The Sound Of Qld
Over the course of the last decade or so, local media artist and curator, Lawrence English, has explored the world of sound. For next month’s Queensland Music Festival, he trekked to every corner of the state with his trusty recorder in hand.
What is Site Listening and where did the concept come from?
We're listening all the time, but more often that not we're filtering what we hear. As people read this a simple exercise is to stop for 30 seconds and just listen - you probably will hear a lot more detail than when you started reading this article. Anyway, I was interested to find something that whilst describing it wasn't too prescriptive and offered space for the idea to grow and develop. I decided on 'site-listening - the act of attentive listening in any chosen location, privileging the auditory environment as the focus of awareness’.
The project explores the art of attentive listening in everyday life. What can you hear right now?
Right now... a plane flying over - by the sound of it an a 330 (thanks, airport symphony project!) - a swarm of traffic deadened out through my closed windows, one car needing to replace its fanbelt, a light drone of the hard drive fan, a high pitched hiss from my mass storage device and other than that the slapping of these keys as I write about this.
Have you ever found yourself in an awkward position after listening in on something you shouldn’t have?
I think that's a good question for my friend Scanner in the UK - I think he certainly has. Often I’m not sure what I am listening in on - there've been a few things that maybe I should have not heard, but those stories remain best untold.
What are you hoping people will take away from Site Listening?
Hopefully a new appreciation of what our ears are good for. I'm not saying people should ignore their other senses, but rather use them all including your ears. Travelling to other countries, we always take photos and eat local food, but usually we forget about our ears. Site Listening is about awakening people to their ears and removing those virtual ear-lids.
If a picture can tell a thousand words, a soundscape can…
Suggest a thousand possible pictures.
Site Listening (sitelistening.com) is a project run in conjunction with the Queensland Music Festival, which happens July 15-31. qmf.org.au
