
107 (Spring 2009).
and musical memory takes over. If I try to learn the part by reading
the notation I am preoccupied with remembering a string of numbers 11 Pauline Oliveros, “On Sonic Meditation” in Software for People. Smith
rather than remembering the sequence of sounds and hand movements. Publications, 1984.
The conscious translation required to turn visual notation into bodily 12 David Jay Brown and Rebecca McClen Novick, “Tales of the Living
musical sound creates too much delay to the extent that it disrupts my Dead with Jerry Garcia,” Voices from the Edge. Freedom: Crossing
ability to play in the moment and hear all the other interlocking parts Press, 1995. Online at http://www.mavericksofthemind.com/gar-int.
of the musical algorithms. The trance like mental states that this music htm Cited July 20, 2017.
induces in me are disrupted by consciously foregrounding notation, or 13 David W. Bernstein, “Interview with Stewart Brand” in David W.
remembering a series of numbers, but are induced by playing from an Bernstein, ed., The San Francisco Tape Music Center: 1960s Countercul-
embodied musical memory. This way of passing down music through ture and the Avant-garde, 2008, p 243.

13
14 Ibid, 244, 243. 33 Martha Mockus, Sounding Out: Pauline Oliveros and Lesbian
15 Andrew Olson, interview with Ken Babbs, The Fountainheads website, Musicality, (London: Routledge, 2008): 58.
https://sites.google.com/view/andrew-olson/ken-babbs 34 Ibid. p 59.
Cited December 7, 2017. 35 Annea Lockwood, Email correspondence with Yolande Harris, July 19,
16 Alpert was a colleague of Timothy Leary at Harvard and he 2017.
co-authored with Leary with Ralph Metzner, The Psychedelic Experi- 36 Yolande Harris Listening to the Distance: Eagle (2015)
ence: A Manual Based on The Tibetan Book of the Dead (1964).
37 Nina Sobell, artist’s website: http://colophon.com/ninasobell/
17 Pauline Oliveros, “Memoir of a Community Enterprise,” in Bernstein, parkbench_docs/portfolio/3/frame.html Cited July 21, 2017.
op cit, p 90.
38 Evelyn Stermitz, “Interview with Nina Sobell” (Aug 2007) http://
18 Ibid. It was directed and staged by dancer-choreographer Elizabeth rhizome.org/community/9286/ Cited July 21, 2017.
Harris and Ronald Chase, with slides by Tony Martin and light
39 Roy Ascott, “The Psibernetic Arch” (1970). Reprinted in Telematic
instruments by Bill Maginnis, both SFTMC collaborators, and a
Embrace: 162.
cameo performance by San Francisco Mime Troupe founder and
director Ronnie Davis, playing violin in the nude. The music was 40 See Edward A. Shanken, “Technology and Intuition: A Love Story?
performed live by Oliveros and others. See Bernstein, op cit, p 90 and Roy Ascott’s Telematic Embrace” (1997). https://www.leonardo.info/
Rob Chapman, Psychedelia and Other Colours, Faber and Faber, 2016, isast/articles/shanken.html Cited October 27, 2017.
ebook, np. 41 Roy Ascott, “Art and Telematics: Towards a Network Consciousness”
19 William Osborne, “Sounding the Abyss of Otherness” (2000) (1984). Reprinted in Telematic Embrace: 186-200. In Indeed, In
1966-67, Ascott anticipated artistic and interdisciplinary exchanges
20 Cory Arcangel, “Pauline Oliveros by Cory Arcangel” Interview. BOMB
between participants in remote locations, interacting via electronic
107 (Spring 2009). https://bombmagazine.org/ articles/
networks: “Instant person-to-person contact would support specialised
pauline-oliveros Cited July 12, 2017.
creative work... An artist could be brought right into the working
21 p 266 Sounding the Margins “Pauline’s Solo” 1998-2003 studio of other artists ... however far apart in the world… they may
22 Jon Kabat-Zinn (Thich Nhat Hanh, preface). Full catastrophe living: separately be located. By means of holography or a visual telex, instant
Using the wisdom of your body and mind to face stress, pain, and illness. transmission of facsimiles of their artwork could be effected... [D]
Delta, 2009. istinguished minds in all fields of art and science could be contacted
23 Douglas Kahn states “She comes from a spiritual and occult tradition and linked.” Roy Ascott, “Behaviorist Art and the Cybernetic Vision”
among American modernist composers that was influenced by (1966-67) in Telematic Embrace…
Theosophy … Theosophy invoked contemporary physics, alongside 42 Ibid: 186.
a panoply of Western esotericism, Hinduism, and occult practices, in 43 Ibid: 189-90.
proposing a vibratory cosmos” Earth Sound Earth Signal: Energies and
44 Pauline Oliveros, “Quantum Improvisation: The Cybernetic Presence,”
Earth Magnitude in the Arts (Berkeley: University of California Press,
in Sounding the Margins :53
2013): 176.
45 See, for example, Amelia Jones, Body Art/Performing the Subject.
24 Stuart Dempster, “Forward,” Deep Listening A Composers Sound
University of Minnesota Press, 1998.
Practice, xii
46 Pauline Oliveros, “Improvising Composition: How to Listen in the
25 This coincides with other movements in this direction, which
Time Between,” c. 2012, in Gillian Siddall and Ellen Waterman, eds.
responded to a gross need to explore women’s psyches through the
Negotiated Moments: Improvisation, Sound, and Subjectivity. (Duke
art of storytelling, dreams, and Jungian archetypes. See, for example,
University Press, 2016): 83.
Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Women who run with the wolves: Myths and
stories of the wild woman archetype. New York: Ballantine Books, 1992. 47 David Abram Becoming Animal: An Earthly Cosmology (Vintage
Books, New York 2010) p.80 and p.192
26 John Rockwell, “New Music: Pauline Oliveros,” New York Times, Sept
23, 1977. 48 Pauline Oliveros, “Quantum Listening”, in Music Works, Spring 2000:
45
27 Jack Burnham, “The Artist as Shaman”, in Great Western Salt Works:
Essays on the Meaning of Post-Formalist Art (New York, 1974): 141. 49 Beth Stephens and Annie Sprinkle ‘Eco Sex Manifesto’
https://theecosexuals.ucsc.edu/ecosexualmanifesto
28 Edward A. Shanken, “Technology and Intuition: a Love Story? Roy
Ascott’s Telematic Embrace.” (abstract) Leonardo 30.1 (1997): 66. Full 50 Beth Stephens and Annie Sprinkle film ‘Water Makes us Wet’ (2017),
text online https://www.leonardo.info/isast/articles/shanken.html. premier Documenta XII, Kassel, 2017.
Cited Oct 4, 2017. 51 Donna Harraway Staying with the Trouble: Making Kin in the
29 Roy Ascott, “Weaving the Shamantic Web: Art and Technoetics in Chthulucene (Duke University Press, 2016)
the Bio-Telematic Domain” (1998) in Telematic Embrace: Visionary 52 Pauline Oliveros, “Quantum Listening”, iMusic Works, Spring 2000: 45
Theories of Art, Technology, and Consciousness. Ed., Edward A. 53 Conversation with the authors 2017.
Shanken. (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2004): 356–62.
54 Helen Mayer Harrison and Newton Harrison The Time of the Force
30 Marilys Downey, Skype interview with Edward Shanken, May 5, 2017. Majeure: After 45 Years Counterforce is on the Horizon. Prestel, 2016
31 Robert Ashley’s seven episode opera for television, Music with Roots in 55 David Dunn https://vimeo.com/206778388
the Aether, 1975, includes “Landscape with Pauline Oliveros,” consist-
56 Email correspondence with author Yolande Harris, July 19, 2017.
ing of an interview with Oliveros and several multimedia and music
performances by her and collaborators.
32 Pauline Oliveros “Introduction,” Deep Listening: a Composers Sound
Practice. iUniverse 2005, p xix.

14
 Haiku for Pauline, as Pauline
Words from Seth Cluett and Tomie Hahn

B
oth of our work with Pauline has cut across many elements We wrote the haiku below together as a series of games. The fifteen
of her life and practice. We performed with her, managed letters of her name, multiplied by the three lines of the fifteen haiku
projects, organized events, engaged in Deep Listening, equals 85 lines, which would be her birthday number this year.
studied with her, and have been deeply involved in the stewardship Fortuitously, the resulting 255 syllables equals the maximum value
of her archival materials. Most importantly she was our friend representable by an 8-bit byte and is both a sphenic number and a
and mentor as a colleague in her role as a Professor of Practice at Mersenne Prime. Since Pauline was a supreme punster, it seems only
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. appropriate to note it here. We can almost hear her giggling.

P auline, our soundscape On open reel tape

Moving, resounding, expands The world is frozen in time
Beyond bounds for you And crafted anew

Aquiet stream sounds Laugh a belly laugh

While a torrent fills the mind, Smile broadly as a secret
Find peace in between Mischief makes great sounds

Utopia, a In the pinna, an

Dream-reality, listen Inner landscape unfolding
All ears opening Mountains and valleys

Listen to it all Very far away

A dump truck, a lawn sprinkler A sound reflects off the moon
Some birds, and yourself She, a pinball champ

Improvising land Ears alert, fingers

A Sonic Meditation Reaching out to a soundscape
Conch sounding sea, see? Giggling cochlea

No words can describe Really? So many

The infinite sound... aza Cables abound under foot
Wubahhh moooooo luuuuuuuu zah Ah, telepresence

Energy flowing Oh such memories

Singing cicada... zehzeh! Soundscapes are never silent
Chanting in treetops Deeply listening

Spiraling above
An accordion dreaming
Listens to your heart

15
 Three Recent Moments With Pauline Oliveros
by Stephan Moore
I. Just past mid-afternoon we edge into rush hour, and traffic • Vacuum: the sudden cessation of a transformation program is
on the motorway slows down. From behind a 4-meter noise barrier, jarring out of proportion to the amount of change in the sound-
I track the sounds of passing cars and trucks. As the road becomes scape it produces. There is an entrainment, an interlocking of
more congested, their deceleration shifts the soundscape's dominant perception and expectation, that I participate in without will or
sounds from the high-frequency whiz of speeding tires to a lower consent. Its disruption feels violent.
drone of purring motors.
As I compile this catalog, I realize the important role that duration
It is late February 2017, and for a fourth day I am sitting under a
plays in this project, and that the artistic medium I am engaging
tent by a motorway in the Cremorne neighborhood of Melbourne,
with is the domain of aural attention, with all of its shifting qualities:
Australia, surrounded by speakers and, more distantly, microphones.
sensitivity, stimulation, discernment, blending, fatigue. Listening
I am here at the invitation of RMIT post-doctoral fellow Jordan Lacey,
is revealed in this context as a narrative process, and its story is the
the principal investigator on a research project studying experimen-
multivalent play of sounds across my ever-changing awareness. In
tal methods of mitigating the noise of motorways passing through
attending to this awareness, I practice what Pauline called Deep
residential areas. My task is to create generative compositions that
Listening, trying to expand my perceptive abilities in their scope and
assimilate and dynamically accompany the traffic noise, transforming
sensitivity to nuance. It also occurs to me that my code will succeed in
its role in the soundscape from an annoyance to an organic, unfold-
its aims only to the extent to which it embodies and emulates Pauline’s
ing musical experience. The sounds of the traffic flow through the
model of everyday awareness and attention.
microphones, through my code, and then, quietly, back out into this
Leading up to this project, Jordan and I first connected over our
pocket park.
shared practice of Acoustic Ecology – field recording, soundscape
Throughout this process, I am listening to the voice of my teacher,
composition, and actively exploring the interface between humanity
Pauline Oliveros. It comes to me in the way that I often hear a
and the natural soundscape. So now I note that in approaching this
mentor’s internalized voice, where I am not sure whether I am recall-
project, which is fundamentally rooted in Acoustic Ecology, I draw
ing something once heard, or if I am simply talking to myself via my
my primary tools from a practice of Deep Listening. This work sits
memory of Pauline’s voice and personality. As I sit here, listening to
comfortably in the curved spot where these two disciplinary branches
the traffic and preparing to work, I hear Pauline encouraging me to
of musical awareness converge, or diverge, depending on what direc-
direct my attention inwards. She advises me to become aware of the
tion one travels.
mechanics of my own listening process, and to catalog its characteris-
tics under these unique circumstances, in order to better understand II. It’s early March, back in Chicago, and I’ve had a squealing in
what I have been and will be doing. Pauline liked these kinds of lists. my right ear for nearly a week. I caught a cold just before my flight
I take her suggestion. home from Australia, and my congested skull has been uncomfort-
• Acclimation: when I initiate a new transformation program, at ably pressurized ever since I landed in LA on the way home. The hop
first it seems quite soft and indistinct, but its perceptual volume from LA to Chicago only made matters worse. I had been mildly
increases rapidly over the first minute of listening. panicking, but earlier today a doctor reassured me that this is not an
ear infection, and that issues like this resolve themselves within two
• Habit: after listening to a transformation for a few minutes, I will
weeks, usually. My ear is emitting a high pitched tone that is loud
continue to hear it after I shut it off, as though my ears have a
enough to mask the consonants in other people’s speech.
“blind spot” that my mind fills in.
After cursing my situation, cursing my ear, and roundly shaking my
• Ambiguation: if a transformation is working, I will eventually fist at all of the shortcomings of the human body for good measure,
start to lose track of what sounds are actually traffic and what I remain in the same situation, sitting alone with this sound. Once
sounds are being produced by my program. again, Pauline comes to mind, and her voice offers counsel. Now I am
• Familiarity: as I listen to the variety of sounds that sum to create listening into my ear, finally overcoming my discomfort and knee-jerk
the traffic noise, their familial membership, frequency (popula- rejection and getting inside this insistent sound. It exists neither in the
tion density), range of variation, and consequential relationships outside world nor in my imagination— it is an artifact of the physical
become known, allowing outliers to be easily detected. apparatus of hearing, a consequence of having ears. A malfunction,
• Horizon of now: when two related sounds occur within approxi- but only if I choose to think of it as one. For a moment, at Pauline’s
mately eight seconds of each other, I naturally correlate and suggestion, I allow myself to choose differently, to hear this sound as
connect the events that produced them. Beyond that threshold, just another part of my reality, no more or less worthy of my attention
the gestalt has moved on, and my mind no longer urgently seeks than any other sound.
to draw a correlation. Once I separate it from its inconvenience, I find that it’s a complex,
alien sound of considerable beauty. When my attention wanders away
• Role reversal: the sounds of the transformation program flowing
from it, it is high-pitched enough to sound like a single, crystalline
around the traffic, which are simply filtered and delayed versions
sine tone, but under scrutiny it unwinds into a multi-threaded silver
of the traffic sounds, begin to sound like the main sounds, while
rope. I begin to notice how one part of the sound is fluctuating slightly
the sounds of traffic begin to feel ornamental.
with my pulse, and another with my breathing. Individual threads
• Transference of perspective: few things have the power to alter oscillate independently in pitch and/or intensity, and are masked or
my listening experience more than the known presence of other foregrounded as they interact with other threads. Even as I study it, I
listeners. When another researcher comes to sit beside me, my observe how easily my attention slides away from its rippling surface.
listening process begins again, and unfolds differently, taking my After having formed a habit of ignoring it, paying close attention to
sense of their awareness into account. it is hard work.
16
 What does Acoustic Ecology tell me about this sound? Is it merely encouraging me to open my mind, release my agenda, and hear the
obstructive noise? Or is it possibly a legitimate and interesting sound anxieties expressed in this pushback as valid and instructive. After
but beside the point of a study of environmental sound? Questions all, it’s not as though I do not share their concerns about the damage
of provenance muddy the waters. I check the Handbook for Acous- caused by the deafness of industrial development and transportation
tic Ecology online, and find an entry for “Tinnitus”, which leads to culture. Indeed, my interest in the project stems from these very
the terse definition of “Acoasma” (also spelled acousma, acoasm, concerns. So why the disconnect?
or acosm): “A nonverbal auditory hallucination, such as a ringing, Heeding Pauline’s counsel, I listen more openly to the conference
buzzing or hissing.” From there, I can only proceed to a definition of as it progresses. What I hear, far more than fear and pessimism about
“Hearing Loss” in all of its causes, occupational or not (“sociocusis”). the state of the soundscape, is the excitement of people energized by
It seems that my experience with this sound is understood, then, their own projects for raising auditory awareness and enriching their
the context of a loss of ability to perceive the environment, which communities with sonic experiences. I realize that I have been drawn
is absolutely true, and which would be disheartening if it were not to both Deep listening and Acoustic Ecology, in part, by the aspira-
temporary. tional aspects of each discipline. Each harbors an admirable idealism
And then, what does Deep Listening tell me about this sound? about the relationship of sound to the human condition. In Acoustic
Pauline emphasized listening to all sounds, real, imaginary, and Ecology, that idealism is focused outward, on the relationship of
in-between. Her aim was not necessarily to draw inspiration from individuals and societies to the environment, while Deep Listen-
these sounds (though she certainly often did), or to evaluate them or ing’s focuses inward, on honing human perception, and fostering an
choose among them — the point was to hear them, as many of them understanding of its implications. These differing paths often lead
as possible, and then to act, or not, from this position of expanded to similar destinations, which is why we found the response to our
awareness. What if this sound in my ear were permanent, as it, or paper surprising. But, that encounter aside, to the extent that there is
something like it, someday might be? a disconnect between the practices, one has to listen hard to hear it at
Where Acoustic Ecology talks about the limitations of my internal this conference.
listening environment, Deep Listening moves the horizon of that Then, in the conference’s final keynote, on the occasion of her
environment. Still, on the whole, I find it unfair to compare these birthday, Hildegard Westerkamp chooses to speak very personally
perspectives beyond noting that, in this situation, one perspective about her family’s connection to the Azores. During the Q&A, she
seems closed-ended while the other seems so open. The goals of each is asked to tell the story of how she became involved in the Vancou-
discipline are different, and it is impossible to choose between them, ver Soundscape project, and how that led to the World Forum for
not that anyone is asking me to. Each is a tool, to be used together Acoustic Ecology. One detail in her recounting of this story is new
or independently, as the situation demands. The problem, then, lies to me — when citing the work of R. Murray Schaffer as influential
not in the difference between these approaches, but in the dogmatic and compelling, she mentions the influence Pauline Oliveros’s Sonic
application of either. Meditations in the same breath. This is the thing I have been trying
I begin thinking about what it would take to produce this sound to reconcile — that there are some of us who draw upon AE and DL
with technology, to synthesize it and then manipulate it, to get deeper as two legs of our practice, and see past their possible incompat-
inside it, to try to imitate its shimmers and fluctuations. This is an ibilities to a kind of synthesized practice. It never occurred to me that
unrecordable sound, so far as I understand the limits of recording Hildegard might share this integrated practice. Afterwards, I find a
technology, and it also cannot be shut off, but I am finding a way moment to approach her and thank her for the talk and ask about this
into it, to become friends with it and to coexist with it. The sound connection. She says, as though I had just pointed out something very
becomes my sound, it belongs to me. Since I carry it around with me, obvious, “Oh yes, well, Pauline and Murray were like the mother and
I find moments to study it in different contexts. Between classes at my the father.”
university, I stand at the shore of Lake Michigan and listen to how my Now that Pauline has left us in the physical plane, and Murray
sound interacts with the waves crashing on the rocks. Four days later, has stopped making public appearances, those of us influenced by
when I wake up to find it greatly diminished, I actually almost miss it. their work have an opportunity to think broadly about the project
of pulling both of these powerful and important legacies forward,
III. In early April, I travel to San Miguel Island in the Azores to
and perhaps joining them, hybridizing them, and exploring how
attend the Invisible Places conference, where Jordan Lacey and I are
they can usefully be incorporated into each other. At the very least,
scheduled to speak about our work with motorway noise transforma-
we can begin talking about how useful they can be when applied in
tion. We hope to connect with the community of artists and ecologists
tandem. In my own practice, I find myself balanced between Acoustic
in attendance, share our process and hear outside perspectives on
Ecology’s specificity of time and place and Deep Listening’s orienta-
what we have done. Our paper is among the first to be given. In
tion towards the here and now. Another fulcrum can be identified
the discussion that follows, the central question raised is whether
balancing between Deep Listening’s radical receptivity and Acoustic
the implementation of soundscape transformation systems would
Ecology’s emphasis on advocacy and civic engagement. Where Acous-
dissuade communities from taking other steps to address noise pollu-
tic Ecology’s approach tilts towards the empirical, Deep Listening
tion more directly. It is as though our work, by promising to lessen the
moves towards the phenomenological. Yet, both approaches seek to
impact of traffic noise, has somehow positioned us as apologists for
identify and strengthen a nexus between art and science, seeking ways
the purveyors and perpetrators of urban noise production.
to infuse one with the other. Both disciplines bring their practitioners
Obviously, from our perspective, this is a mischaracterization. At
more fully into an engagement with the world. Already, as I conduct
first I am frustrated at what feels like a dismissal of the potential for our
myself day to day, I endeavor to do so as a child of “the mother and the
work to have a positive impact — considering the cultural trajectory
father.” Perhaps, through listening, engagement, and discussion, this
of noise, ever since internal combustion engines began to drastically
will be a moment for that hybrid community to grow.
alter our urban soundscapes well over a century ago, it seems like a
misplaced idealism to think that only absolute measures have merit. Stephan Moore is sound artist, designer and composer based in
It feels like a continuation of the tale of the war between evil modern Chicago. He is a past president of the American Society for Acoustic
noise and good old-fashioned quietude. Perhaps this group is simply Ecology and was a student and then collaborator of Pauline Oliveros.
not willing to consider the potential value of the project. As these He is now a lecturer in the Sound Arts and Industries program in the
thoughts escalate in my mind, Pauline’s wise voice visits me again, Department of Radio, Television and Film at Northwestern University.

17
 THIS DAY/ THAT DAY
December 1, 2016

Pauline: Pauline:
This day You chose that day
A double rainbow over our city of Kingston Because
Reveals You are drawn
This is really happening to truth
All is real as any rainbow and the extreme essence
A display of listening
Being and Non-Being create each other in deep time.
Or so they say. Listening
I shall return to check that this is really happening to the heart
You shall return to check that this is really happening of the world.
That day
Pauline: Rosa Parks did not give up
Uranus cycles through your stars her seat.
Returning in your eighty-fourth year. There was a power within her.
Crow eyes me through the kitchen window “I wanted to be free …
Our skylight opens to the myriad lights and so other people would be also free.”
The 10,000 Interviewers want to know
your process Pauline:
more than ever before. You are free and
Speaking with the BBC you say: traveling through
“Yes—some do place a feminist interpretation on it, Sounds of Great Liberation.
but I was not thinking of that when I created No matter the venue,
Bye Bye Butterfly. the composition
I was in the studio and I knew I wanted to use is the listening,
a record. Sounding,
So, I just reached for one on the shelf, Dreaming.
without knowing what it was. Being
It turned out to be Madama Butterfly.” and
Non-Being.
Pauline: Choosing
You are here! in each
You are not here! moment
I don’t understand what day it is. until the listening of all
Days have fallen in between spaces. is heard,
Remember to remember and everything you do
We will survive this. is in all ways
New
Pauline:
One day, —Ione
We are tossing exotic crumbs, Posted in Public Exhibition
strolling by the Rondout Creek, www.documenta14.de/en/public-exhibition/
Your words float in the wind: #artists
“I chose
Rosa Parks Day Excerpted from the documenta 14: Daybook
December 1, 1955 www.documenta14.de/en/publications/
because …” 15730/documenta-14-daybook

www.documenta14.de/en/artists/13585/
pauline-oliveros

18
Commentary

Resonance of Resistance
By HonnaVeerkamp

I
t is just after 9:00 am, January 21st, 2017. Hell Hath No Fury the protest, but also it’s racial and cultural
In St. Louis, MO, as in hundreds of cities Grab Back makeup. To characterize the protest as
in the U.S. and around the world, the F ind and Destroy mostly white would dismiss the presence
streets are filled with demonstrators, rallying Volde-Trump’s Horcruxes of many people of color, but it should be
for social justice and women’s rights. Like  his Body is not a Political Battle-
T acknowledged that the majority-white,
many others, my friends and I have come ground mostly-middle-class crowd is just about
out to protest a dangerous and authoritarian Time to Impeach the inverse of St. Louis City’s population.
shift of power. As we approach the crowd  ot a Racist, Not a Criminal,
N The drummers, all people of color, and
from a few blocks away, swells of chants rise Proud to be a Mexican their raucous chanting, challenge white
and fall as a helicopter circles overhead. Not my Role Model and otherwise privileged protesters not be
I hear the br-br-br-br-br-br-br-constant complicit as they call out:
Truth Matters
thrum of the propeller as its aural path traces
from my left ear to my right and back around Silence is not an Option  ur Lives are under attack. What do
O
again. Being here feels to me like a small Health Care is a Human Right we do?
resistance against a giant, out-of-control Women’s Rights are Human Rights Stand up, fight back!
machine; the least I can do to resist a regime Love Hugely  lack Lives are under attack. What do
B
built on hatred and divisiveness. Walking up, we do?
Nasty Woman
it seems, in turns, futile and critical to join Stand up, fight back!
Keep Abortion Legal
with others and, at least, not be silent. The Immigrant Lives are under attack.
sound of the helicopter circling above echoes Make America Think Again What do we do?
my rage and frustration. Although it’s likely  irls Just Wanna Have Fundamental
G Stand up, fight back!
just a news vehicle, I imagine it as a siege. Rights
 rans Lives are under attack. What do
T
Market Street is packed for blocks (reports I’m so Mad we do?
will estimate about 10,000 in the streets here Where do we go from Here? Stand up, fight back!
today). From a slight distance, the crowds’
Rainbow flags and pink pussycat hats are  ay Lives are under attack. What do
G
chants are indistinct, but eruptions of cheers we do?
everywhere, communicating in the registers
and whoops rise in pitch and volume every
of symbols and memes. Despite the festiv- Stand up, fight back!
few moments, punctuating the generic
ity of these accessories, the mood is staid.  omen’s Lives are under attack. What
W
crowd sounds.
Suddenly, a line of drummers breaks the do we do?
As we join the march, the composition of
relative quiet, as it makes its way down the Stand up, fight back!
this din comes into focus as an amalgama-
line at a faster clip. The crowd’s energy starts Stand up, fight back!
tion of conversations, laughter, wind hitting
to rise as the drummers, who are called
protest signs, and feet slapping pavement. As the crowd closes back in on itself, filling
Justice Beats, draw closer. They circle and
Near by, a young girl stomp-slides her gold the space left by the drummers, construc-
dance, rallying the crowd as they move.
sneakers as she marches, marveling at the tion on Market Street causes a bottle neck
Cheers mix with drumbeats. Bam-ba-bam-
fine squealing rhythm they make on the in the march. My friends and I step into
bam, bam-ba-bam-bam, bam-ba-bam-bam,
street. Periodic calls and responses ring the nearby City Garden sculpture park to
ba-ba-ba-ba-bam-bam. Music is what has
out, but they tend to fizzle rather quickly. take a little break, while the demonstra-
been missing from this march.
In large part, this crowd seems to prefer to tion inches by. Our favorite sculpture is
Unapologetic and backed with percus-
let its signs do the talking. A silent chorus a musical piece called Dance Chimes, by
sion, the drummers’ chants are fierce. “No
of slogans rings out from countless posters: Alfons Van Leggelo, which consists of a
Trump, no KKK, no fascist U.S.A.! No
Trump, no KKK, no fascist U.S.A.!” The grid of nine foot-long brass squares tuned
Don’t be Complicit
crowd joins in with the drummers, but I to a pentatonic scale that you “play” by
Protect VAWA walking or jumping on them. Playing the
notice a collective discomfort among some
I Support Planned Parenthood of the marchers that seems to expose the instrument looks kind of like a combina-
Resist tenuousness of our solidarity. Are the words tion of hopscotch and tap-dance and can
Black Lives Matter too direct? Do we think we need permission be done solo or in tandem with someone
Why March? Equality! to scream? else. The sounds are like bells, and there
This eruption of music and the infectious is no discordance. Whatever squares you
Love Trumps Hate
rhythm of the snaking line of drummers, happen to step on, they all sound great. The
Words Matter helicopter, still flying above, now sounds
now moving further ahead, has disrupted
Democracy, Tolerance, Justice, Equality not only the soundscape of this sector of like a drum to me, beating out a compli-
Love, Rise, Resist mentary rhythm. A crowd of kids gathers

19
Commentary (continued)

around as my friends jump out their ditties, rather than conquest. Speakers have begun a crowd of thousands who have come here
and then the kids take turns, cautiously at to address the marchers from in front of the today to stand up to injustice and rally
first. They run up, and bounce, one-two- arch, but the grounds are crowded, and we for human rights, the arch makes a great
three, and then retreat, the littlest one of are feeling ready to head home soon. Even picture, even though I know it stands for
them surprised by the effort it takes to get with amplification, the speakers’ voices Manifest Destiny. What better symbol to
out a clear sound. An older man with a cane sound muffled from where we are, and the punctuate our resistance?
waits and then does an elegant turn on the crowd noises once again become indistinct.
dance floor, telling us that this is his favor- We watch for a while from the steps
ite sculpture in the park too. This playful of the Old Courthouse across the street, Honna Veerkamp is a community-
improvisation with strangers contrasts the where Dred and Harriet Scott once tasted oriented artist and educator whose specialties
social rhythms of the protest and reminds freedom before their suit was overturned in include audio documentary and sound
me that moments of wonder and solidarity Missouri—a verdict that would go on to be art. She holds an MFA in Media Arts from
are often found in unexpected places. upheld as one of the most deplorable cases Southern Illinois University and currently
We rejoin the march as it nears its desti- in U.S. Supreme Court history. Around us, manages a digital media lab at the St. Louis
nation, the grounds of the Gateway Arch, a jumble of conversations, with rising and Public Library. Honna is secretary of the
which is symbolic not only of St. Louis, but falling pitches and cadences, mixes with American Society for Acoustic Ecology
also of expansion. This is a nice sentiment if the sounds of traffic and the dull thrum of and is assistant editor for Soundscape.
you think about it in terms of belief systems the helicopter still circling above. Framing www.honnaveerkamp.com

Justice Beats. Photo by Sarah Foster.

20
Research

Augmenting Urban Space with Environmental Soundscapes and Mobile

Technologies
Dr. Leah Barclay, Griffith University, Australia

Abstract
As locative media and augmented reality swell into mainstream culture, this article traces my creative explorations with locative sound, stretching
across a decade of practice. The featured projects are all embedded into larger research initiatives, which are designed to explore the value of acous-
tic ecology as a socially engaged, accessible and interdisciplinary field that can inspire communities across the world to listen to their environment.
These interconnected projects draw on sound walking, mobile technologies and locative media to investigate the role of sound in achieving presence
and connection to place. The creative works are accompanied by the introduction of new projects that are informed by this research, and reflections
on the future possibilities of locative media in exploring layers of our social, cultural and ecological environments through sound.

Introduction

S
ound has a profound ability to make including Westerkamp (1974), McCartney been impossible to achieve inside a gallery.
us feel present and connected to (2014) and Corringham (2016). Locative Listening and walking are both temporal
our surrounding environment. In sound art practices have been active for activities that have the capacity to connect us
recent years, there has been a proliferation almost four decades, with artists including to the physical landscape (Behrendt, 2013).
of site-specific audio works exploring the Max Neuhaus in the 1960s, Janet Cardiff Despite the emerging body of work, it has
possibilities of mobile technologies and and George Bures Miller’s audio walks in the been widely considered that mobile technol-
locative media in place. This means at any 1990s and a wide diversity of artists over the ogies disconnect us from the environment.
given moment in an urban environment, last two decades. Significant works include During a session at the 2013 IUCN World
we could be moving through a sound field Graeme Miller’s ‘Linked’ (2003), a piece that Parks Congress in Sydney, there were
of voices, music, memories and sonic art, broadcast voices and memories along the numerous presentations that suggested
dispersed invisibly throughout the places we M11 Link Road in London after 400 houses spending time in the wilderness free from
inhabit. While this material is available only were demolished, and Christina Kubisch’s mobile devices. These were the most effective
to those with mobile devices and knowledge ‘Electric Walks’ which launched in Cologne in means to inspire ecological engagement and
of the locative experiences, the advancement 2004 and involved listeners wearing sensitive climate action amongst younger genera-
of new technologies and the accessibility of wireless headphones that amplify inaudible tions. However, having witnessed young
mobile devices means new opportunities electromagnetic fields in one’s surrounding people engage with ecological locative
for exploring our social, cultural and environment (Kubisch, 2016). media experiences, I hold the position that
ecological environments through sound. In Many of the works in the field have an a headphone-based sonic experience can
the 2007 CreateWorld keynote presentation underpinning ecological focus. In ‘Listen motivate communities to connect to their
in Australia, pioneering media artist Nora Toward the Ground’ by Jeremiah Moore environment through sound. Thus my
Farrell, remarked that the future of comput- (exhibited at ISEA2012 in New Mexico), the presentations during the congress revolved
ing is in the mobile phone. She proposed it soundscape of downtown Albuquerque was around thinking of mobile technologies as
to be the most valuable platform for creative superimposed with oilfield infrastructure to tools for reconnection as opposed to discon-
artists to focus our energies, and predicted highlight the realities of energy extraction. nection, which was met by a mixture of
an incredible future for interactive spatial ISEA2012 also featured the work of Teri curiosity and disagreement.
audio on mobile platforms. The body of Rueb, who is widely considered a leader This notion has been championed by
work that has evolved internationally over in the field particularly through her work others including Behrendt (2013) who
the last decade suggests Farrell’s premoni- ‘Core Sample’ (2007) which uses GPS across suggests that locative media experiences
tion was certainly correct and she has been Spectacle Island in Boston Harbor to evoke such as Rueb’s ‘Core Sample’ (2007) have the
an endless source of inspiration for my sound material and cultural histories of the potential to reconnect people with natural
ongoing research. landscape. At ISEA2012, Rueb collaborated ecosystems rather than alienate them.
New technologies are providing a rapid with Larry Phan on the work ‘No Places Speed (2010) believes locative media has
increase in accessibility and engagement, With Names’, which explored the concept of the capacity to construct a sense of place
however these practices stem from a signifi- wilderness and its shifting meanings across through its potential to bind geographical,
cant body of creative work dating back to the cultural contexts through geolocated sounds social and cultural dimensions. Droumeva
1960s. Transient experiences in which the surrounding the Institute for American (2016) examines the multimodal possibili-
core focus is sound and listening, are well Indian Art in Santa Fe. The sounds and ties of the smartphone and highlights how
established in practices such as Soundwalk- personal stories emerged from the landscape it is increasingly integrated into the fabric
ing, which has been active since the 1970s and facilitated a profound connection to the of everyday life particularly through senso-
when it was pioneered by practitioners immediate environment that would have rial encounters with physical spaces. In

21
Research (continued)

the context of oral history, Bradley (2012) emerging technologies. This was the first Centre in Brisbane, I worked with Duckworth
suggests locative audio experiences can largescale performance to use podcasting and Farrell to install sound gardens in
have important implications in the ways in such an innovative way and exposed the regional communities on the Sunshine Coast,
oral history can be presented and connected audience to the future possibilities of mobile which required the installation of WiFi nodes
to places, and moreso, play a vital role on technologies in music composition. I was specifically for this experience.
how it is collected, achieved and curated. As deeply inspired by the entire experience— The first ‘Sonic Babylon’ installation on
locative media and augmented reality shifts from the transient nature of the performance the Sunshine Coast launched at the Noosa
into mainstream culture, this article traces to the incredible way mobile technologies Regional Gallery on September 12, 2009. The
my creative explorations with locative sound were seamlessly used to heighten our sound garden grew with historic recordings,
stretching across a decade of practice. While connection to place and sense of sonic local stories, indigenous voices and excepts
the highlighted projects differ in terms of immersion. from my sound installation ‘Eco Sonus’,
content, they all share the same intention I was privileged to meet and work with commissioned for Floating Land 2009. ‘Eco
in experimenting with the possibilities of Nora Farrell and William Duckworth during Sonus’ was a multi-platform project designed
mobile technologies as tools for ecological their time in Australia and my pathway into to connect communities to the environment
connection and exploring the value of acous- locative media was solidified in 2008 when through sound and acoustic ecology. The
tic ecology as a socially engaged, accessible they invited me to collaborate on ‘Sonic collaboration with ‘Sonic Babylon’ was a
and interdisciplinary field that can inspire Babylon’, an interactive sound garden riding perfect extension to ‘Eco Sonus’ in allowing
communities across the world to listen to the local Wi-Fi networks. The ‘Sonic Babylon’ communities to experience the acoustic
environment. sound gardens were designed to grow with ecology of Floating Land, augmented
music, sounds, and stories, accessible on through the art gallery and along the Noosa
Creative Explorations in mobile devices in selected spaces within a River. The ‘Sonic Babylon’ sound gardens
Locative Audio and community. As visitors move through the have a diversity of positive outcomes for
Site-Specific Sound Art garden, the ‘Sonic Babylon’ application tracks a community, including the ability to
My initial encounters with sound in their position in the space and the 3D audio repurpose existing digital content (such as
locative media experiences happened in engine generates a real-time sound mix oral history) and also the ability to observe
Europe and Australia, through museum relative to the location of the planted sounds. a system, a virtual ecology, and hear what
tours and audio walks that had a tourism or The Sound Garden toolkit and ‘Sonic Babylon’ kind of voices and themes may arise. I was
historical focus. While I was intrigued by the application, developed by Nora Farrell, fascinated by the versatility of the project and
possibilities, it was not until a performance was modified from Tactical Sound Garden its ability to grow within a community over
in 2007 that I became engaged in exploring [TSG], an open source software platform for time. I was also in awe of the creative process
locative media experiences in my own creative cultivating public sound gardens developed of both Duckworth and Farrell and inspired
practice. ‘iOrpheus’, otherwise known as by artist and architect Mark Shepard. The to delve deeper into the potential of mobile
the ‘iPod Opera’, was a large-scale transient Tactical Sound Garden tool kit draws on technologies and locative media in my own
performance which used sound to activate the culture of urban community gardening creative practice. The ‘Sonic Babylon’ mobile
the South Bank Parklands in Brisbane, to posit a participatory environment for application and overarching creative project
Australia, on August 31, 2007. ‘iOrpheus’ new spatial practices and social interactions was clearly ahead of its time, highlighting the
was conceived and created by American (Shepard, 2005). incredible creative and technical genius of
composer William Duckworth and media The positional audio environment of Nora Farrell. The mobile app had the capacity
artist Nora Farrell, who are widely regarded ‘Sonic Babylon’ and TSG allows users to to host dynamic and interactive spatial audio
as internet pioneers through their creation not only listen to the soundscapes but also experiences, it provided incredible agency to
of virtual music and interactive web based participate by planting and pruning sounds. the community in sculpting personal sonic
experiences (Duckworth, 2005). The project Mark Shepard describes the TSG Toolkit experiences. As some of the world’s leading
was produced by the Queensland Conserva- as a parasitic technology, as it feeds on the artists, Nora Farrell and William Duckworth
torium Research Centre with the support of a propagation of WiFi access points in dense were incredibly generous collaborators and
Fulbright Senior Specialist Grant. urban environments (Shepard, 2005). In designed the experience to meet the needs
The performance interpreted the story locations where there are minimal WiFi of the community. It was evident their work
of the mythical musician Orpheus in five access points, the gardens may consist of a was truly about the value of deep listening
acts stretching the entire length of South single street, but when there is a density of and sound as a tool for connecting, inspiring
Bank parklands with live music, immersive nodes the gardens have the capacity to grow and revealing possibilities for the future.
sound installations, dance and dynamic fire across the entire city and beyond (Farrell, ‘Sonic Babylon’ became an integral
displays. ‘iOrpheus’ was a ground breaking 2009). While both ‘Sonic Babylon’ and the element of various acoustic ecology projects
work that pioneered the possibilities of iPods Tactical Sound Garden toolkit had a clear I produced across regional Queensland from
in live performance. Multiple devices were intention for densely populated urban spaces, 2010–2015. The project was a core layer
dispersed throughout the event streaming I was interested in exploring the potential for ‘Cypress Trilogy’, a work commissioned
ribbons of sound that moved throughout the in regional areas during the first phase of for the Sunshine Coast Council TreeLine
parklands sonically connecting each node of Sound Gardens in Australia. In addition to initiative—one of Australia’s most ambitious
the performance. The sounds were streamed ‘Sonic Babylon’ installations at the National green art projects in 2010. ‘Cypress Trilogy’
via podcasts, with Farrell and Duckworth Film and Sound Archive in Canberra and combined immersive environmental
truly exploring the creative potential of the Queensland Conservatorium Research soundscapes, live performers, interactive

22
Research (continued)

lighting and live projection art and was agency. By the community adding their layers of local history though sound.
my first major commission inspired by the own sonic responses and becoming part of ‘Cypress Trilogy’ also used twitter to host a
Noosa Biosphere Reserve. The piece opened the project, the sound garden was dynamic, conversation with the community about the
with a collaboration between Indigenous alive and constantly evolving, resulting in a project and explore new ideas for the future.
artist Lyndon Davis and the Gubbi Gubbi sustained process of community engagement The idea of mobile technologies reconnecting
Dance troupe on the banks of the Noosa beyond the performance, and encouraging communities to the environment was seen
River and was followed by ‘Dusk, Darkness engagement with place in new ways. as a contradiction by some, but the local
and Dawn’, three contrasting movements Amongst the first layers of sound planted community was clearly engaged and actively
that formed the body of this multi-sensory in ‘Sonic Babylon’, were conversations listening to environments that were not
performance. The work provided a rich with Lyndon Davis, who spoke about the traditionally audible.
tapestry of local history abstracted through Indigenous history of the Noosa Biosphere While ‘Sonic Babylon’ was undeniably a
the soundscape and featured pioneering Reserve and introduced Gubbi Gubbi words ground breaking milestone for locative sound
Korean taegum artist Hyelim Kim, virtuoso (the Indigenous language of the region). As art and ahead of its time in terms of concept,
guitarist Anthony Garcia, video artist James this cultural knowledge is not easily accessible technology and innovation—maintaining the
Muller and dancers Jeremy Neideck and for the local community, it was rewarding to engagement of the community was always a
challenge. The project came at a time when
smart phones were not in everyone’s pocket,
and the notion of using a mobile phone to
plant and prune locative soundscapes was
beyond comprehension for some members
of the community. This inspired the
development of community workshops and
initiatives such as ‘NeoSonic’ (2010), which
provided accessible pathways for regional
communities to explore and experiment with
the creative potential of mobile technologies
in public space. ‘NeoSonic’ was developed and
funded under the banner of NeoGeoGraphy,
a creative place-making program initiated
by Queensland local government to assist
communities in navigating new technology.
In addition to ‘Sonic Babylon’ installations at
the Cooroy Library and Mill Place Precinct,
I launched a suite of other projects through
‘NeoSonic’ including a virtual orchestra (using
mobile devices), networked performances
Cypress Trilology with children, sound walks and extensive
interactive workshops which were supported
Mary Eggleston. observe this project facilitating knowledge by funding from Arts Queensland and
‘Cypress Trilogy’ concluded by returning sharing through new technologies. Young Sunshine Coast Regional Council.
outdoors to the same location as the children were learning the Gubbi Gubbi At the NeoGeoGraphy showcase in
prelude, with the soundscapes blending words for their surrounding environment as November 2010, we created a multi-sensory
into the ‘Sonic Babylon’ sound garden, they walked throughout the gallery—their performance mixing community interviews
together with interactive lighting set parents were equally curious in discovering and environmental recordings with live
among the trees along the Noosa River.
While the performance had been a passive
experience, this final experience was
deliberately designed to directly engage the
community in the interactivity of the work.
The ‘Sonic Babylon’ sound garden enabled
interaction, engagement and immersion
with the environmental soundscapes. The
idea was to empower the community to
become collaborators in the work and also
to emphasise the importance of acoustic
ecology and participatory engagement in the
overall project. I was inspired to integrate
‘Sonic Babylon’ to offer the community Tweets from ‘Sonic Babylon’ in 2009

23
Research (continued)

digital drawings, projection art, live musicians It is a word that has become synonymous Ultimately, the soundscapes of ‘Zameen’
and Gubbi Gubbi Dancers. I improvised with with the Narmada movement and with the were designed to connect global communi-
soundscapes streaming on two iPads, while submergence of the valley. As a performance ties around the common concern of global
Nora Farrell composed a live mix from ‘Sonic piece‘Zameen’ is a holistic project. It integrates water security and to reveal the ramifica-
Babylon’ with iPhones in each hand. As we innovative technology, diverse community tions of damming rivers that hold cultural
were using the first iPads distributed in perspectives and true stories of resilience, to and spiritual significance for indigenous
Australia—we believe this was the first-time create an immersive performance through communities world-wide. The locative
iPads and iPhones were combined for an projections, choreography and media experience needed to be culturally
immersive performance that integrated live multi-channel soundscapes. Described as sensitive to these voices as well as adapt to
streaming audio and spatial diffusion. The mysterious, beautiful and utterly captivating how audiences shifted through the work.
concert was a prelude to ongoing community (Paramasala, 2013) ‘Zameen’ pulls audiences My response was to compose a series of
engagement with ‘Sonic Babylon’, where local into the heart of a remote Indian community three minute experiences that worked
audiences recorded and composed their fighting for their way of life. Within this world, together as a multi-layered composition and
own soundscapes. Despite these periods of two dancers perform an intense, controlled were designed to draw the audience outside
intensive community engagement, it was a and intricate dance score inspired by the towards the Parramatta River.
continual challenge encouraging the local stories and movement of the community. I explored the possibilities available—
community to engage with these locative An immersive audiovisual environment, developing a custom mobile application or
media experiences independently. This was composed entirely out of recordings from the various exisiting platforms that would be
largely due to the accessibility of mobile Namada Valley, positions the audience in the appropriate. We settled on using an appli-
devices and the technical aptitude of the midst of their song and struggle to secure land cation called Sonic Maps, a locative audio
communities engaged in these projects in in the face of large scale dam development. application that will be discussed in detail in
regional areas. ‘Zameen’ was developed collaboratively the next section of this article. I was attracted
with Sydney-based producer Jehan Kanga to Sonic Maps as it allowed me to use GPS to
and S. Shakthidharan, the director of position the soundscapes, thus allowing the
CuriousWorks, who created triptych visuals audience to journey through a non-linear
for the show in response to my immersive exploration of the soundscapes throughout
soundscapes. My material for this project the Riverside foyer and along the Parramatta
was sourced during a journey we made into River. However, I encountered some immedi-
India’s Narmada Valley in 2011. We lived ate technical problems as the theatre and its
and worked alongside families whose lands surrounding area was in a GPS blackspot,
and livelihoods are slowly being submerged which meant the app was unable to recog-
Nora Farrell and Leah Barclay performing at due to large scale dam development in the nise the locations and the audio playback
the NeoSonic showcase in 2010 area. The movement to halt the submergence did not function correctly. Due to time
and question India’s development and budget constraints we were unable to
Throughout 2010–2013, I created various processes—called the Narmada Bachao develop a customised app, so we resorted to
stand-alone sound walk experiences which Andola or “NBA”—has become one of recreating the sonic environment as a series
simply used fixed media compositions the most successful activist movements in of fixed media experiences streaming from
streamed on mobile phones, and physical contemporary social history. our website (www.thedamnproject.com).
sound maps including walking directions. The season of ‘Zameen’ at Parramasala Audiences could use their own smartphone
These had varied successes in terms of Festival 2013, was designed as a multi- or the players and headphones provided
engagement but lacked the sophisticated platform experience. Our documentary at the box office, to immerse themselves in
complexity and interactive possibilities screened on a loop prior to the show and the the soundscapes before or after the show.
of ‘Sonic Babylon’. I began to explore the foyer featured a photography installation Despite the technical issues, this provided a
multi-platform potential of locative media that visually explored the communities we rich layer to the work and gave audiences the
in extending the experience of live perfor- encountered during our creative develop- opportuity to engage with the soundscapes
mances. The first public outcome of this ment in North India. The festival also invited in a more embodied way, particularly as they
research was during the 2013 season of us to create a locative sound installation to walked along the river bank. The juxtaposi-
‘Zameen’ at Sydney’s Riverside Theatre for accompany the show. Unlike the participa- tion of listening to the heart-breaking stories
Paramasala Festival. tory ‘Sonic Babylon’, this was to be a singular of the Narmada River while walking along an
‘Zameen’ is the first major performance experience with a specific thematic focus. altogether different and healthy river system,
from ‘The DAM(N) Project’, a large-scale The source sound material is predominately opened up possibilities to deeply reflect on
interdisciplinary art venture that connects from the regional area of Jobat, where we the water thematic that rippled throughout
Australian and Indian communities around collected stories and solidarity songs from this project.
the common concern of global water security. over 20 displaced groups who had gathered The audio tours model was also explored
It presents the lives of remote communities in at a satyagraha (non-violent protest). Each during the launch of the Biosphere
the Narmada Valley of North India, displaced soundscape draws from our experiences Soundscapes project in 2012 (www.
by large-scale dam development which in situ, ranging from abstract explorations biospheresoundscapes.org), with binaural
is securing hydropower for Indian cities. of hydrophone recordings in the Narmada recordings and electroacoustic compositions
‘Zameen’ is a Hindi word meaning ‘land’. River, to songs of hope from the children. designed for augmented reality sound walks

24
Research (continued)

through particular locations in the Noosa in interrogating and understanding our projects and influenced the development of
Biosphere Reserve. These were not location relationship with place. my latest body of work that will be discussed
triggers, but simply just visual sound maps NoTours NoTours.org, is a locative at the end of this paper.
and streaming audio files. This process media project by the collective Escoitar. There are a wide spectrum of other appli-
highlighted for me, the limitations and org, designed by Horacio Gonzalez and cations that facilitate the creation of GPS
simplistic nature of these experiences. While Enrique Tomas. This application encour- audio tours such as Shoudio (www.shoudio.
they are very effective in some instances, they ages community participation and allows com) and U-GRUVE (www.u-gruve.com),
were too restrictive for the style of experi- users to attach sounds to a location using an application that has commissioned
ences I envisaged that were truly responsive GPS. While this app has many positive composers to create music in response to
to place and only activated with location and features, it runs on android only, so was not place and use GPS to trigger the composi-
movement. I was much more interested in suitable to meet the accessibly guidelines tions for listeners. U-GRUVE was designed
the idea of the sounds only triggering once a of this research. The NoTours application and created by Richard Rodkin, a New
listener was present in the specific locations, has inspired a wide spectrum of similar York-based composer and creative coder
which is the feature of the WiFi technology projects and has been particularly influ- who launched the app for Creative Tech
pioneered through ‘Sonic Babylon’ and TSG, ential at the NOVARS Research Centre, Week 2016 in New York City. The acces-
as well as the plethora of GPS triggered currently directed by Professor Ricardo sibility of location-based technology and
locative media tools becoming readily avail- Climent at the University of Manchester. the popularity of podcasts means GPS
able. As McCartney (2014) outlines there are The NOVARS Research Centre has devel- audio experiences are gradually becoming
many limitations of audio tours, particularly oped a large portfolio of augmented reality part of consumer media, particularly with
in relations to pacing, rhythm and timing, projects and its alumni include some of the ventures such as DeTour (www.detour.
but she also emphasises that “decisions about current leaders in the field, including Dr com) producing GPS audio walks that take
the location, style, content, and montage of Ignacio Pecino, who developed Sonic Maps you beneath the surface of the city “infused
sound in a soundwalk have political, social when he was a PhD student at NOVARS. with cinematic scoring and storytelling by
and ecological consequences” McCartney In addition to providing a sophisticated some of the best writers and sound design-
(2014). GPS audio platform, Sonic Maps includes ers in the world” (www.detour.com).
At this point in time when locative media a 3D audio engine option using Unity3D Amongst these applications, I discovered
applications were gradually proliferating for immersive soundscapes and rendering Recho (www.recho.org), an app that was
public spaces, I was intrigued by platforms sounds in realtime. It also allows flexibility attempting to establish a social network
that presented opportunities for collabor- when experiencing sounds in situ and for sound and had perfected an interface
ation, where community voices, memories includes tools such as panning through for GPS audio. The platform hosts an
and local history were intertwined with device rotation and responsive sound levels incredible diversity of content across the
locative artworks and soundscapes. This was based on your location in relation to the world ranging from geo-located sonic art
the underpinning of the creative projects sound file. Sonic Maps is also available for and museum tours, to community stories
that will now be discussed. They explore the iOS and Android and builds on the original and challenging treasure hunts. Recho also
idea of adapting and appropriating existing tools developed by NoTours. Sonic Maps allows users to record directly into the app,
tools that work towards the development of was the platform used for the initial sound responding in realtime to their experience
a custom application for acoustic ecology experiences for ‘Zameen’ and it allowed us and allowing the soundscapes to grow in a
and augmented reality audio. Prior to intro- to explore the challenges and opportunities similar way to ‘Sonic Babylon’. The platform
ducing these projects, I will briefly reflect when using GPS to trigger audio experi- was created by Copenhagen based designer
on the available tools to contextualise my ences in urban and regional locations. Åsmund Sollihøgda and transmedia-
decisions with using specific platforms. Josh Kopeck, a London based entrepreneur producer Mads Damsbo, who were inspired
and artist working with sound and geoloca- to create Recho by their love for podcasts.
Augmented Reality Sound tion, was also a PhD student at NOVARS The pair were interested in the idea of users
and GPS Audio Tools where he was inspired by Sonic Maps leaving digital sounds in physical places
The following section does not seek to after experiencing one of the sound walks and the notion that stories and interactions
review all existing augmented reality or produced using the app. This resulted in inherently belong to place. The user experi-
locative media applications for audio, but the creation of Echoes (Echoes.xyz), an ence of Recho is also designed to explore
rather chronicle the applications that have augmented reality application that uses the possibilities of audio in location-based
influenced this research and highlight the GPS to determine the users’ location and social media, with the ability to connect,
platforms that are collaborative in nature orientation, in order to trigger content share and collaborate, or even leave sounds
and focus on specific tools relevant to while moving through an environment. at a specific location for a single user. My
the creative projects I was engaged with Echoes was developed in collaboration initial attraction to the app was the acces-
throughout these projects. It should be with Mathias Rossignol and has produced sible sonic experience and the interface.
noted, that while aspects of these mobile a wide spectrum of dynamic experiences While many GPS audio apps are reliant on
applications influence and inform how in addition to supporting an expanding map based visual interfaces, Recho trans-
audiences interact in public space, the focus database of user generated content. While forms the users’ device into a dynamic sonic
of this research remains on deep listening, Echoes was not used in the initial creative compass with sound appearing in colour
engaging with our soundscape, and explor- projects outlined in this article, the poten- coded shapes and sizes in relation to the
ing the possibilities of mobile technologies tial of this platform sparked a range of new featured content. The interface for interact-

25
Research (continued)

ing with the soundscapes was intuitive and streams of the Noosa River. These recordings to the water. While much of my previous
accessible and allowed users to experience and hydrophone streams evolve and adapt research had suggested that a multi-channel
the soundscapes in a non-linear way. based on the conditions of the Noosa River, immersive acousmatic concert with high-
Åsmund Sollihøgda and the Recho team meaning every walk is a unique experience. quality speakers is the most effective method
were enthusiastic about the possibilities for The installation was designed inside the to inspire environmental engagement
their tools being used in the context of acous- application Recho and was the first public through electroacoustic music, ‘WIRA’
tic ecology, environmental engagement and outcome from our partnership. ‘WIRA’ suggested otherwise. Community members
awareness. While not the initial intention of was also the first major creative outcome who would never attend an electroacoustic
the platform, they were highly supportive in from ‘River Listening’, an interdisciplinary concert were enthralled by the experience
exploring a range of ideas related to sound, project exploring the creative possibilities of and children stayed engaged and listening
place and locative media. In December 2014, aquatic bioacoustics in global river systems. for a remarkable amount of time. Naturally
we formed a partnership to explore the ‘River Listening’ launched in 2014 through some compromises had to be made in
creative potential of Recho through a series my Synapse Residency supported by the order to stream via the mobile application.
of sound installations augmenting public Australian Network for Art and Technology Initially I had composed the soundscapes as
spaces with environmental soundscapes. The and Australia Council for the Arts and was approximately three minutes each and had
following creative projects outline the results developed in collaboration with the Austra- attempted to maintain the quality by using
from our partnership from 2014–2016. lian Rivers Institute. limited compression on the resulting sound
‘WIRA River Listening’ opened on August files. This was not realistic as the sound files
Wira River Listening 27, 2015, and has remained a permanent were taking up to 30 seconds to load. The
WIRA means moving water in Gubbi installation for the community. The entire second iteration during my creative develop-
Gubbi language, the first nation people of installation takes roughly one hour to ment involved two-minute sound files with
the Noosa Biosphere Reserve in Queensland, experience, but the compositions were minimal compression. This reduced the
Australia. In late 2004, I composed my first created in a non-linear layout meaning load time to 10–15 seconds, however my
piece inspired by the Noosa River. This was listeners could experience the installation in preliminary tests with community members
the beginning of a decade of creative work sections or return to different locations over recommended that the sounds needed to
that explores the value of sound, digital the duration of the exhibition. The distance load in 3 seconds, or ideally play instantly.
technology and community engagement of each sound varied, with some placed very This resulted in a compromise in the sound
in environmental awareness. ‘WIRA River close together and others further apart, to quality which was ultimately worth it as
Listening’ is an interactive sound installation encourage reflections and active listening to listeners tended to stay engaged for longer
that reimagined the world beneath the surface the natural sounds of the Noosa River and periods of time.
of the Noosa River for Floating Land 2015 at surrounding environment. In these instances, ‘WIRA’ was accompanied by perform-
the Noosa Regional Gallery in Queensland, the listener was encouraged to walk for up ances, community workshops and regular
Australia. Floating Land began as a biennial to five minutes before they reached the next group sound walks which all contributed
outdoor sculpture event in 2001 and has soundscape. It was essential ‘WIRA’ was towards the accessibility and engagement
since grown to become one of the most accessible for the local community, so those of this installation. Comments including
significant contemporary ‘green art’ events in without access to a smart phone could also “I have never thought about rivers making
Australia. The theme of Floating Land 2015 listen inside Noosa Regional Gallery at the sound, or how sound affects the environment”,
was Reflect & Re-imagine which provided an ‘WIRA’ listening station. I also created an “Listening to the soundscapes and voices as I
opportunity to pause and reconnect with the accessible version online (www.leahbarclay. walk along the river made me lose all sense of
grassroots beginnings of this event, exploring com/wira) with selected compositions, time and notice things I didn’t even know were
the connection between art, the environment to allow community members who were there” and “WIRA opened up a different way
and the local community. unable to walk the distance the opportunity of listening and a new way of understanding
‘WIRA’ explores rivers as the lifeblood to listen from any location. The gallery sound in the environment”, were amongst
of communities and reimagines the Noosa provided headphones and listening devices the positive responses to the installation.
River in sound by layering the environmen- during open hours, although the installation Some members of the community struggled
tal sounds of the river system with sonic remained live consistently, thus listeners with the technology on their phone, but
art, stories and soundscapes from Floating could come at dawn or dusk to experience fortunately the gallery listening station and
Land that I have recorded and composed the installation and many opted for listening the other listening methods meant there
over the last decade. The installation is at times when the gallery was closed and the were multiple ways to access the sounds.
underpinned by hydrophone (underwater) surrounding environment was much quieter. As ‘WIRA’ stretches towards the river
recordings layered with a diversity of cultural The soundscapes of ‘WIRA’ explore the mouth, looking out towards the ocean, the
and biological soundscapes. Many of these value of sound and technology in contribut- voices from Indigenous communities in
soundscapes include the voice of Gubbi ing towards environmental awareness and Vanuatu could be heard across the surface
Gubbi artist Lyndon Davis speaking in engagement. Each sound was located in of the water. These included the rich
Gubbi Gubbi language and introducing the direct relation to a relevant part of the river soundscapes from the Leweton Cultural
Indigenous history of the Noosa River. When bank. Snapping shrimp became louder as Group and Vanuatu Women’s Water Music
experiencing ‘WIRA’ on location, these you walked towards the jetty, community who were visiting artists at Floating Land
geo-located soundscapes are layered with voices arose at landmarks, and the sounds 2015 and who are exploring new ways to
binaural and hydrophone recordings and live of deep hydrophones drew listeners closer

26
Research (continued)

preserve their cultural knowledge as their environment, locative sonic art offers develop a deeper understanding of the role
islands continue to experience the true the possibilities to reconnect listeners sound plays in ecology and how the music
ramifications of climate change. through the social, cultural and ecological of Vanuatu is deeply inspired by place. The
Sandy Sur, the leader of the Leweton dimensions of place, memory and sound. Vanuatu Water Music is now evolving in
Cultural Group, visited Noosa and listened Members of the local community also response to rapidly changing climates and Sur
to the sounds of his communities for the experienced the preview of ‘WIRA’ with advocates for this tradition as a call to action.
first time along Noosa River before the Sandy and made comments such as; “This He describes the Water Music as a message
installation formally opened at Floating is how sound should be kept and preserved, passing through space that connects with
Land. Although he had granted permission outdoors in the environment, not on a hard every aspect of the surrounding environ-
to use the sounds, it was important to me drive in the library” and “It is like discovering ment; the sound travels and transforms,
that he experienced the work and found another world floating in the air, that we can remaining part of an interconnected mesh
value in the project before we proceeded. all access”. that allows people to understand land, water,
He stood in silence at the river mouth Through ongoing conservations with nature and culture. This resonates strongly
and looked out towards Vanuatu listening Sandy Sur and my long-term collabora- with what Timothy Morton (Morton, 2007)
intently. He thought this technology could tions with local Gubbi Gubbi artists and describes as the vast intertangling ‘mesh’
be powerful in sharing his culture and Indigenous communities in India, Brazil and flowing through all dimensions of life, as
bringing awareness to rising sea levels in the across Australia, I was privileged to learn well as Steven Feld’s concept of acoustemol-
Pacific Islands. These Island communities about traditional knowledge systems and ogy, which explores sound as a distinctive
are at risk of not just loosing their homes, how cultural soundscapes are intrinsically medium for knowing the world (Feld, 1996).
but their cultural knowledge systems which connected to place. Through this initial Sandy Sur and his community perceive
are deeply connected to the environment. collaboration with Sandy for the ‘WIRA’ sound and water in similar ways—a
While this was the first time Sandy had installation, it became apparent that sound- substance that is essential for survival with
experienced a locative media installation, scapes located in environments using GPS, cultural and spiritual significance. It holds
he could immediately understand that this resonated strongly with Indigenous perspec- knowledge and is deeply connected to place.
technology had the potential to contribute tives on place and sound. Sandy believed it Sandy recognised the possibilities of locative
to his mission in brining wider awareness made perfect sense for a sound to be attached sonic art as a dynamic and accessible call to
to the state of the Pacific Islands and the to an environment with GPS and he felt action that mirrored his cultural perspec-
knowledge and culture that will be lost if we it to be much more natural than the way tives and offered an intimate window for
do not take action. we currently consume music and podcasts communities to connect to place through
At a time when communities urgently through mobile devices. traditional knowledge, memories and
require new ways to connect with the Sandy Sur’s personal research aims to soundscapes. We spoke for many hours

River Listening Image from Brisbane River, Queensland, Australia

27
Research (continued)

about the synchronicity between Sandy’s database of my field recordings from tropical The Amazon Rainforest is widely considered
perspectives on listening, the Australian rainforests in South America and the Asia as the lungs of our planet, the Amazon Basin
Indigenous tradition of Dadirri (deep Pacific region gathered across a decade. alone stores 400 million metric tons of CO2
listening to the land) and Pauline Oliveros’ I had created numerous installations and per year—about 25% of all carbon stored
incredible deep listening practice which has performances drawing on these recordings on land, and it produces 20% of the world’s
been profoundly influential on my personal that were designed to educate audiences in oxygen. Nearly 4,500 acres of rainforests are
artistic practice. Oliveros’ perspectives on the complexity of rainforest soundscapes, lost every hour from illegal logging, mining,
sound, embodiment, listening and tuning but now I was interested in designing experi- agriculture, forest fires, and oil drilling
to our environment continue to inspire and ences to translate this awareness into action. (Spelman, 2016). There is a global imperative
influence how I think about sonic relation- ‘Rainforest Listening’ was created specifically to protect tropical rainforests and an urgent
ships and connections in these installations. as an engagement tool for Rainforest Partner- need for new tools for engagement and
Her work provided a wonderful connection ship (www.rainforestpartnership.org), an awareness.
point for us to share ideas for the preliminary international NGO founded with a mission I worked collaboratively with Rainfor-
work with ‘WIRA’ and ongoing collaboration to protect tropical rainforests by partnering est Partnership in developing a series of
between Australia and Vanuatu. with people at global and local levels to creative projects that could bring attention
The ‘WIRA’ collaboration with Sandy Sur create lasting solutions to deforestation. By and awareness to their work. Our specific
also sparked a wide spectrum of other new connecting this installation to a conserva- interest was finding ways that people could
ideas such as coastal sound walks that live tion organisation, the audience has a direct experience the Amazon Rainforest during
streamed the sounds of humpback whales pathway to take action, either by educating international events, and we decided on the
songs and stories of Island communities themselves further about rainforest conser- idea of connecting people to the rainforest
in the distance, composed into a rich and vation or donating directly to Amazon during international climate conferences
immersive sonic experience. Accessible communities during the experience. (hosted in urban environments) through
mobile technologies could become valuable There are numerous conservation organ- experiencing the soundscapes of the Amazon.
tools in not just reconnecting us to the isations who would have been appropriate In many instances, the decision makers at
environment, but also in helping us to for this collaboration. I was attracted these significant events have never had the
explore the acoustic ecologies of changing to Rainforest Partnership as they work opportunity to experience the Amazon, yet
environments across the globe. While many directly with rainforest communities to find they are making critical decisions about the
continue to consider mobile technologies opportunities and collaborations for eco- future of this ecosystem. Niyanta Spelman,
as key factors in our disconnection to the logical and economic sustainability. This Executive Director of Rainforest Partner-
environment, particularly amongst the involves developing projects that protect ship, often spoke about the value of film and
younger generations, ‘WIRA’ explored the forest by solidifying its local value story telling in connecting policy makers to
ways for repurposing these technologies through eco-tourism, research, traditional the rainforest. Having experienced the rich
as accessible creative technology that can knowledge, medicine and arts and cultural and dynamic soundscapes of the Amazon
reconnect us to the environment and facilitate ventures. While local communities see inher- she was immediately enthusiastic about the
collaborations that reveal ecological systems. ent value to the forest, the economic benefit potential of sound to connect people with
It opened up the potential synchronicities of logging, mining and agriculture often the rainforest.
between location based augmented reality influences their decisions, especially when ‘Rainforest Listening’ launched in
and Indigenous knowledge systems. ‘WIRA’ they may have limited opportunities and September, 2015, in the centre of Times
allowed communities of listeners to hear their livelihoods are under threat. Rainfor- Square with an augmented reality sound walk
sounds beneath the surface of a river they est Partnership employs a collaborative, programmed as part of Climate Week NYC.
would not usually think about, and to results-driven model and works in collabo- The sounds of the rainforest grew across New
explore the importance of sound in our ration with local governments, conservation York City where hundreds of people engaged
surrounding environment, particularly at organisations and established contacts that with this experience in iconic locations such
a time when it is increasingly important to have already gained community trust. Most as Central Park and Dag Hammarskjold
listen to the rapid ecological changes taking importantly, the communities play an active Plaza, the gateway to the United Nations.
place across the world. leadership role in the design and implemen- During the major events and our scheduled
tation of projects and the income generated sound walks, listeners downloaded the app
Rainforest Listening: Climate goes directly to the communities. Recho and were encouraged to sculpt their
Week New York City 2015 Rainforest Partnership have had an own experience by triggering geolocated
‘Rainforest Listening’ is an augmented incredible impact in a short period of time soundscapes as they walked throughout New
reality project that layers a canopy of rainfor- in supporting 14,744 people, preserving York City. The experience was composed
est soundscapes in urban environments to 31,249,556 trees, storing 741,683 tons of as twenty minute non-linear soundscapes
inspire ecological engagement. Listeners C02 and protecting 197,782 acres (Spelman, pivoting on the major venues for Climate
access the sounds via mobile devices and 2016). Nonetheless, like many conserva- Week NYC. Each twenty-minute experience
sculpt their own experience by trigger- tion organisations they struggle to engage included a collection of two-minute excerpts
ing geolocated soundscapes as they walk the general public in their cause and are that tracked various ecosystems throughout a
through iconic locations across the world. constantly seeking new tools that allow twenty-four-hour period in the centre of the
The soundscapes are all drawn from a people to experience the Amazon Rainforest. Amazon Rainforest. The featured ecosystems

28
Research (continued)

were lowland tropical rainforest with juxtaposition proved valuable in observing coming years, we hope you will be able to
abundant wildlife. Listeners could hear the how the rainforest soundscapes affected walk through international landmarks, from
rich biodiversity of insects and birdlife and the participants in the installation. Many London Bridge to the Sydney Opera House,
those who ventured deeper into the sound people arrived in Times Square flustered and listen to the changing soundscapes of the
map discovered the endangered Amazon and in a rush to experience ‘Rainforest Amazon Rainforest.
River dolphins or elusive howler monkeys Listening’ between sessions or other Climate
hidden throughout Manhattan. Week commitments and it was fascinating Two Rivers, One World,
The placement of each sound was planned to observe this initial tension dissolve as Austin, Texas
meticulously to encourage listeners into listeners put on the headphones and started Following Climate Week 2015 in New
spaces where the urban soundscapes were to walk through Times Square exploring York City, the ‘Rainforest Listening’ instal-
less intrusive and provided room for reflec- the rainforest. They were visibly moving lation toured to SXSW Eco 2015, a global
tion and immersion in the soundscapes. slower and immediately engaging with the environmental conference in Austin, Texas.
The sounds expanded and evolved each day, environment in a much calmer state, which During the three-day event we hosted sound
particularly for specific events throughout was in direct contrast to the large crowds walks and activities based at the Social
Climate Week NYC. This included the Social flowing through Times Square around them. Good Hub, a venue produced by the United
Good Summit on September 27–28 at the This observation was made by the Rainforest Nations Foundation. As part of the official
92Y building in Manhattan, where I added Partnership team, but also by a series of SXSW program we also produced an event
voices of activists and communities speaking university students who could identify who called ‘Rainforest Recharge’ for attendants of
about the ramifications of climate change and was participating in the installation and who the conference to listen to a live performance
the importance of conservation. Additional was just wearing headphones based on how of immersive rainforest soundscapes that I
recordings were also incorporated over the they were acting. This sparked some further created in collaboration with Garth Paine.
duration of the installation including Jay explorations with a team of neurologists An unexpected outcome of ‘Rainforest Listen-
Needham’s Panama recordings that were at New York University in exploring the ing’ in Austin was SXSW Eco delegates using
created in partnership with the Asociación neurological value of listening to the Amazon the installation to navigate between different
Panamericana para la Conservación and the Rainforest in urban environments. venues. The geotagged sounds connected the
Institute for Neotropical Conservation. The overall feedback was extremely venues for the purposes of our scheduled
The key activities for ‘Rainforest Listening’ positive and while we had accurate data for sound walks, but delegates using the app for
in New York City were also supported by engagement, it was complicated to measure navigation outside of these scheduled times,
organisations such as Ear to the Earth and the impact. How could this experience influence sparked a series of creative ideas for hosting
Streaming Museum and this project extended listeners to make conscious decisions conservation events where the audience
our partnership with Recho, who assisted and take action to support the Amazon would have to discover the venue by follow-
in adapting aspects of their audio tools to Rainforest? It was possible to gauge the initial ing the soundscapes. ‘Rainforest Listening’
deliver this installation. The support and layer of impact based on how people engaged also featured at Austin City Limits music
partnerships enabled a streamlined process with Rainforest Partnership, particularly via festival, October 2–11, 2015 as part of ACL
for user generated content throughout social media platforms, online content and Cares with Rainforest Partnership. While
Climate Week NYC and encouraged people making donations to rainforest communities. this generated a lot of curiosity amongst
to respond to the installation. We provided However, measuring the long-term impact attendees, it also highlighted the difficulties
headphones and listening devices at major required further research. of hosting the project during a music festival
events and also fixed streaming options via While there were still many questions where network coverage was unpredictable
rainforestlistening.com for those unable to in terms of impact and the requirement of and attendees were conscious of preserving
run the app on their smart phone. The daily further technical development, the installa- their phone battery to last the duration of the
engagement was positive and far exceeded tion during Climate Week NYC solidified the festival.
previous installations, with an average of future potential of this project and quickly Inspired by ‘WIRA River Listening’ and my
80–100 streams per day across the various resulted in numerous invitations to other ongoing work with global river systems, we
listening options. 70% of users listened to international events. It was clear that listen- conceived a new project in Austin titled ‘Two
between five and ten minutes of audio, with ing to the rainforest connected people in an Rivers, One World’. This project was designed
15% listening to more than twenty minutes. immediate and embodied way that is not to connect the sounds of the Amazon River
This retention rate exceeded my previous possible with any other sensory experience. with the Colorado River that flows through
installations of a similar nature, which was ‘Rainforest Listening’ is not just an artwork, Austin. The project was produced in
possibly due to the subject matter and many but a long-term research project that will see collaboration with Rainforest Partnership
of the listeners already having a personal recording devices and live streaming networks as a public event for the City of Austin. The
affinity with rainforest conservation. installed in rainforest communities over the creative process initially involved hydro-
I had some initial concerns about next decade. This project is equally grounded phone recordings in the Colorado River
launching the project in Times Square, in the scientific possibilities of listening to and creating a sound walk that mapped the
while it is undeniably an iconic location, the the environment, drawing on bioacoustics, sounds beneath the surface of the Colorado
sensory overload of sound, screens and the ecoacoustics and emerging fields of biology River with a series of my existing recordings
constant flow of people does not make it an concerned with the study of environment and compositions from the Amazon River in
ideal listening environment. However, this pattern and changes through sound. In the central Brazil. The audience could navigate

29
Research (continued)

rainforests. While we viewed Podwalk as an

additional layer to the Recho experience for
those without local data, the Podwalk proved
more popular in some locations where listen-
ers opted for extended listening experiences
as they moved between venues.
Our augmented reality sound walks were
a featured part of ArtCOP21, a cultural
program designed to position art as playing
an integral role in ecological transition and
sustainable development. This resulted in
significant engagement around the installa-
tion, particularly during key activism events
in Paris. We encouraged listeners to add their
voices by recording directly into the app. This
additional layer of the experience proved
highly valuable as we were able to weave the
voices of policy makers alongside Indigenous
Austin Mayor Steve Adler and Rainforest Partnership Executive Director Niyanta Spellman elders speaking about the true ramifications
of climate change. I was joined in Paris by
their way along the river bank, weaving River with river systems across the world Dr Toby Gifford, another collaborator from
between the soundscapes of the two distinc- and transformed iconic locations through- Australia who assisted in adapting the instal-
tive river systems in addition to listening out Paris into the Amazon Rainforest. The lations onsite. During the UN meetings and
to live hydrophones during the scheduled Eiffel Tower and surrounding parklands side events we interviewed delegates and
sound walks. were reimagined as immersive sonic experi- activists to incorporate their voices into the
The evocative idea of Amazon River ence layering rainforest soundscapes over installation each day. The layers of voices also
dolphins intertwining with the sounds of the the city. Each observatory platform of the stretched across the globe to those that were
waterways of Austin ignited the curiosity of Eiffel Tower was interpreted as the four unable to attend COP21 but had messages
a diversity of demographics, particularly distinct layers of tropical rainforest vegeta- they wanted to share with delegates. While
those engaged with water management. The tion through immersive soundscapes and the focus of this installation remained on
Austin City Council were highly supportive original sonic art I composed exclusively for connecting listeners to the rainforests and
of this endeavour and hosted a proclama- COP21. Over 200 rainforest sounds were rivers of the world, the layers of voices offer-
tion and official opening in the Austin City planted across Paris during COP21 at major ing hope, inspiration and calls to action,
Hall Plaza where Steve Adler, the Mayor of side events including Petit Palais for Earth became central to the success of this project.
the City of Austin declared October 8, 2015 To Paris—Le Hub, The Global Landscapes With permission from Sandy Sur and his
as Two Rivers, One World Day. This was Forum, The Hub Culture Paris Pavilion and family in Vanuatu, we included the Leweton
certainly an unexpected level of support and throughout Le Bourget, the main location of voices and songs alongside political leaders
engagement, and revealed another positive COP21. speaking about the unfathomably future for
layer to these installations in connecting Conscious of previous issues with large- Pacific Island communities.
like-minded organisations and facilitating scale events (including ACL in Austin), I The augmented reality sound walks
ongoing partnerships. As a result of this created other ways for listeners to access showcased at COP21 demonstrated that
installation, Rainforest Partnership estab- the sounds which included streaming locative sound can offer a profound and
lished a stronger relationship with Austin from social media platforms and present- embodied way for communities to engage
City Council and positioned themselves as ing experiences in Podwalk, a new app with complex information about climate
innovators in the conservation space. This developed by the Recho team specifically change and ecological crisis. While the
installation also opened up the possibilities for site-specific podcasts. Our Podwalk ephemeral nature of this installation meant
for new ways of connecting and compar- experiencers followed a similar path to the it was not accessible to all, those who experi-
ing the soundscapes of river systems, both Recho sound maps but allowed listeners to enced the work commented on the value of
through live streams and merging fixed trigger continuous audio files (using GPS) listening and the importance for moments
media. as opposed to navigating through shorter of reflection in the context of largescale
sound files. Podwalks were created as twenty conferences. While there was certainly a
COP21, Paris, 2015 minute compositions, providing a more wide spectrum of ways we could improve the
At the 2015 United Nations Conference immersive and narrative driven experience in technology and dissemination, it was clear
on Climate Change (COP21), we brought situ. The benefit of the Podwalk app was that these experiences provide ongoing value in
the rainforests and rivers of the world to listeners could download the entire audio file the context of climate change events.
Paris and encouraged global leaders to listen (while on WiFi) then experience the instal-
to nature and take climate action. It was a lation on location just by triggering GPS Yarra River Listening
venture that further extended my collabora- without using cellular data. I produced six ‘Yarra River Listening’ was commissioned
tions with Rainforest Partnership and Recho. compositions for Podwalk, three revolving for Pause Fest 2016, in Melbourne, Australia.
Together we connected the banks of the Seine around rivers and three focused on tropical It was designed as an augmented reality
30
Research (continued)

installation to explore the soundscapes of In ‘Yarra River Listening’, through the interconnected social network for sound.
the Yarra River which flows through the city app Recho, users had the option to record While the platform has been successful in
of Melbourne. This experience extended a response to the installation that was global engagement, the developers shift in
on previous ‘River Listening’ installations geo-located and included in the work in focus to the Podwalk platform means Recho
by stretching throughout Melbourne’s real-time. While I monitor this very closely, development has halted for the time being.
iconic Federation Square with a sound map allowing and encouraging user generated In addition to the complexities with user
connecting to river systems across the world. content in these installations is both an generated content, I also reached a limit with
Listeners could hear snapping shrimp in the asset and a risk if listeners choose to record Recho in terms of adapting existing tools
centre of Federation Square, Amazon river inappropriate content. Community engage- as we placed more focus on live streaming
dolphins as they walk down the steps, and ment remains to be an integral part of my audio, 3D soundscapes, head tracking, inter-
pilgrims chanting on the banks of India’s art practice and the majority of my projects activity, and triggering with other data. The
Pamba River as they look towards the sky. are multi-platform and participatory, always preliminary research suggested that develop-
These sonic discoveries were composed to encouraging communities to be an active ing these installations through one central
connect listeners to the soundscapes of global part of the process and welcoming them to mobile application would be most effective
river systems and explore the value of sound collaborate and contribute. This interactivity to maximise accessibility and engagement.
in contributing towards environmental allows listeners to have agency in the experi- ‘Sonic Babylon’ undeniably paved the
awareness and engagement. The soundscapes ence, which has been particularly powerful way for location audio and interactivity
were all based on my field recordings from when working with indigenous communi- and remains to be one of the most effective
rivers across the world that I have collected ties as evident in previous installations. In platforms for user generated content and
over the last decade. The piece was composed ‘Yarra River Listening’, as with all the projects engagement. While both ‘Sonic Babylon’ and
in the form of an extended electroacoustic highlighted in this paper, sounds are placed Recho offered a diversity of opportunities
piece, yet the non-linear layout of the sound meticulously in locations, responding to for location audio, it was clear the curated
map (literally reflecting a scaled down map the sonic environments of each place and experiences I was composing required
of the world) meant listeners could mix the constructed in ways that they flow together different options for presenting complex
layers of sound in real-time and explore with the pacing, timing and structure of my soundscapes and sensitive material involving
constantly changing soundscapes. immersive compositions, regardless of the Indigenous voices. Despite this, I am excited
As listeners walked closer to the Yarra directions listeners navigate through the and inspired about the future possibilities
River, local sounds become more prevalent space. I am naturally open to the community of blurring the lines between artists and
until the installation is filled primarily with adapting these experiences, but ‘Yarra River audiences, particularly in the context of
hydrophone recordings and responses to Listening ‘was the first installation where I connecting these projects across multiple
the Yarra River. In this particular instance, questioned the ongoing inclusion of these continents in real-time.
I experimented with the notion of mobile tools after the need to censor multiple record-
devices connecting listeners to the sound ings added by users. One example was a user CANOPY (Rainforest Listening)
of their surrounding environment. As the who planted recordings behind multiple trees In early 2016, we began development
listener walked along the river bank, the along the river bank whispering “I’m behind on CANOPY, a custom application for
installation sounds gradually reduced in the tree, watching you”. ‘Rainforest Listening’ augmented reality
volume until the final two sounds were While some listeners found these creative audio experiences. The CANOPY applica-
mostly silence with very sparse sounds interventions highly amusing others were tion placed more focus on immersive sound
almost inaudible. While some listeners offended by this material which created environments and shifting through vertical
tended to disperse when they reached the an unsettling layer that was certainly not and horizontal ecosystems. The CANOPY
subtle material, many stayed till the end, relevant to the content of the project. In pilot was responsive to the conditions of
walking slower and in some case standing still these instances, I remove the user generated the surrounding environment and triggered
and continuing to listen to their surrounding content as soon as possible, but as these soundscapes based on weather patterns and
environment. During interviews with listen- installations continued to expand at various time of day. It was designed so these features
ers after the experience, they reflected on locations across the world (and in multiple would allow listeners to explore soundscapes
simple observations such as “I really never time zones) it became imperative to explore that will change and adapt in real-time. The
noticed how loud the trams are” or “It’s very other avenues for managing user gener- application features tools that will allow
relaxing to just stand and listen” to more ated content. The reality was that increased listeners to connect and donate to rainfor-
profound observations such as “Towards the engagement, nationally and internationally, est conservation in a much more accessible
end, I thought I was still listening to the app was resulting in an increase of inappropriate way and provides more scientific context
but then I realised I was actually hearing the content. When sensitive cultural material, for the soundscapes. The final feature that
sounds that were all around me, I was listening partner organisations and funding bodies are will be added in the future is live streams
to a boat drifting below the bridge as if it was involved, the risk was too high to continue from the central Amazon Rainforest that
music and I realised that everything around with the open format in Recho. can be accessed through the application. In
me sounded louder and more interesting”. This The partnership with Recho and the result- collaboration with Dr Toby Gifford, we are
comment and others similar, suggested that ing creative projects presented an incredible also adapting a head tracking interface he has
this experience certainly has the capacity to platform to explore and experiment with the deigned to allow listeners to shift through
encourage people to actively listen to their possibilities of augmenting urban environ- 3D sound fields in urban environments. The
surrounding environment and engage with ments with mobile technologies. Recho CANOPY app is still in development phase
place through sound. launched with a mission to become a global and will be released publically in 2018.
31
Research (continued)

South Bank Augmented Humpback Whales along the Queensland Minister, who was shocked to learn that fish
Reality Sound Walks—World coastline. The second experience was an make sounds that can be used for assessing
Science Festival 2017 adapted River Listening sound walk that freshwater biodiversity.
In March 2017, the Queensland Conserva- reimagined the world beneath the surface of It is unlikely I would have been able to
torium Research Centre launched ‘100 Ways the Brisbane River. The sounds of the river convince the Queensland Science Minister to
to Listen’—a new project exploring the art system were layered with creative responses attend an immersive electroacoustic concert,
and science of sound and documenting that connected to river systems across the yet the accessibility of mobile technologies
a decade of innovative music-making in world. This sound walk contributed to our means I could literally put this installation
Queensland. ‘100 Ways to Listen’ launched ongoing ‘River Listening’ interdisciplinary in the hands of decision makers at a major
at the 2017 World Science Festival Brisbane, project exploring the art and science of event. The sound walks received multiple
with performances, interactive installa- listening to rivers and the creative possibili- invitations following the World Science
tions and immersive sonic environments ties of aquatic ecoacoustics. This sound walk Festival Brisbane, including the Smithsonian
presented by over 150 staff and students at also showcased the ongoing interdisciplin- Earth Optimism Summit in Washington,
the Queensland Conservatorium. ‘100 Ways ary collaborations at Griffith University DC, where the soundscapes of waterways
to Listen’ was conceived as a reflection on between the Australian Rivers Institute and across the world were installed throughout
the innovation and impact of iOrpheus, the the Queensland Conservatorium Research the Smithsonian in April 2017. The future
project mentioned at the beginning of this Centre. The final featured sound walk, Sonic possibilities were evident and I continued
article that was presented across South Bank Reef, was a call to action to protect the Great working with Nora Farrell and Josh Kopecek
Parklands. Barrier Reef, one of the greatest natural on our new customised platform for acoustic
I planned to develop a series of new wonders of the world. This installation ecology and augmented reality audio.
augmented reality sound walks, inspired draws on scientific recordings from the reef
by the innovation of iOrpheus and ‘Sonic that showcase the value of sound in under- Aurality
Babylon’ and connecting the outcomes of standing ecosystem health. Sonic Reef was a On July 18, World Listening Day 2017,
the recent projects I had the privilege of pilot project developed in collaboration with we launched Aurality—a new mobile appli-
presenting across the USA and Europe. the Queensland Conservatorium Research cation for acoustic ecology and augmented
After much research, I decided to return Centre, the Australian Marine Conservation reality audio powered by Echoes.xyz and
to my collaboration with Josh Kopecek at Society, JASCO Applied Sciences and a team developed in collaboration with Josh
Echoes.xyz to develop a new portfolio of of passionate artists, scientists and conserva- Kopecek. The long-term ideas for Aurality
accessible experiences. We established a tionists. were developed in collaboration with Nora
partnership and began working on a new World Science Festival Brisbane provided Farrell and inspired by her pioneering
customised platform for acoustic ecology the perfect platform to launch these new work in locative audio from 2005. Aurality
and augmented reality. augmented reality sound walks. Based on was presented as a major work at the 2017
On July 22, World Water Day 2017, I my previous experiences, we provided a Queensland Music Festival by Brisbane
launched the South Bank Augmented Reality variety of ways to make sure the listening City Council, The Queensland Conserva-
Sound Walks as part of the ‘100 Ways to experiences were accessible including pop torium Research Centre, Noosa Alive and
Listen’ program at World Science Festival up listening stations with student guides, Noosa Regional Gallery.
Brisbane. The sound walks all revolved headphones, additional devices and online Aurality launched as a site-specific
around aquatic recordings and compositions, streaming for listeners without smart phones. augmented reality audio project exploring
highlighting marine and freshwater environ- Audiences downloaded the free app Echoes. and connecting Queensland’s rainforests,
ments across the world. The sound walks xyz (for iOS  and  Android) and selected a rivers and reefs through music, sound and
were created within the Echoes.xyz platform personalised sound walk to explore over acoustic ecology. The app used GPS points
and used GPS points along the Brisbane 100 aquatic soundscapes throughout South along the entire coastline of Queensland
River to trigger audio based on location and Bank. Their phone acted as a sonic compass to trigger audio based on location and
movement. These experiences explored the as the soundscapes triggered automatically movement. The experience was activated in
artistic and scientific possibilities of listening as listeners walked into active locations. eight communities and designed as a tool
to the environment and the potential for new It was exciting to witness the general to connect listeners to conservation efforts
approaches in the conservation of global public engaging with the changing sound- around protecting the Queensland’s rivers,
waterways. scapes of the Great Barrier Reef and I was reefs and rainforests. The soundscapes also
The project featured three augmented
​ impressed by the level of engagement with stretched to Pacific Island communities
reality sound walks responding to bodies the experiences throughout the festival. based on my long-term collaborations with
of water. The first, Hydrology, explored the One of the most exciting elements of these Sandy Sur in Vanuatu. I developed and
diverse sonic properties of aquatic ecosystems mobile experiences is the ability to take composed the initial layer of sonic material,
that cover over 70% of the Earth’s surface. them directly to places of congregation based on my database of Queensland field
The sounds were recorded using hydro- and locations with politicians and decision recordings stretching across a decade. We
phones in freshwater and marine ecosystems makers. During the launch of the World plan to facilitate community collaborations
across the planet. The featured soundscapes Science Festival on World Water Day, we and curated user generated content in the
included snapping shrimp on coastal reefs in hosted a listening station and were able to future iterations across Queensland. The
the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve of Mexico, demonstrate the sound walks to media, project has extensions planned throughout
melting ice in Norway’s Kvina River and politicians and even the Queensland Science Australia and the Asia-Pacific region.

32
Research (continued)

Aurality: South Bank, Queensland, Australia

The next phase of Aurality is currently in and locative media in inspiring ecological and become more interdisciplinary, these
development and in 2018 the platform will awareness and engagement. technologies allow us to explore other
open up as a community acoustic ecology These sonic experiences provide layers of our social, cultural and ecological
platform, focused around augmented opportunities for the general public to environments through sound.
reality and location-aware audio experi- explore sound worlds they would not Considering the rapid developments
ences for conservation and climate action. necessarily have access to, ranging from the in this field in recent years, it is almost
Aurality combines acoustic ecology, environ- centre of the Amazon Rainforest to remote impossible to predict what the future holds,
mental field recordings and sonic art with river systems throughout South India. but it is likely we will see a shift away from
live streaming audio. We are developing a While the installations traditionally involve screen based augmented reality with more
network of permanent open microphones headphones, they encourage deep listening focus on wearable technology and sound.
and hydrophones in collaboration with a and are created in response to the acoustic We have already seen a rapid increase
network of international sound art organisa- ecologies of each place. By positioning sounds of reimagined headphone experiences
tions that will facilitate real-time listening in very specific locations, these experiences that support personal auditory profiles,
within the app, building on the initial success are designed to use mobile technologies ambisonic decoding and interactive head
of live hydrophones in the WIRA River to connect to our surroundings and draw tracking (Ossic, Nura and Audeara to name
Listening installation. listeners into their sonic environment. a few). This shift will naturally allow for
This research acknowledges the inherent more opportunities in sound for locative
Conclusions contradictions in suggesting locative media media and will hopefully facilitate a balance
The installations outlined in this paper and mobile technologies can be tools for between visual and auditory engagement.
are not stand alone experiences, but all responding to climate change. As Behrendt While the technology is an integral layer
connected to larger research initiatives (2013) and others have highlighted, mobile to this research, the core focus remains
exploring the value of acoustic ecology as a technologies are fossil-fuelled and carry on sound and its ability to influence our
socially engaged, accessible, interdisciplinary a heavy carbon footprint through their perception and awareness of the environment
field that can inspire communities across production and the satellite networks around us. Recent research (Boulton, 2016)
the world to listen to the environment. The and infrastructures that support them. suggests that engagement with our ecological
notion of augmenting urban spaces with However, emerging mobile technologies are crisis and ultimately behavioural change
environmental soundscapes is something increasingly accessible and offer possibilities towards our environment, needs to happen
that has been explored through many of that deserve further exploration particularly at a deeply philosophical and sensory level.
my projects over the last decade. These as more people relocate to cities and do not These projects investigate the role of sound
ideas continue to play a vital role in my have access to wilderness areas. As the field in facilitating connection to place and the
research into the role of mobile technologies of acoustic ecology continues to expand value of mobile technologies in exploring

33
Research (continued)

and exposing changing acoustic ecologies Barclay, Leah. “WIRA River Listening.” Farrell, Nora., Duckworth, William. “iOrpheus
across the globe. Accessed July 15, 2016. http://leahbarclay. [videorecording] : art among us / created
com/portfolio_page/wira by William Duckworth and Nora Farrell;
This article is dedicated to Nora
Barclay, Leah. “Zameen”. Accessed online produced and directed by Paul Davidson”.
Farrell (1966–2017) who opened
August 20, 2016. https://leahbarclay.com/ Accessed online June 5, 2016. http://trove.
my mind to the possibilities of mobile
portfolio_page/zameen-2013 nla.gov.au/work/35571684?selectedversion=
technologies in understanding and
NBD43988913
interrogating our relationship with places Behrendt, Frauke. “The Sound of Locative
and communities through sound.  While Media.” Convergence 18(3), (2012): 283–295. Feld, Steven. “Waterfalls of Song: An Acouste-
this edition of Soundscape reflects on the life mology of Place Resounding in Bosavi, Papua
Behrendt, Frauke. GPS Sound Walks, Ecotones
and work of Pauline Oliveros, who has also New Guinea.” In Senses of Place, edited by
and Edge Species Experiencing Sound within
been a profound influence on my work, it Steven Feld and Keith. H. Basso, 91–135.
Teri Rueb’s Mobile Metaphor. In Soundscape:
seemed appropriate to reflect on the impact New Mexico: School of American Research
The Journal of Acoustic Ecology, 12(1), (2013):
and influence of Nora Farrell, a friend and Press, 1996.
25–28.
collaborator of Pauline who I found equally Kubisch, Christina. “Electrical Walks: Electro-
Boulton, Elizabeth. “Climate Change as a
innovative and inspiring in her perspectives magnetic Investigations in the City.” Accessed
‘hyperobject’: a Critical Review of Timothy
on sound. While Nora remained out of April 25, 2016. http://www.christinakubisch.
Morton’s Reframing Narrative.” Wiley
the limelight for much of her career, her de/en/works/electrical_walks
Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change 7,
technical genius and pioneering ideas will McCartney, Andra. “Soundwalking: creating
no.5 (2016): 772–785. Accessed September
undoubtedly continue to influence and moving environmental sound narratives”. The
19, 2016. doi:10.1002/wcc.410
inspire for generations to come. Oxford Handbook of Mobile Music Studies,
Bradley, Simon. History to go: oral history,
Volume 2. Edited by Sumanth Gopinath and
About the Author audio walks and mobile media. Oral History,
Jason Stanyek. (2014): 212–237.
Dr. Leah Barclay is an Australian sound Vol. 40, No. 1, (2012): 99–110.
Miller, Graeme. “Linked.” Accessed June 15,
artist, composer and researcher working at Corringham, Viv. “Shadow Walks.” Accessed
2016. http://www.linkedm11.net/index2.html
the intersection of art, science and technol- June 15, 2016. http://vivcorringham.org/
ogy. She specialises in acoustic ecology, shadow-walks Moore, Jeremiah. “Listen Toward the Ground.”
environmental field recording and emerging Accessed August 22, 2016. http://www.
Draper, Paul. “Music 2.0: a framework to
fields of biology exploring environmental basoundecology.org/listen/2013/05/ltg-vide
examine next-generation digital arts environ-
patterns and changes through sound. Over ments.” Accessed online October 5, 2017. Morton Timothy. Ecology without Nature:
the last decade her work has focused on the https://research-repository.griffith.edu.au/ Rethinking Environmental Aesthetics.
conservation of rivers, reefs and rainforests bitstream/handle/10072/18759/47426_1. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2007.
through interdisciplinary creative projects pdf?sequence=1 “Paramasala International Festival Program
that inspire communities to listen. 2013” Accessed online June 24, 2016. https://
Droumeva, Milena. “Curating Aural Experi-
ence: A Sonic Ethnography of Everyday www.parramasala.com
References Media Practices.” Interference Journal, Issue Rueb, Teri. “No Places With Names.” Accessed
Barclay, Leah. Aurality. Accessed online 5. Accessed September 19, 2016. http:// June 15, 2016. http://terirueb.net/no-places-
August 5. 2017. www.auralitylab.org www.interferencejournal.com/articles/ with-names
Barclay, Leah. “Biosphere Soundscapes.” writing-about-and-through-sound/ Shepard, Mark. “Tactical Sound Garden [TSG]
Accessed online August 20, 2016. curating-aural-experience-a-sonic- Toolkit,” 306090-09: Regarding Public Space,
www.biospheresoundscapes.org ethnography-of-everyday-media-practices 64–71. New York: Princeton Architectural
Barclay, Leah. “Cypress Triology.” Accessed Duckworth, William. Virtual Music: How Press, 2005.
online August 20, 2016. http://leahbarclay. the Web Got Wired for Sound. New York: Speed, Chris. Developing a Sense of Place with
com/portfolio_page/cypress-trilogy-2010 Routledge, 2005. Locative Media: An “Underview Effect”.
Barclay, Leah. “NeoSonic.” Accessed online Dyson, Frances. Sounding New Media: Leonardo, Vol. 43, No. 2 (2010): 169–174.
August 20, 2016. http://leahbarclay.com/ Immersion and Embodiment in the Arts and Spelman, Niyanta. “About Rainforest Partner-
portfolio_page/neosonic Culture. Berkeley: University of California ship”. Accessed online April 11, 2017. www.
Barclay, Leah. “River Listening.” In Environmen- Press, 2009. rainforestpartnership.org
tal Sound Artists, edited by Frederick Bianchi Farrell, Nora. “2007 CreateWorld Keynote Westerkamp, Hildegard. “Soundwalking.”
and V.J. Manzo, 127–137. New York: Oxford Presentation Transcript.” Accessed Sound Heritage 3 no. 4, 1974: 18–27.
University Press, 2016. online October 5, 2017. https:// Republished in Autumn Leaves, Sound and
Barclay, Leah. “Sonic Ecologies: Exploring the research-repository.griffith.edu.au/ the Environment in Artistic Practice, Edited
Agency of Soundscapes in Ecological Crisis.” bitstream/handle/10072/18759/47426_1. by Angus Carlyle. Paris: Double Entendre,
Soundscape, The Journal of Acoustic Ecology pdf?sequence=1 2007.
12, no.1 (2013): 29–32.

34
Reviews

Musique et écologies du son Propositions théoriques pour une écoute du

monde / Music and ecologies of sound Theoretical Projects for a Listening
of the World
Reviewed by Maile Colbert

Edited by Makis Solomos, Roberto Barbanti, Interconnectivity and an urge against

Guillaume Loizillon, Kostas Paparrigopoulos, dualism is a continual theme throughout the
Carmen Pardo text. From thought on nature and culture, to
urban and rural, to music and noise; what
L’Harmattan, 2016, Paris; book of partial
is desirable and undesirable in and from
proceedings of the international symposium
sound, what is individual and what is social
by the same title from the 27–30 of May 2012
in our relationship to sound, conserva-
tion and preservation, phonography and
ISBN: 978-2-343-08662-0 • 25,50 € • 242
phenomenology, landscape and soundscape
pages

T
and the human within them, and the
he international symposium non-human within them? The tension
Musique et écologies du son: Projets between these and related categories, and
théoriques et pratiques pour une what can be found and discussed between
écoute du monde / Music and ecologies of them, or what can be found and discussed if
sound:Theoretical and practical projects we do away with them, or what can be found
for a listening of the world, was held and discussed if we interconnect them,
at Université Paris 8, May 27–30 of 2013. I forge towards theories and methodologies
was fortunate to attend and present a paper on sound-music ecologies and ecosophy1.
myself, and having experienced first hand As Ljubica Ilic writes in her essay, “Between
the value of the work presented and discussed Retreat and Return: Rethinking the Sonic
there, I was looking forward to reading this Pastoral”: “We are, globally, faced with the
fourth publication of the proceedings from fact that the environment is one whole …
that very exceptional event. The symbolic mesh that we live in, inter-
I approach this review with enthusiasm, twined in all possible manners, requires
and feel also impelled towards transpar- more subtle choices, even when sound is in
ency. My perspective is within a frame I will question.” (256)
describe, my background is not in a specific The environment when considered as a
the provenance and impact of these vitalities
tradition or education of music or musicol- whole is a complicated and interconnected
is of course the business of sound ecology,”
ogy, I came to working with and thinking rhizome. A drop of water falls into a puddle
reads one of my favourite statements, from
about sound through cinematic sound and creates a wave. A wave is a disturbance
the text “But Does the World Listen? Some
design and sound art, which led me through that travels through time and space, affecting
Thoughts on Rhythmic Bonding Between
a wonderful winding path to soundscape everything it touches, creating other waves.
Humans and the Sounding World”, from
ecology. My native tongue is English, and It continues colliding and transferring
author Peter Nelson. The essays in this book
my French is limited, though I am better energy to molecules that do the same in
consider in various ways, from various
at comprehending text than spoken word. turn to other molecules. It can be water, it
angles, the embodied information gained
I say this because within this frame and can be light, it can be sound. It can be many
from the sound of place connecting the
possible obstacles to some of the text–many things that collide into our molecules, and
listener to their surroundings, such as the
of the essays are written in French without our system translates. The water is cold,
text from Makis Solomos and Frédérick
translation, as are the English texts vice the light is bright, the sound is loud. This is
Duhautpas, considering sound and music’s
versa–I found this book in its entirety and passive information. But when we actively
ability to allow us the experience of place,
diversity compelling and expanding, and feel and consider how cooling the water is
and this ability allowing the “capacity to
very contributive towards multiple fields on a very hot day, when we actively feel and
create links, connections, and bonds,” taking
in the study of sound and music, weaving consider how strong that sun is, and when
as example works and writing from Hilde-
and interconnecting threads of thought we actively enjoy how the sound of the crash
gard Westerkamp. (75)
and rippling waves of question though of an ocean wave makes our heart race, our
Increasingly more known and recognized
the borders of both emerging areas in world becomes richer, and there is informa-
(and certainly to readers here) the study of
sound-music studies, and those considered tion in that experience. “Every sound is
the soundscape—soundscape ecology—
established. evidence of a particular, earthly vitality, and

35
Reviews (continued)

focuses on the relationship between living leads to the idea of an ecology of et environnement sonores, son et architecture/
beings and their environment through sound in the broad sense of the Soundscape, Sound Environment, Sound
sound. This relationship is then of course term “ecology” as a relationship and Architecture, with texts by; Jordan
inclusive to music and sonic designs, between music or sound and oikos, Lacey, Mylène Pardoen, Aimilia Karapos-
and interconnected with really any sonic the common home, the world. Félix toli –Nikolaos Tsinikas, Frans Mossberg,
studies one might consider. An author, Guattari designates three ecologies: Silvia Zambrini, and Vers une approche
Frans Mossberg, points out in the section environmental, social and mental. écosophique/Towards an Ecosophical
“Fragmentation of the Field” in his wonder- What then are the links between Approach, with texts by; Carmen Pardo
fully comprehensive, Soundscape, Noise, music or sound and the environ- Salgado, Peter Nelson, Mihu Iliescu, and
and Music in Interdisciplinary. Research ment (or nature), society and Roberto Barbanti.
and Design: “The complexity of exposure subjectivity? More generally, what
to sound in today’s life and urban environ- are the links between music-sound About the Author
ment calls for interdisciplinary approaches and the world? Studying these links
Maile Colbert  is  an  intermedia 
that encompass technical, medical, psycho- will help us define the boundaries
artist  with a  focus  on sound and video.
logical, and cultural disciplines to get an of a flourishing artistic field. (5)
She is currently a PhD Research Fellow in
understanding of the effects of sound on the
Sections within the book, following the Artistic Studies with a concentration on
multitude of levels involved.” (184) Ecology
introduction co-written by the editors: sound studies, sound design in time-based
is by definition a large register of inters…
Makis Solomos, Roberto Barbanti, media, and soundscape ecology at the
interconnected, interactive, interdisciplinary.
Guillaume Loizillon, Kostas Paparrigopou- Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Faculdade
The inter attempts to sense a whole in seeing
los, and Carmen Pardo, include L’écoute, le de Ciências Sociais e Humanas, through
part of the whole and its connection to other
son, l’écologie du son et la musique /Listen- the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia,
parts of the whole. These connections can
ing, Sound, Ecology of Sound and Music, and a visiting lecturer at the Faculdade
help us begin to create definitions. As the
with texts by; Pascale Criton, Agostino Di de Belas Artes da Universidade do Porto.
authors describe in their introduction:
Scipio, Kostas Paparrigopoulos, François Her current practice and research project
In recent music as well as in sound Bonnet—Gérard Pelé, Philippe Michel, is titled, Wayback Sound Machine: Sound
art, sound has emerged as a cross- Frédérick Duhautpas—Makis Solomos, through time, space, and place, and asks what
road of theoretical and practical Musique et nature/Music and Nature, with we might gather from sounding the past.
questions. Many of these questions texts by; Rosalía Martínez, Jean Paul Olive, www.mailecolbert.com
concern the permanent interaction Georges Bériachvili, Ljubica Ilic, Field
of sound with what surrounds it: recording, phonographies/Field Recording, Endnote
physical space, the environment, Phonography, with texts by; Guillaume 1 Guattari, F. 1989. Trois ecologies.
the audience... This interaction Loizillon, Marie-Hélène Bernard, Paysages Paris: Editions Galilée.

Todd Birdsong, Artist Statement

W hen asked to contribute images for this edition of Soundscape, I was reminded of the Walt Whitman poem
I Sing The Body Electric:

 The full-spread pride of man is calming and excellent to the soul,

Knowledge becomes him, he likes it always,
he brings every thing to the test of himself,
Whatever the survey, whatever the sea
and the sail he strikes soundings at last only here,
(Where else does he strike soundings except here?)”

Whitman’s talk of the importance of the body and the soul and their inter-connectedness celebrates the significance
in constructing connections between people. For me, the Deep Listening recording (along with other works by Pauline
Oliveros) strengthens the “sacred” linkage of our physical and spiritual selves. Our generated experiences building a
conduit to our metaphysical existence.

36
Reviews (continued)

The Tone of Our Times: Sound, Sense, Economy, and Ecology

by Frances Dyson
Reviewed by Heather Contant, University of New South Wales

Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2014), 232 pages

In 2001, when Australian improvisor and during the performance by Thomas and
experimental bassist Clayton Thomas was cellist Anthea Caddy, who played a single
trying to create the logo for a new sound art resonant tone for about twenty minutes.
festival in his hometown of Sydney, Austra- These two events brought the theories
lia, he wanted to underscore the variations and practices at the root of the sound art
in the creative atmosphere that the event community together and formed a constella-
sought to highlight. He looked down at his tion that illuminated the spirit of this scene,
Olivetti 1968 typewriter and noticed the which is nestled in the long shadow of the
shift key. Channelling his inner poet, he world’s most iconic Opera House.       
pressed it down and wrote: “the NOW.” As The book launch took place in the early
the hammers struck, the palpable shifts in the afternoon at the Sydney Non Objective
experimental music scene were imprinted (SNO) Galleries in the city’s inner-west.
onto the page.  Local saxophonist Jim Denley teamed up
Amanda Stewart, a Sydney poet that with Amanda Stewart, whose work received
works with sound, described these shifts long overdue attention by Dyson, to present
in The Tone of Our Times: Sound, Sense, the publication in a non-traditional, thought
Economy, and Ecology, a recent, and proving provoking, and uplifting performance. The
to be timely and significant, book by Frances two, who have worked together since 1987,
Dyson published by MIT Press: “Without took turns reading selected passages, while
wishing to generalize, she notes a tendency the other punctuated words with the appro-
in the ‘90s and early 2000s for performers to priate sonic improvised accompaniment.
focus on ‘the idea of extended tone.’”1 Dyson’s You know a book is good when its theories
book explores the theoretical and ultimately become immediately applicable to the
political implications of this practice along present situation. This was the case for The
with many others, like liturgical chant, Tone of Our Times. While packed into the
sonification, robotic voices, and the people’s crowded sweltering room during the high
mic, in order to bring sound studies outside Australian Summer, I found myself observ-
of its newly established niche in the academy. ing in real-time, the perfect self-reflexive improvisational element, yet it
It explores the various concepts of “tone” caption for the panoramic scene created is also accounted for, and made
throughout history—from the mathemati- by the festival. As Jim Denley read about parenthetical to the performance.3
cally produced “pure” tone to the tone of Amanda Stewart, who has haunted listen- (and here Denley deftly kicks over
one’s voice—and examines the potential of ers with her live vocal practice that mimics a beer bottle to accentuate this
these sounds to confront the dual “eco-” the noises and non-sensical overflow of point)
crises of economics and ecology in the information in the digital media landscape,
As the audience was called out, a feeling
present. she quietly, almost imperceptibly offered
of exposure washed over us. A feeling that
The book was launched on Saturday, a demonstration. Later on, she admitted
would not have been possible, by the way,
January 17, day 4 of that year’s NOW that it was, in fact, “very bizarre, when Jim
if the same passage had been silently read.
festival in Sydney. Then in its 14th year, the mentioned me in the third person,” but this
As we saw our present situation reflected
event continues to bring together local and bizarre self-awareness only reinforced the
by the words and performance, it was as if
global performers to showcase “exploratory, words being read. 
we had caught a glimpse of ourselves in the
experimental, improvised, noise, sound-art,
The corporeal self-consciousness mirror for the first time. Captivated by our
outsider, free, unpopular and generally
and sonic self-annihilation with own image, the underlying hidden attributes
‘othered’ musics.”2 In its 2015 iteration, the
respect to Stewart’s “voice-that-is- of our collective potential could be revealed.
echo typographically implied by the festival’s
not-a-voice” are also characteristics The duo switched roles, Denley played his
logo all those years ago could still be heard
shared by the audience, as they saxophone, interrupted its tone with various
during the five-day affair, which included
quiet their bodies as much as homemade apparatuses, and Stewart began
over 80 performers and still operates through
possible within the highly rever- to read,
volunteer efforts on a shoestring budget.
berative spaces where many of
I was particularly struck by the way that Sound … offers a way to negotiate
the performances are held. If
this book launch informed my experience of the “unthought” and the unspoken,
someone tips over a glass, its sound
the rest of the day’s programming, especially to develop other vocabularies and
is absorbed as an impromptu or

37
Reviews (continued)
other forms of political, economic, first, to the room full of receptive bodies that It is important to note that this refining action
and social organization. Sound’s all fell silent. does not have an ultimate end product, for
ephemeral and atmospheric Caddy, who wanted to try this experiment even if it were to ever produce “pure gold,”
nature is, like the environment, at the NOW festival, insisted that the bar stop that shine of this precious metal would soon
something that circulates outside of serving patrons, so that people could devote be tarnished with exposure to the environ-
exchange, and refocuses attention full attention to the performance.7 However, ment. This is why the continued existence
on the space and environment of this does not adequately explain the degree of events like the now festival and the
the subject rather than the subject of silence produced by the audience in that communities they support is so important.
per se. The aural opens avenues room. Over the course of 20 minutes, as the These gatherings offer a space, a caldron
towards an understanding that is tone slowly crescendoed, as Watts brought perhaps, for these refining actions to flour-
arational, that evokes a grain (or up the volume on the sound system, pushing ish. By exposing us to new sounds and ideas,
rather tone) of thought and an it right up “just on the edge” of feedback,8 they acclimate us to the noise of our chaotic
aesthetics of listening that, I would listeners quietly and attentively zeroed in on world, and continue to shift our already
argue offers some entry into the the sounds they heard. As the instruments shifting artistic communities12 so that we
dilemma of how to hear the world started to purr like two tigers resting in the can better deal with increasingly dynamic
and in hearing, also to be able to shade, a number of unintended collabora- changes of economic and ecological spheres.
act, with the aim and existential tors contributed to the composition. Caddy
condition of the “in-common.”4 explained that the focus of the composition
“wasn’t actually on us per se, it’s more of About the Author
Norman Abjorensen, a writer and scholar
what’s going on in the whole environment:”9 Heather Contant researches commu-
of Australian public policy, explained that
a low-flying aircraft from Sydney Inter- nities that have come together throughout
this unprecedented approach to the book
national Airport, whose flight path we sat history to explore the possibilities of the
launch was “refreshingly different from the
underneath; the inhaling and exhaling of the radio band of the electromagnetic spectrum
usual stumbling, self-conscious speeches.
red mylar draped on the walls and blowing in an artistic context. She lectures in media
But, more importantly, it engaged in a most
in the fan; my own breathing and subtle art and audio production at the University of
direct way with the core of the book, inviting
movements, which seemed especially loud New South Wales | Art & Design in Sydney,
all of us gathered in that intimate space to
at that time. Australia, where she is a member of the
focus on the sounds being improvised and
Amid this atmosphere, the ideas planted Sound, Energies & Environments research
what they meant.”5 For me, the intellectual
earlier in the day by Dyson’s book blossomed. group. Her writings have appeared in
force released during the launch continued
I perceived the effect that listening had on Leonardo Music Journal and elsewhere. She
to propel my experience of the festival later
a crowd of individuals, the power of sound is currently completing a PhD thesis about
in night, as I relocated a few blocks up to an
to become political by inducing a change in Walter Benjamin and collectivist tendencies
old converted warehouse venue called the
people’s action.  I observed how this simple in radio throughout history.
Red Rattler. Once again…
tone caused the audience to, once again,
…in basements, sometimes called become acutely aware of its bodily presence
“galleries” in lounge rooms or and how it became a foundation for sensing Endnotes
empty warehouses, people of all our relationships to the exterior world. Later, 1 Dyson, Frances, The Tone of Our Times:
ages sit on old sofas or cushions on when I read Dyson’s book in its entirety, Sound, Sense, Economy, and Ecology,
the ground just to listen to sound, the profundity of the performance grew in Cambridge, Mass, MIT Press: 2015. p
or music, that is without analogy degrees of magnitude. The playing of a single 102.
or reason, that seems at times to be imperfect note inspired “a listening practice 2 thenownow.net
brilliant and then again dreadful, that is unique in its ability to ‘hear’ noise,
3 Dyson, 141.
in a way that is concentrated and within its environment and as an aesthetic
focused…6 experience that is shared and inclusive of 4 Dyson, 149.
all sound.”10 By accomplishing this, the 5 Abjorensen, Norman, email.
It was, in particular the performance by
performance also demonstrated “the trans- 6 Dyson, 154.
Anthea Caddy and Clayton Thomas that
formation of noise into an expression that
took these ideas to their outer limits. Caddy, 7 ibid.
registers consensus, a shared understanding,
a cellist, and Thomas, a bassist, both played 8 Watts, Jon, interview.
sympathy, empathy, one could say resonance,
one single note—a tone—on their respective
and the short-circuiting of language and 9 Caddy, Anthea and Clayton Thomas,
instruments by bowing the strings. The duo
discourse to produce direct action.”11 interview.
had worked with sound engineer Jon Watts
The experiences of this day and their 10 Dyson, 141.
earlier in the day to find a resonant frequency
subsequent clarification in the text of Dyson’s
that reverberated with their instruments, the 11 Dyson, 97.
book created what I can only describe
acoustics of the large space, and the house 12 Dyson, interview, explained that the NOW
as a refining action. Theory and practice
sound system. They began to play this note now festival community is “shifting and still
bounced back and forth and collide, allow-
again later in the evening, very quietly at shifting.”
ing the elements to quicken in my mind.

38
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