Research Catalogue

an international database for artistic research

• 27. Issue 27 Issue 27

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  The Timbre of Tone, the Texture of Space: An Embodied Approach to the Atmospheric Modulations of Éliane Radigue (2020) author(s): Mark Saccomano published in: Journal of Sonic Studies
  The electronic music of Éliane Radigue provides a striking experience of sound, space, audition, and their interdependence - dramatically demonstrating the link between music perception and listener actions. Radigue’s musical structures are not fully realized until they are taken up by the listener; listening subject and musical object participate in an event that is mutually constitutive of these roles, articulating the space shared by both. Drawing on James J. Gibson’s (1986) ecological approach to perception, as well as Scott Marratto’s (2012) work on Merleau-Ponty’s theory of embodiment and meaning, I show that space is more than simply a transparent medium through which music flows: sonic characteristics of the music combine with bodily comportment to constitute a work wherein sounds come to inhabit space with the same material presence as the listener. By calling upon our capabilities as embodied listeners, Radigue’s music offers us an opportunity to become reattuned to our surroundings, presenting new possibilities for action within the spaces we inhabit.
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  Noise and Silence: The Contemporary Sound Sculptures of Adam Basanta (2020) author(s): Shauna Jean Doherty published in: Journal of Sonic Studies
  This article examines the radical and destabilizing potential of noise and silence, expressed by Canadian artist Adam Basanta’s sound sculpture practice. The author’s analysis is undertaken through a comparison of Basanta’s works to those of foundational sound artists, John Cage and Steve Reich, as well as contemporary sound sculpture practitioners, Robert Pugliese, Konrad Smoleński, Michael Sailstorfer, and Nikita Gale. Dominant themes of noise, silence, and feedback recur in the referenced artists’ practices, demonstrating a shared interest in the dynamics of sonic power.
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• The Pteropoetics of Birdstrike (2020) author(s): Jacob Smith published in: Journal of Sonic Studies
  “The Pteropoetics of Birdstrike” is a work of multimedia scholarship consisting of a curatorial essay and a twenty-five minute audio piece. Working at the intersection of Sound Studies, Environmental Humanities, and Mobility Studies, the project examines the phenomenon of birdstrike: when birds collide with aircraft. The physical and radiophonic spaces of the airport create a contact zone of human and avian aeromobilities, with birdstrikes as vivid dramas of that shared space. I consider the implications of birdstrike through a critical essay that curates an audio composition that works through the selection and juxtaposition of found sound material. That material consists of recordings of air traffic control conversions during birdstrike incidents, recorded interviews with a pioneer in the field of forensic ornithology, and several poetry recitations. The recitations include the iconic “aerial image” of a skylark’s flight-song, paired with recordings of the actual bird. The result of the whole is to redirect a tradition of aerial imagination towards a new “pteropoetics” that understands the sky as a habitat shared with others.
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  The Soundscape of Quarantine: The Role of Sound During a Public Health Crisis (2020) author(s): Braxton Boren published in: Journal of Sonic Studies
  Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many people must remain indoors for a very long period of time. To mitigate the deleterious effects of a quarantine, several recommendations are proposed here to improve the soundscape for those under lockdown. Some voluntary and non-voluntary suggestions are offered to reduce low frequency noise transmission in adjacent apartment units. In addition, it is argued that reverberation and binaural rendering would provide a needed change of soundscape for those stuck indoors. Even these small measures may help make a long quarantine more tolerable so that more people stay inside until the crisis is over.
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  Sonifying the definitive Brazilian icon (2020) author(s): Angelo Fraietta published in: Journal of Sonic Studies
  Bandeira do Brasil—the Flag of Brazil—is a ubiquitous, yet definitive icon that represents the nation of Brazil. Although many countries include astronomy on their flag, the Flag of Brazil is unique in that the astronomy represented on the flag depicts a specific moment in time: the exact minute that Brazil declared its independence. Each star represents a specific state, so moving from one star to another is effectively a virtual tour of the country. Order and Progress: a sonic segue across A Auriverde is an abstract audiovisual sojourn across the Flag of Brazil realized as a sonified and politicized astronomy show, evoking emotions and responses through the use of fantasy, mystery, exaggeration, distortion and parallelism.
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  Being There: Evocation of the Site in Contemporary Indian Cinema (2020) author(s): Budhaditya Chattopadhyay published in: Journal of Sonic Studies
  Contemporary Indian films, in their essentially digitalized realms, incorporate techniques such as the location-based multitrack “sync” recording, and surround sound design that reorder the organization of cinematic sound. These practices contrast with the earlier mono- or stereo formats by reconfiguring the linear construct of a soundtrack to produce a spatially evocative sonic environment that offers the listener a more life-like auditory experience of the fictional site. Using significant examples from post-2000 Indian films, this article shows how earlier practices are being replaced by “sync” sound elements and surround sound mixing with a richly spatial arrangement of site-specific ambience. The article argues that these layers of ambient sounds lead to audiences establishing their embodied experience of presence with the fictional site via auditory spatial cognition and immersion in a cinematic soundscape. By situating contemporary sound production practices within the various trajectories of Indian cinema, this article contributes to the broader field of research examining the key developments and emergent aesthetics in constructing spatial environments for cinema.
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