Matthew McConway

Explanation

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Taking inspiration from the fields of sonic journalism, acoustic ecology and soundscape composition, I have created a sound piece that explores the intrusion of urban noise on green spaces in London. The work consists of five sections, each representing a different green space. I allow the unedited recording to play before manipulating the sound in different ways each time. The raw playback of the location recording is intended to immerse the listener in the space, the recordings capture and represent a space and time. I have treated each section as a ‘sonic image’, each of them playing in succession, like looking at photographs in a photobook . Initially presenting the image, then ‘zooming in’ on the ‘intruder sound’. This zoom has been achieved by using a variety of effects and techniques including EQs and filters, Echos, pitch shifters, reverbs, stereo imaging and resampling. In this shift I was aiming to take the listeners attention, and focus it on the urban, in attempts to raise awareness of the presence of noise pollution in the city overall, and in its green spaces. Reflecting on my work, I think I could have achieved a more accurate final piece by recording individual sounds and layering them with the environmental recordings, however, this would not have remained true to the environment. I think I have succeeded in achieving an interesting and thought provoking sound piece but there is of course room for improvement, both in representing the nuances of the topic and perhaps suggesting ways in which the problem can be abetted.

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