Fall 2004
Volume 1, Number 1
Contents
Welcome to the ASAE
NYC Noise Code
NM Chapt. Fall Lectures
Review of Day of Sound
Recent Releases
Announcements
ASAE Board
Welcome to the American
Society for Acoustic Ecology
by Jim Cummings, ASAE President
Well, now, we're looking pretty official these days! Mailbox, non-profit corporation, and even a spiffy quarterly online newsletter. It sure is gratifying to see the U.S. chapter of the World Forum for Acoustic Ecology (WFAE) beginning to take real shape.
As you may know, there have been a few folks thinking about getting a U.S. Acoustic Ecology organization going for several years now. As the WFAE sprouted chapters in other countries, U.S. members started to discuss how we could do the same. After one or two aborted efforts (like the one where I put out the call for interest, then was swallowed back into EarthEar's scramble for survival), we're finally there.
The essential element for getting us this far has been a dedicated core group of people who have been very effective at pushing each other along, with first one, then another of the group picking up slack as needed, and taking the lead in various areas. Gary Ferrington is our experienced godfather, having been deeply involved in the WFAE for years. During a couple of lulls in the process, he kept the energy moving, while maintaining his careful focus on his WFAE work and not letting himself get pulled into a bigger ASAE role than he can manage. Michelle Nagai has been a sparkplug of positive momentum, pulling together the banking scene and also spearheading our most active local chapter, in New York City. Dave Aftandilian and Glenn Bach have taken on key organizational roles; Dave doing the newsletter and Glenn being liaison with local chapters. And Steven Miller has appeared on the scene to keep me honest by being our Vice President and living in the same area as me, assuring that I keep thinking both locally and nationally. He'll be our representative to the WFAE board; remember to ask him about those all those chartered flights to Vancouver and Australia that he'll be enjoying! All these folks have made it possible for us to get this far; there's really not much left for me to do as President, besides file a few corporate reports now and again and do a little cheerleading.
So, where do we go from here, now that we've got a basic structure and foundation? The answer is up to you, our members. A number of suggested projects have been floated, and which ones proceed will depend on where the energy and interest lie.
One key piece that has been repeatedly mentioned is that getting together face to face is really helpful for generating a sense of connection and getting us to start moving into action. The various chapters that are springing up provide our best opportunity for this so far. Organizing get-togethers and public events on the local level can move us forward in many ways:
- Linking with folks already involved in related projects, from noise pollution to education and music.
- Providing a venue in which interested members of the general public can be welcomed to explore their interest in acoustic topics.
- Giving us some experience in putting together and promoting small events, so that when we move to larger events, we'll have our footing.
- Inspiring each other by the types of events we put together, so perhaps other chapters will try similar things, or their own wild ideas.
- And far from least, giving us a chance to share a room with like-minded, open-eared souls!
Virtually all of the projects that have been mentioned as possible directions that the ASAE may go could be done as pilot programs at a local or even personal level. Gathering curriculum materials is one (Gary has done a lot of this already for the WFAE); sponsoring local, regional, or national "Favorite Soundscape" projects is another.
If anyone out there would like to spearhead a project that could have national relevance, please feel free to put out the idea on the , or contact a Board member for encouragement and support (see list of Board members below).
Let's build on the energy that's gotten us to this point. I trust that new members who have not been part of the WFAE before will find themselves inspired by the global context they discover by receiving the WFAE's Soundscape Journal, and I hope that we can all begin to find ways to bring acoustic ecology alive in our own home places. The key to the next steps for the ASAE will be nourishing a vibrant national community in which everyone feels that there is room for their ideas and enthusiasm. The Board we have is great, and will keep the basic form and circulation going within the body of the ASAE; our future action and direction, the vitality and creativity of the organization, will come from the larger community of ASAE members. Here's to the surprises that are waiting for us just around the corner!
An Updated Noise Code
for New York City
by Arline L. Bronzaft, Ph.D.
When the Department of Environmental Protection of New York City decided to update the City's over thirty year old Noise Code, it awarded a small grant to the League for the Hard of Hearing to review the first draft and seek out comments from other noise-concerned groups. Suggestions and comments were passed on to a noise consultant hired by the League who then worked directly with the Department of Environmental Protection on further revisions.
At Mayor Bloomberg's press conference informing the public of the revised Noise Code, amongst the people at his side were representatives from the construction industry and nightlife association as well as the police commissioner. The Mayor understands that there are many different groups interested in the way noise will be curbed in the city and he wants to get them all involved in the process.
The City Council, the body responsible for the passage of legislation, will be holding hearings on the Noise Code in the Fall and the public will be invited to voice its opinions. The Code is "not written in stone," meaning there is room for change. It is now up to the public and the City Council to pass a Noise Code, that once signed by the Mayor, will hopefully lessen the din in New York City, but still retain the sounds of the city that make it so wonderful.
To read the draft New York City Noise code, visit the City Council's web site at www.nyccouncil.info. Comments on the Code may be sent to this .
New Mexico Chapter
Plans Fall Lecture Series
The New Mexico Chapter of the ASAE is stepping out into the public eye this fall with a monthly lecture series. The series, titled "Listening in Place," is being cosponsored by the Contemporary Music Program of the College of Santa Fe, where ASAE vice president Steven Miller is a faculty member.
The lectures are designed as informal presentations, all of which will be centered on field recordings. The series kicks off on September 8 with Jack Loeffler, who has done numerous radio series using oral history and a watershed perspective to tell the story of place. On October 5, David Dunn will share his recent work on the edges of audibility, including recordings of bark beetles in pi-on pines and ultrasonic recordings in many environments. Steve Feld will present on November 8, linking his years of studying Papua New Guinea sound ecology with more recent recordings of bells in Europe; as you may know, he is fascinated by the ways that birds and bells are respective sonic signposts of time in each place. Finally, on December 6, ASAE president Jim Cummings will offer an overview of the art, science, and public policy aspects of acoustic ecology.
The series will take place in Tipton Hall on the College of Santa Fe campus. It's being billed as the "Fall Acoustic Ecology Series," so that may spur us to make sure there's one in the spring, too!! For more information on the series or our New Mexico chapter, contact Jim .
Review of Day of Sound
reviewed by Dave Aftandilian
Jason Reinier, Producer
Day of Sound
Earth Ear
While I write these words, a steady rain is falling outside my Chicago apartment, the drops hissing against the street. Passing cars add their intermittent drones, and my partner's typing a staccato accompaniment. A jet rumbles by overhead, probably taking off from Midway Airport several neighborhoods to the west. And closer to home and heart, our cat sits in my lap, the rough tongue against her fur as she cleans herself just audible when the crickets and distant sirens outside the window quiet for a moment.
Such is my sonic environment this late August evening. But what are people hearing in New York City right now? London? Mumbai? Cairo? Quito? In small towns and villages whose names I don't even know? For that matter, what are my neighbors hearing? And are they even listening?
The 34 phonographers (sonic equivalent of photographers) who contributed to Day of Sound set out to answer questions such as these by recording sounds near their homes around the world on a single day—February 17, 1996. This CD contains 75 of their recordings, each no more than a minute or two long, arranged by producer and contributor Jason Reinier into a profound meditation on sound in relation to place and people in relation to nature and the built landscape.
Listening to this CD was a fascinating experience. At times I couldn't tell where the CD ended and my own sonic environment began, the sounds on the recording resonated so strongly with my everyday listening experiences. But paradoxically, these similarities made me all the more aware of the differences between my soundscape and those of the various recordists that I heard on other tracks.
The more I listened, the more I became aware of unexpected connections between everyday sounds, such as the very similar sounds of rain falling and coffee percolating, the drone of steady traffic and the whooshing of the wind. I also was struck by how many places around the U.S. and around the world share a common sonic background of birdsong and insect calls, wind and moving water, traffic and human voices. It gives me a sense of hope, somehow, to think of how much humans in very different places have in common through their shared acoustic environments. On a more amusing note, I also was reminded while listening to Day of Sound that humans aren't the only noisy creatures on the earth. Frog choruses in a wetland can be absolutely deafening, as can swarms of cicadas in the trees, or sleet scraping mercilessly against a window pane in a winter storm.
I do wish Day of Sound didn't train its ears quite so intently on the U.S. and other Western nations—two-thirds of the recordings (52) were from the U.S., 14 from England and New Zealand, seven from Germany, and just one each from Italy and Japan. I would have liked to hear more from Asia, and something from Central and South America and the Middle East. I also would have enjoyed hearing more recordings from work as opposed to natural and home places, although I realize work wasn't meant to be the focus of this CD. Two of my favorite recordings were miked PVC pipe at a construction site (recorded by Jason Reinier) and the sounds of rhythmic hammering and coughing from a blacksmith's shop (recorded by Scott Dorsey), and I found myself wondering what the contributors would have heard if they had recorded the middle of rush hour in a major city, and the slower pace of an animal-drawn plow in a rural farmer's field.
These minor quibbles notwithstanding, Day of Sound is an amazing listening experience, and an equally amazing, ongoing recording project. Anyone interested in our global acoustic environments should enjoy and learn from this ear-opening CD.
Available from EarthEar, www.EarthEar.com
Steven Feld
The Time of Bells 1: Soundscapes of Italy, Finland, Greece, and France
Earth Ear
"After twenty-five years of recording rainforest soundscapes in Papua New Guinea, I've started to listen to Europe. I'm struck by a sonic resemblance: bells stand to European time as birds do to rainforest time. . . . In these compositions you'll hear how bells sound the time of day, the time of prayer, the time of festival, the time of transhumance. You'll hear how their temporality shapes space, changing ambience with the season, making distance and dimension. You'll hear how they interact with other time and space-makers, from the sea, insects and birds, to cars, televisions, and musical instruments. Most of all you'll hear how bells simultaneously sound a present and past, as their immediate resonance also rings the longue durée of their technological and social history."
—Steven Feld
Available from Earth Ear, www.EarthEar.com
David Rothenberg, John Wieczorek, and Robert Jürjendal
Soo-Roo
Terra Nova Music
"The marsh warbler (or Soo-roolind in Estonian) does something no other bird is known to do. On its winter travels, it learns the songs of African birds and takes them back to its summer breeding grounds in Northern Europe and sings them one after another, with relentless complexity, for all to hear. These songs are the basis for the rhythms in our final piece. In the same way, we hope our pancultural traveling grooves, from Estonia to America, from West to East, from acoustic to electronic, may celebrate the full world of sound one trio can produce. Driving tabla and udu rhythms mix with atmospheric guitar and swirling clarinet through subtle digital effects. The sounds of birds flit in and out, giving a yearning exuberance to the music. It is calm yet concentrated, relaxing but detailed."
Available from Amazon.com, Cdbaby.com, and Terra Nova Music, .
Various Artists
Broken Hearted Dragonflies: Insect Electronica from Southeast Asia
Sublime Frequencies
"There is a legend in Burma stating that swarms of male dragonflies gather to join in choruses of high-pitched tones to court their mates. The ones that don't succeed in mating eventually scream so loud that their chests explode and they drop dead to the ground. These recordings are a tribute to this legend. Droning cicadas, dragonflies and other insects display their charm as masters of the High Frequency Airwaves recorded live and unprocessed by Tucker Martine in the lush settings of Laos, Thailand, and Burma. Enter the supernatural world where Entomology and Electronica converge in a tropical hallucination of alien sound. Liner notes by Hakim Bey."
Available from Soleilmoon, www.soleilmoon.com
Earth Ear is offering a 15% discount to ASAE members. Earth Ear is both a recording label and a catalogue of environmental sound art recordings from a wide variety of artists. You can check out their catalogue at www.EarthEar.com. The Coupon Code to enter at checkout to claim your member discount will be "ASAE"; look for the code box on the first page of the shopping cart, under the list of items ordered. (You can join the ASAE from our web page at www.acousticecology.org/asae/.)
Steven M. Miller, ASAE vice president and associate professor of contemporary music at the College of Santa Fe, is working on a gallery installation for images and multi-channel sound with photographer Jennifer Schlesinger. The project deals with the soundscape and landscape along several of New Mexico's main waterways: the Rio Grande, Rio Chama, and Pecos River. They plan to exhibit the installation in late 2005 / early 2006. Steven is also concurrently working on a soundscape documentary piece on the Pecos River, from its headwaters in northern New Mexico to where it feeds into the Rio Grande in west Texas. For more information about these and other projects, visit his web site at http://pubweb.csf.edu/~smill/.
The NOISETHEORYNOISE#2 conference will take place from 10am to 6pm on Saturday, November 20, 2004 at Middlesex University in London. Contributions are invited from noisicians of every stripe. Multimedia presentations are welcome, but all presentations are limited to no more than 30 minutes each. Send inquiries or proposals by September 10, 2004 to and .
If you're interested in forming a Northwest Chapter of the ASAE, please contact . We will first see if there is a critical mass to form a group; if not, we will plan for the future of forming a group when we have enough people interested to do so.
And if you're interested in forming a Southeastern Chapter of the ASAE, or a Florida chapter, please contact John Owens:
American Society for Acoustic
Ecology (ASAE)
www.acousticecology.org/asae/
Board of Directors
For email contacts, please send a note to Dave:
Jim Cummings, President and Webmaster
Steven M. Miller, Vice President and WFAE Representative
Dave Aftandilian, Communications / Publications Coordinator
Michelle Nagai, Treasurer and Membership Coordinator
Glenn Bach, Secretary and Regional Coordinator
Gary Ferrington, Listserv Administrator