TOKYO SOUNDSCAPE RESEARCH [2009-2010]
Tokyo University of the Arts
Senju Elementary School Soundscape - booklet of sound memories, radios, hidden radio transmitters and computer
From 2009 to 2010 I carried out research into urban soundscapes at Tokyo University of the Arts under Keiko Torigoe - a leading expert on acoustic ecology and soundscapes in Japan. I became interested in private and portable habits of listening and outlined some of these ideas in a paper.
The year-long research project culminated in an interactive sound installation, exploring the forgotten soundscape of the local elementary school. This school had closed a few years ago and had since been transformed into the university campus where I was now working. Local residents who used to attend the school were interviewed about their experience as pupils, describing sounds they remember hearing there. Some popular sound memories were: the sound of pencils scribbling on paper, the old school bell ringing and the roar of distant trains passing nearby. The interview material was documented in a booklet and streamed as audio recordings into the installation space via radio transmitters and receivers.
Diary notes about the project can be read here.
Senju Elementary School: Excerpt from Sound Memory Book, 2010