On November 9th, 2023 Tom Fisher, aka Action Pyramid, who is a sound ecologist and self-taught musician and producer who has spent the last few years exploring the role of sound in often overlooked ecosystems. His recordings explore the world of waterlilies, flies, and aquatic photosynthesis. Bioacoustics research and the creation of material through field recording and selective editing have allowed his compositions in quad-speaker setups to explore realms most of us have never heard before, including those that are unimaginable and almost otherworldly.

For his gear, he uses hydrophones and long boom poles to reach the underwater environments of ponds and riverbeds.

In my opinion, one of the most important aspects of his lecture was the emphasis he placed on treating created and captured material with a sense of sensitivity and reverence.

On October 16th, 2023, we listened to Dr. Carrie Giunta, a professional sound editor and sound designer as well as a teacher in philosophy, discuss her search to understand the relationship between sound and image in cinema. This guest lecture ranged from discussing and analyzing Greek philosophical perspectives to learning about her role in doing the sound design and guerrilla foley for ‘Casino Royale’ (2006) and the silent films of Charlie Chaplin.

Key takeaways I took from this lecture included the importance of listening to sound design from the perspective of the audience when mixing and creating themes and parallels between the story and sound. I also reflected on her thoughts about neglecting the emotional context of a scene when you record the actual sound of a space rather than specific qualities or items in a space. This was an expansion from ‘The Conversations and the Art of Editing’ with Walter Murch and Michael Ondaatije.

Charlie Chaplin and the allusion of speech and sound through movement and pictures were also analyzed in this guest lecture. Focusing on the importance of expression and the amount our own brains fill in as a result of seeing certain faces and actions.

Finally, the importance of contrast in sound also resonated with me in my own practice. The more the contrast in volume, density, and variety, the greater the emotional effect silence can have on the psyche of the audience. This is especially important in film and in sound works.

On Thursday May 4th as apart of the guest lecture series hosted by UAL LCC and CHRiSAP two members of staff and artist Rory and Ecka spoke about their practice. Rory is a musician and sound artist who associates himself with organic sounds, field recordings, and music concréte all combined with piano and compositional music. Ecka is a musician who bases her practice around the cello, horse hair harp, and music concréte with objects such as an egg flute and door hinge. Her practice is also integrated with scent, recently designing perfumes around sounds.

Rory’s work “Free Music on the Clock (Chocolate Monk)” was inspiring to me and I listened to the piece after the lecture multiple times. The use of feedback and what sounded like a dicey pot from an electric guitar was used in a musical way that felt entirely compositional and deeply coloured to my taste.

Ecka’s recent release “Promise and Illusion” was incredibly inspirational and tonally complex. I listed to the album on my way home from the lecture and was amazed. The use of the voice alongside the door hinge as an opening demonstration of the feel for the entire album was both unique and compositionally inspiring.

Expanding on my inspiration from the lecture, I developed an idea for one of my own compositions from both of there perspectives, especially Ecka’s use of a horse hair harp throughout the album. For my Creative Sound Projects Module I am going to compose a score to an impressionist painting that is meaningful to me and incorporate elements of the environment as well as instrumentation that is sonically period accurate to the painting.

This past Thursday Cathy lane spoke during the Sound Arts lecture series with CRiSAP about listening, field recording, mapping areas sonically, and trying to understand how events can affect the sonic landscape of places. The lecture was diverse and thought provoking, and I found myself thinking about mapping the soundscapes of places that are influential to me after, or even incorporating the perspective into how I approach composing alongside specific motifs or for film.

Cathy Lane led the lecture by combing speaking about her perspectives, other artist, and by showing pieces of work the contribute to her practice. “Tweed” (2008) was a three minute piece that she showed us which shed light on the industry in Scotland, specifically surrounding the business practices of Harris Tweed. The company now only allows for handwoven pieces to be made, in order to help maintain employment levels in the Hebrides in Scotland.

Other works that she showed us the stood out to me include “Where Once Were Whales” (2013), “Listening in the Trees”, “Sandy Jaffas” (2015), and “Square Peg Rond Hole” (2021). “Square Peg Round Hole” especially stood out to me as a meaningful way to shed light on the perspective of mental illness specifically in Europe, and the means by which governments initially negatively approaches rehabilitation for those affected.