Soundwalk

For my hour-long “Soundwalk”, an exercise in sonic awareness, I spent my time in the East Village after work. I often walk towards this neighborhood in the evenings after work, mainly due to its vibrant energy and consistent presence of almost movie-like characters. Typically, I experienced this neighborhood in a mainly visual sense. As I walk through the neighborhood and observe the different people and businesses, I do it with noise canceling headphones as a form of distance from complete immersion into the area. With this soundwalk however, I had a noticeably different experience as instead of listening to music the whole time, I tried my best to focus on the surrounding sounds. Being that it was a Friday evening, many of the sounds were closely related to “night life”. Bars, restaurants, and clubs on every block of Avenue A all sent out loud, thumping music, accompanied by scores of laughter and loud discussion coming from people in the bars and on the streets. At times this constant noise, coming from a sober, outside perspective, felt overwhelming and oversaturated. This made it difficult to discern between specific sounds and their sources. In a way, the majority of the sounds were “sound signals” noises, as they all in a way are motivated by an intent to draw attention. The various bars and clubs emit loud music as a way to attract patrons, while individuals speak in increased volumes as a way to attract attention socially. This high level of sound signal noise creates a high energy atmosphere sonically. This is typical for the neighborhood, especially during evenings, and is part of its identity as a lively and energetic neighborhood.

Defining Space - Leevi Antturi