It's been a heck of a summer. The June lounge was terrific with a cozy, vibrant gathering in Mt. Pleasant (in the company of rabbits). Notes and highlights below. We zipped into July with our annual Sound Scene interactive audio installation on July 9th. Many thanks to the Smithsonian Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden for hosting the event this year. DC Listening Lounge broke the Hirshhorn's attendance records with excited visitors of all ages dappling in, constructing, playing and interacting with sound. We were thrilled to showcase the work of DC Listening Lounge members across all 4 floors of the museum. Looking forward to 2017 already! Thank you to everyone who helped to spread the word. Special thanks to WAMU and DCist for the coverage.
June Listening Lounge Notes: 6/21/2016 @ Susanne’s place
Opening question: What animal do you think is great at listening (and/or could be a Listening Lounge mascot if we ever chose one)? Some answers included: rabbit, bat, whale, dolphin, parrot, llama, cat...
Before sharing recordings we talked about informed consent in recordings. Is it OK to record without consent (e.g., at a family dinner, or at two separate public events one of which involves a camel from a petting zoo)? If you share recordings with others does that change the requirements (e.g., listening lounge members)? Under what circumstances is it excusable? In what scenarios could it be encouraged?
We also talked about the impact of visible microphones – some interviewees’ become more self-conscious when told that they are being recorded and others take the experience more seriously. We talked about how to minimize the presence of a mic even if its directly in front of an interviewee.
Lounge Listening:
George shared a recording he made of a singer/guitarist who performed at the Keep, using his cell phone. We discussed the quality of phone recordings. Recordings can be surprisingly clear given the right placement of the phone (in this case, a few feet away from the musicians). An added bonus is the fact that the phones often seem very unobtrusive due to their small size and ubiquity.
Zach shared an instrumental piece he created using a sample library of mellotron recordings. A mellotrom is a multi tape replay keyboard (sort of like an early version of a synthesizer) developed in the 1960s that’s regaining popularity. Look for youtube clips to find out more!
Alex shared a youtube video of a woman grinding chinese ink (pouring water on an ink stone, then grinding ink sticks on it) and talking during the process. The piece was preceded by a brief conversation about autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) and its popularity. We then also talked about aural discomfort – perhaps a possible theme for a future meeting? Could we stand to listen to those pieces?
James shared an original piece about shoplifting and in which he experimented with different types of soundtracks (music), proximity and distance, etc. Lounge members offered feedback and suggestions.
Announcements:
Takoma Radio is still looking for story pitches, new shows, etc.
Flashband has an upcoming listening night, https://flashband.org/
Don’t forget to check out what Rhizome DC is up to, http://www.rhizomedc.org/
There is also a new fellowship for audio work for a residency in Germany, with a July 11, 2016 application deadline: http://www.pact-zollverein.de/en/artists-centre/residencies-application
June Listening Lounge Notes: 6/21/2016 @ Susanne’s place
Opening question: What animal do you think is great at listening (and/or could be a Listening Lounge mascot if we ever chose one)? Some answers included: rabbit, bat, whale, dolphin, parrot, llama, cat...
Before sharing recordings we talked about informed consent in recordings. Is it OK to record without consent (e.g., at a family dinner, or at two separate public events one of which involves a camel from a petting zoo)? If you share recordings with others does that change the requirements (e.g., listening lounge members)? Under what circumstances is it excusable? In what scenarios could it be encouraged?
We also talked about the impact of visible microphones – some interviewees’ become more self-conscious when told that they are being recorded and others take the experience more seriously. We talked about how to minimize the presence of a mic even if its directly in front of an interviewee.
Lounge Listening:
George shared a recording he made of a singer/guitarist who performed at the Keep, using his cell phone. We discussed the quality of phone recordings. Recordings can be surprisingly clear given the right placement of the phone (in this case, a few feet away from the musicians). An added bonus is the fact that the phones often seem very unobtrusive due to their small size and ubiquity.
Zach shared an instrumental piece he created using a sample library of mellotron recordings. A mellotrom is a multi tape replay keyboard (sort of like an early version of a synthesizer) developed in the 1960s that’s regaining popularity. Look for youtube clips to find out more!
Alex shared a youtube video of a woman grinding chinese ink (pouring water on an ink stone, then grinding ink sticks on it) and talking during the process. The piece was preceded by a brief conversation about autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) and its popularity. We then also talked about aural discomfort – perhaps a possible theme for a future meeting? Could we stand to listen to those pieces?
James shared an original piece about shoplifting and in which he experimented with different types of soundtracks (music), proximity and distance, etc. Lounge members offered feedback and suggestions.
Announcements:
Takoma Radio is still looking for story pitches, new shows, etc.
Flashband has an upcoming listening night, https://flashband.org/
Don’t forget to check out what Rhizome DC is up to, http://www.rhizomedc.org/
There is also a new fellowship for audio work for a residency in Germany, with a July 11, 2016 application deadline: http://www.pact-zollverein.de/en/artists-centre/residencies-application
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