I started with Westerkamp’s Kits Beach Soundwalk as inspiration as I knew I wanted to criticise the dismissal of the city and noise in acoustic ecology thinking. It is almost an audio paper/podcast in itself. Researching around soundscape composition, soundwalking, Westerkamp’s own writings, and criticisms of it I formed a brief essay.
I then went out to record me reading it. From the start I knew I wanted to record it in a park/nature conserve near my flat. I decided to record in one take allowing a lot of typically unwanted noise and mistakes in my reading not just for a natural pace but also in response to Westerkamp’s pristine use of technology to edit out the city and other people. I started each take before going into my essay by describing my surroundings and the day a little just as Westerkamp did in Kits Beach. I recorded in 5 different locations in a span of a day. I tried to, as I was reading, listen to the environment pausing at points to allow sound/noise to breathe, responding to my surroundings somewhat. I even played with the mic gain at the end to amplify the noise around me as a conclusion.
I didn’t pay much attention to speaking clearly into the mic, like a dictation; I wanted a more organic, talking out loud my thoughts vibe. I however could have set my levels better and move around (my head and hand holding the mic) less as some bits become a little less clear than others.
Throughout the day I found I was losing my voice slightly perhaps because of the cold and my reading become less contemplative and monotonous and efficient. I ultimately chose the first take as it captured the amateurish nature I wanted for my paper the best. The authenticity of lo-fi, DIY – I am after all not an academic like Westerkamp is. Also it is the classic case of the first take capturing what you then went on trying too hard to capture. Then in Reaper I cut the lows adjusted some volume and added a subtle limiter.