Sound Art
Sound Art encompasses the range of creative expression where sound is the primary if not the sole medium. And I distinguish sound art from music, which is sound organized over time. I build sound art from field recordings. Sometimes a recording stands alone as the work, while others welcome editing and manipulation.
One of the primary forms I’ve been exploring is the “sound walk.” Think of a sound walk as a playlist of field recordings. These recordings can be tied together by a place, a theme, or any other concept. And like any good mixtape, the best have an ebb and flow; a rhythm that moves you along with the mix.
Japan Sound Walk
In the Fall of 2023 Shawn made his first visit to Japan, including three days in the ecumenical village of Koyasan, Wakayama Prefecture. While there he practiced with Shingon monks and made a series of audio recordings. You can listen to the sounds of the UNESCO Heritage site in his latest sound walk.
London sound walk 11.2022
This sound walk comprises twenty-one separate field recordings made on November 14th, 2022, across London England. Locations include Hyde and Green Parks, the Tube, Borough and Camden Markets, plus King’s Cross and Paddington stations.
Compostion without a Composer
It was a happy accident. As the rain started I placed a pair of mics by a window and hit record. The resulting ambient piece includes the distant drone of power equipment, legato washes of occasional traffic and jets overhead, the pizzicato of flitting birds, and a mysterious voice down the hall. A composition without a composer.
Ward Reservation Sound Walk
A “mix tape” of field recordings from the Trustees’ Charles Ward Reservation, a sprawling 704-acre landscape of woods, bog, and swamps. This sound walk is filled with late-Spring birdsong, along with man-made ambience reminding us that this is a suburban oasis.
Christmas Season Sound Walk
A blend of audio recordings from the Christmas season in Prague, Nuremberg, Erlangen, and Munich, including their Christmas markets.
Icknield Way Sound Walk
A playlist of 21 field recordings made along England’s Icknield Way, a long-distance route dating to at least the Iron Age. The walk ranged from Tring to Thetford, with a side trip to Cambridge out of Royston.
Misty Day “Out Back”
Six sound impressions of the local land trust on a misty day. The pizzicato notes of raindrops and squirrel chitters, along with birdsong and the buzz of crickets, complement the distant legato notes of a jet and trucks on a nearby rain-soaked highway. Best with headphones.
Singapore sound walk
A half hour long exploration of Singapore by ear, including the subway system, Gardens by the Bay, various hawker centers, the Marina Bay Sands hotel and mall, the Botanical Garden, the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple, the National Gallery, and the Hajjah Fatimah Mosque.
Birds in the English rain
A field recording captured in a hedgerow along Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland, England, just after a gentle rain began. A balance of foreground and background birdsong, pink noise from a nearby motorway, and panned raindrops provides an excellent example of the soundstage.
Manhattan sound walk
A sound walk combining eleven separate recordings made on March 14th 2019. Locations included the subway, Grand Central Station, the Battery, the High Line, and Central Park.