Eavesdropping

"The field recording was interesting to me as it revealed more after several listens. It was a combination of louder, more dynamic voices/human/environmental sounds, and some much more subtle parts. It made me feel like I was visiting another place which I found compelling, and I appreciated the inconsistent sounds and spaces captured. In the composition I wanted to marry abstractions with more concrete, yet simple melodic phrases, so that the listener can move along with the story of the moments captured in the original recording, but at the same time they can also tune into something musical if they want to. 

"I wanted the music to ebb and flow like the field recording itself, encouraging reflection on this one unique position in space and time when these sounds came together, to stop and be drawn into something and consider the geography, history, and presence of what can be heard in the final work. Who do we hear and what is their story? and what does what we hear tell us about the place, this historic walk in Tuscany? Approaching the project I took small samples of the recording for percussive elements. I combined these with the full original recording, and drew out a few small sections for specific treatment, as well as introducing this simple melodic motif as an anchor for the work."

Siena soundwalk reimagined by Suzi Lamb.

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This sound is part of the Sonic Heritage project, exploring the sounds of the world’s most famous sights.

Find out more and explore the whole project: https://www.citiesandmemory.com/heritage