5. Alternative Acoustics
The concept of acousphere emerging from the historical Fennoscandian tradition differs significantly from the modern Western understanding of acoustics – particularly as concerns the function and role of sound reflections in relation to direct sounds. In contemporary architecture and sound design, the reverberation from surrounding spaces is expected to subtly and unobtrusively support human speech and music performances, while more powerful interventions, such as audible echoes, are considered disruptive and most undesirable (e.g., Everest 2001). Thus, in contemporary Western contexts, the material vitality and vibrant matter of reflecting spaces appear to be controlled, tamed, suppressed, even suffocated.
Historical applications of the natural sites’ acoustics in Sápmi suggest a contrastingly inclusive and interactive approach to reverberating spaces. The study of the Sámi sacred landscapes reveals special places imbued with enhanced reflections, which can be intentionally activated and engaged through direct sources. Indigenous knowledge underpins recently emerged concepts of sonic materiality, affirming the ontological status of sound as an authorial, creative force and as a vibrational form of material reality.
Rethinking acoustics through the concepts of acousphere and echophony entails an envisioning of spaces that accumulate sonic energies and facilitate the entanglement of sonic materialities. Understanding the operational dynamics of the acousphere provides a basis for the implementation of alternative acoustic approaches that assign equal – or even central – voice to reflected sounds, enabling and encouraging sonic diversity. Interactive sonic response is the major resource of the acousphere, offering human actors an immersive experience of co-creation with echoes and, from a materialist perspective, co-vibration with the environment and more-than-human forces.