Experiencing Organised Sounds: The listening experience across sound-based works. Abingdon: Routledge – x, 229p. + copious media examples online.

Experiencing Organised Sounds investigates a wide horizon of sound-based works using a template consistently across its 16 studies. It has been written for both specialist and non-specialist readers aiming to address means of increasing appreciation and understanding related to the experience of sonic creativity (music involving any sounds, not just musical notes) across this repertoire, as well as to launch a discussion about how the reception of sonic creativity can be influenced by the circumstances of listening – in particular, regarding the qualitative difference between the in-situ as opposed to mediated experience. Although listening is the volume’s focus, complementary information from the musicians is offered to facilitate holistic work overviews. As the first composition presented was composed by a 15-year-old, the intention is to demonstrate that what might be considered a niche area of the contemporary arts is one in which both increased appreciation and participation could and should easily be achieved. The book’s work discussions are divided over three central chapters focused on fixed-medium compositions, performed and sound artworks. Experiencing Organised Sounds can be used as an undergraduate textbook, by experienced readers or those new to the area. All works discussed and related materials are available to readers online.

 

Table of Contents

 

1 To start                                                                                                

         What this book is all about                                                             

         Building on the author’s previous work                                          

         Regarding the central part of the book                                            

 

2 Work discussions across sound-based creativity – Fixed Medium            

           Acousmatic/1 – Florian Sulpice: C’est wiizzz!!!                              

           Acousmatic/2 – John Young: Three Spaces in Mid-Air                  

           Soundscape – Katerina Tzedaki: a soundwalk                              

           lowercase – Simon Atkinson: interiorities viii                                

                     + Kerry Francksen/Simon Atkinson: Betwixt & Between

           Electronic/formalised – Kevin Dahan: Gravitational Landscape    

                     (with tinnitus)

           Visual music – Bret Battey: Three Breaths in Empty Space            

           Text-sound + sample-based – Leigh Landy: On the Éire               

 

3 Work discussions across sound-based creativity – Live                         

           Mixed music – Simon Emmerson: Solo Flute Quartet                   

           Improvised – James Andean: Third Space                                  

           Live coding – Anna Xambó: MTI@20 – Leicester, UK                

           DIY electronics – John Richards: Motor Music                           

           Turntablism – dj sniff (Takuro Mizuta Lippit):

                     untitled performance                                                       

           Performance art – Neal Spowage: Noise Loop Bootstrap             

 

4 Work discussions across sound-based creativity – Sound art               

           Installations/1 – Francesc Martí: Speech cycle                            

           Installations/2 – Peter Batchelor: Contraption                            

           Objects – Sam Topley: Noisy Pompoms                                      

 

5 To end                                                                                              

 

References                                                                                          

 

Appendix – The Intention/Reception Form Used in the Book                 

 

Glossary