Memory is a subject that I find fascinating, I have intensely worked with memory as a focus point for some of my previous work, exploring the effects memories have on oneself throughout life. Memory remains in all 5 sense, and can be brought up through the simplest of sounds or movements. The power it holds, whether people like to admit it or not, is strong, your memories shape your perception and therefore shape how you relate to the world around you. I think that memory embeds itself into more of life than we are fully aware of.
Throughout this lecture we talked about artists and academics whom I hadn’t previously heard of, working in different ways to portray their own interpretation of memory.
One example was Sebastiane Hegarty, a sound artist, writer and lecturer. ‘His creative practice which is interdisciplinary and time-based in nature, explores the relationship between time, place and sensation.’ This piece specifically, is an audio paper surrounding the relationship of him and his mother, talking about the emotional and perceptual space left behind when someone dies, and how recorded sound can capture a fragile presence of a voice that can no longer speak.
‘It’s Just Where I Put My Words’ – Sebastiane Hegarty –
This was one of the most emotional audio papers that I have listened to yet, it holds a different value than the more academically driven audio papers do. I am aware this is because the more academic ones have to conform to a structure so they’re able to convey their point, whereas this feels more loose and free. The use of both his and his mothers voice, playing in the present and from his multitude of recordings, creates a really interesting dynamic between the piece and the listener. Hearing his mother’s voice throughout her life feels incredibly personal and creates this relationship that was as if I knew her, I felt entirely present through the 28 minutes, intrigued by, what are really rather uneventful recordings.
The length of the piece itself is the first aspect that allows for more freedom, the longer the audio paper, the more time you’re able give the listener to process what they’re hearing, without having to spell it out for them. This is what allows for a more personal connection, as instead of being forced one interpretation (the speaker’s) they’re able to form their own perspective and idea on the subject matter, linking it to their own personal views and experiences. This means the listener becomes that extra bit engaged as they feel comfortable and aware of what they’re listening to.
Timing is one of the biggest concerns I have for my audio paper as 10 minutes is a rather short amount of time to convey a point, whilst balancing speech with sound recordings, and still giving the listener the necessary processing time. From what I have learnt listening to other audio papers, in regards to speech, less is more. Often times there is so much speech involved in the audio paper that it ends up fighting with the other sounds occurring, so much so you become lost in the point and I often unconsciously zone out.
To combat this I am going to make sure I am precise with what I say, leaving out unnecessary explanations that the listener themself can correctly interpret, in a way they stay engaged. Also, although I am aware that my piece is required as more of an academic paper, I still want to convey a level of emotion in the work as this is what I feel really captures the listener. I will have to do this in a more subtle way that intertwines with my subject matter in order to not loose the academic power behind my point. But I just feel having a balance allows the listener to engage factually with work, as well as emotionally through their memories and lived experiences, therefore leaving with the clearest overall interpretation of the paper.
‘How to Remember’ – Axel Kacoutié –
https://www.thirdcoastfestival.org/feature/how-to-remember
Axel Kacoutié is an audio artist and poet who’s work ‘How to Remember’ is sonically inspired by Axel’s travels to Côte d’Ivoire. The piece is formed around identity, specifically the identity of not belonging, “this work is an attempt to reconcile and accept (in seven steps/scenes) all the parts of me that I’ve either wrongly internalised or intuitively known to be true”.
This work again, is an audio piece that holds a lot of emotion, telling a story through establishing it’s sonic surroundings and using a wide source of sound recordings to do so. This piece is arguing a point more directly, it is told through a personal experience which allows the listener to have someone to sympathise with, therefore being able to better understand the severity of the point.
The choice of sound sources really shone out in this piece, you have this main voice (Axel’s) guiding you through, but this voice is accompanied by other recordings that help emphasise the point and atmosphere created. There is this rather beautiful natural soundscape that flows in and out throughout the 10 minutes which, at parts really establishes the surroundings for the listener, like when talking about the beach. However, at other points it feels it is used as a form of controlling the atmosphere, creating a space where the listener can fall into and flow along with the speaker. The other sources he used that were incredibly effective were the clippings of voices from media snippets, defining the hate towards black people in this country. This choice of source brings attention to the fact that this is a relevant issue which greatly affects multitudes of people everyday, and this is where the anger begins to stir in the piece. Although throughout the piece Axels voice does not change in emotion (he isn’t audibly angry) you begin to feel this build up of emotion, anger as well as others, which is eventually broken when another audio source cuts in.
This use of interrupting the piece with another source is really unique and interesting with the effect it has. Instead of curating them to flow into each other, I really like this structure of using one to cut another up, interjecting itself into the piece when it is relevant and needed to quickly direct the listener to this point. I feel this is a less common effect in audio papers, but works really well for the time frame of 10 minutes. It means you don’t have to spend so long establishing context for the source and instead let it explain itself and give its own context. However, there is a fine line between this working and it not, as without enough context the source can get lost and misunderstood by the listener, taking them out of the piece and causing a disconnection to the point.
Having now listened to a range of audio papers, some more academic and formal, others more emotional and vulnerable, I feel confident in beginning to structure my own. I am aware of the effect I want it to have, and I am now conscious of the vast ways in which I can curate the piece to have that desired effect. I have taken inspiration from others work, understanding why it is it has inspired me, and how I can portray my own inspiration through my audio paper in order to keep the listener engaged and interested.