Soundscape: Paradise Bay - Antarctica

Paradise Bay  (1:35) Paradise Bay is a harbor in West Antarctica. It is one of only two ports used for cruise ships to stop on the continent. The Argentine scientific base is located  here as is a Chilean scientific station. In this video you can hear the sounds of the penguin rookery and ice on waves along the shore. Source: YouTube

Soundscape Installation: The Ground Falls Away: Expansion

"This is a multichannel video and sound installation that looks at the terrestrial movement of conservation and economic expansion displayed in the landscape of Panama’s Canal Zone. 

Recorded on location, in one of the world’s largest construction sites, artists Andrew Freeman and Jay Needham explore the physical and cultural conditions of the canal-zone as the metaphoric hourglass of the Americas. 

In this initial offering from their ongoing work in the region, the “expansion” project presents a fluid focal point for the artists; the installation points to a commercial and ecological zone where multinational pressures conspire to unearth the inevitable collision between global conditions and the environment. 

Produced in a partnership with the Panamanian NGO, Associatión Panamericana para la Concervación, the work examines a newly widened canal that harbors a myriad of consequences in the wake of its prior existence as part of a transnational US military landscape."

Videos:

Las Cienegas Projects Installation (1:31) This video provides and overview of the gallery in which the installation is located.

The Ground Falls Away: Expansion (08:24) Two screen presentation within the gallery.

Lecture: Harris and Shanken - Tuning In and Spacing Out

Tuning In and Spacing Out (31:57).  A presentation that explores sound and space as modes of understanding environmental phenomena. Drawing on a variety of examples from sound art, visual art, and science,  Yolande Harris and Edward Shanken weave together extreme ideas from the mythic and scientific significance of marine mammals to the surprising interconnectedness of the sea and outer-space. A consideration of how ways of experiencing space through sound modulate between fact and fantasy, actual and virtual. Presenters: Edward Shanken, University of Amsterdam and Yolande Harris, University of Leiden/Orpheus Institute. Sonic Acts: Session 5 - 2010.

Soundscape: Pike Place Fish Market

Pike Place Fish Market (5:05). People come from all over the world to visit Pike Place Market, an historic, open air market located in the heart of Seattle, Washington. Within the complex is  the Pike Place Fish Market, founded in 1930. It is  known for the tradition of fishmongers throwing fish that customers have purchased, before they are wrapped. There is a definite acoustic background punctuated by the shouting exchange of of the fishmongers.

"A typical routine will involve a customer ordering a fish, with their fishmongers in orange rubber overalls and boots calling out the order, which is loudly shouted back by all the other staff, at which point the original fishmonger will throw the customer's fish behind the counter for wrapping. Initially, the shouted repeating of the ordered fish began as a prank on one employee, but was enjoyed by customers, so it became a tradition. While working, the staff continually yell to each other and chant in unison while they throw ordered fish. At times, the fish market staff will throw a foam fish into the crowd to scare bystanders, or select a customer from the crowds to participate in the fish toss. Above the areas in which they throw fish, the market hangs a sign that reads, "Caution: Low Flying Fish". 

Source Text: Wikipeda. Video: YouTube.

Interview: Lawai Marafa and Soundscaping Hong Kong

Soundscaping the Urban Jungle (3:57) Dr Lawal Marafa of the Chinese University of Hong Kong's Department of Geography and Resource Management explains what soundscaping is. He defines it is a method of filtering or masking sounds which are annoying or stress-inducing with either physical obstacles to block sound waves or using calming, natural sounds to drown out noise pollution. In the way landscaping makes environments more aesthetically pleasing, soundscaping aims to make environments more aurally pleasing. Source: YouTube

Phonographer: Chris Watson on field recording

Chris Watson (9:42) This is a Swedish produced video archived on Chris Watson's web site, which is a great location for one to explore and learn more about his work. This  informative video is in English and Swedish.

Soundscape Composition: Portrait of a Sounding Object

Portrait of a Sounding Object (7:23) This performance piece is centered around a tall metal water tower located in an empty field. The performers use mallets and other tools to create a live soundscape composition recording. Two contact microphones were attached to the tower. Artists: John Grzinich, Yannick Dauby and Wan-Shuen Tsai in Mooste, Estonia (summer 2007).

Education: A Sound Addiction

Those who choose a sound oriented career often do so based on early interests and experiences with listening. Some approach acoustic-ecology from an artistic perspective and others from a social or scientific one. In this set of videos four individuals explore their early fascination with the sounds around them and how being influenced by what they heard  they  opted for an a career in acoustic science and engineering.  These individuals  have been students at  the University of Salford's Audio and Acoustic Engineering Research Centre, in Manchester, UK.

(1:41) Charlie Mydlarz "The Whole Nine Volts"

(2:34) Jon Hargreaves "Sounds So Bad"

(2:43) Neil Bruce "Addicted to Sound"

(2:44) Trevor Cox "Engineering Baby"

Source: YouTube