The recording of SOUNDS, phonography, that is, the practice by which sound is imprinted in a reproducible format, was born in the twentieth century, reaching a more “user friendly” dimension in the second half of the century.
The practice has become embedded in the most common uses of human art and science, from films to nature documentaries, reaching its peak of visibility in videos like “3 HOURS of GENTLE NIGHT RAIN, Rain Sounds to Sleep, Study, Relax etc.”, which currently has 177 million views on YouTube.
Over time the practice has landed in the world of music production as well, in an ever more flamboyant and immoderate way: today the use of concrete sounds in pop music is by now indispensable, while pure Field Recording is often relegated to background sound or a relaxation practice, an add-on for consumer goods. Sonic products with an evocative function, which however leave no room for a dimension of dignity in listening.
But humans always prick up their ears toward sound, waiting to hear a call or a danger to flee from, naturally attentive to sounds. This text is meant as an invitation to approach listening to sound composition with environmental sounds, soundscapes or all those art forms that are put on a pedestal and placed among “cultivated” listening. Non-music is in fact part of our nature, not a part but the whole.
Five imprinted sounds:
Old Skool Field: Hildegard Westerkamp – Trasformation (1996)
Geothermal Field: Jacob Kirkegaard - Eldfjall (2005)
Post Internet Fake Field: Luigi Monteanni – Om Telolet Om (2017)
Digitalized Nature Field: Various Artists – 15 Soundscapes (2021)
Archieve Field: KMRU – Temporary Stored (2022)
English translation of the Italian original. Read the original →