When I went my soundwalk I went out of the town and up to the hills. I like going up there as it is a good chance to clear my mind and to just enjoy exploring. On my way through the town I noticed most of the noise was coming from cars, and when I walked up further I could still hear them. I listened to the ‘London street noises‘ and in many of the locations this was a similar theme, both in 1928 and 2018. The 2020 lockdown has allowed us some peace from the noise of cars but I think its interesting how they dominate over everything else in the landscape.
One of the first ideas that came to me was that of a sound piece I had done in college, of an argument slowly building up and becoming more and more layered. Thinking of this, and of the awareness of noise at night, I want to record a night time walk when its dark and I’m fully able to take in everything I hear, and to overlap it in this way – as it can feel as though the sounds follow you home.
The other thing I noticed was when it started getting dark I became much more aware of the sounds around me. I think its just an instinct to be wary in the dark, and even though I was near no one and knew there was nothing to hurt me there, the dark closing in at all sides is still frightening – especially when you’re out on your own in the unlit outdoors.
I think it would be interesting to re-create the sound walk at night, when it is dark and I’m more aware of everything around me, and the dominating noise of car engines is silent. In addition to this it was quite a nice evening and I found myself distracted by the scenery and not able to take in the noise as well, so hopefully recording at night will rectify this.
Sources:
London Street Noises – A journey through London soundscape from 1928 to 2020
https://londonstreetnoises.co.uk/
