preservationing sound

"we lose individual noises all the time."

so says anne matthews, author of the recent cover article of preservation magazine which explores the lasting impression and importance of sounds unique to certain spaces/buildings/ places, through a particular recording project (undertaken by longtime audio producer alex van oss and the goethe-institut in washington) that recreates the soundscapes relative to landmarks desgined by german architect adolf cluss. read an interview with matthews (who is incredibly well-spoken on the subject) and hear excerpts from the cluss-inspired cd here.

if you think for just a minute about your own favorite places (like...alliance bakery in chicago) and then what they sound like (excitable customers debating outloud which cupcake will taste best, espresso machine whirring away, old timey cash register ringing up orders) i think you'll agree that the savoring AND saving of place-sounds is a worthy endeavor. here's a dutch website devoted to just that - the library of vanished sounds.

post and during

on the heels of the seventh TCF conference, which was great fun and unspeakably exhausting, i'm just about feeling recovered. besides the illuminating (i'm assuming - waiting to hear them myself. mp3s coming soon on the TCF site) sessions, incredible caliber of radio peeps and palpable devotion to sound throughout the conference, a few things were especially and sonically exciting:

- the new TCF awards. they're beautiful AND they make noise. here, have a listen. and thanks, alex.

- phonoscopy! it's even better in person than on the website. you should invite kevin to bring his mighty box to your neighborhood soon.

and... the arctic: soundscape sound installation at millenium park, which just happened to be running while our final event took place in a room tucked away in the core of the main pavilion. imagine gigantic images (by david buckland) from and inspired by the high arctic, projected on wide glass doors across the huge MP stage, while the most mesmerizing, crushing audio recordings (seals barking, glaciers creaking, walruses walrusing, winds screeching....are you shivering yet?) rush out of the speakers spanning the park's entire Great Lawn. if you're anywhere near chicagoland you should definitely check this out. it's only up for two more days - saturday and sunday, november 10th and 11th, 9am - 10 pm.

plus

not to be missed - audio artist max eastley, who made the recordings for arctic: soundscape, will be performing on a single bow instrument (of his invention) tomorrow evening, saturday november 10th, at 7:30 pm. free exhilaration guaranteed.