Audio - Some Examples

  During a recent workshop, we listened to some audio's in order to gain inspiration of the Audio Project that has been set. Here are my thoughts on some of the examples:

The Curious Ear: Meat Factory Ear Worms by Richie Beirne

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The track portrays a man's spoken narrative as he talks of his dead end job in a meat factory. He speaks of the tedious repetition of the slaughtering. Ear worms, are what he describes as songs that stick in your mind, and this is what he uses to get through the day. "This is a story of endurance"[1]

I think that this documentary style audio, presented what I feel was an personal and distinctive story. It provided examples of atmosphere, speech, music, silence. The silence in particular added a sense of ambience to the character of the track. This dynamic range of sounds has helped me understand a way of linking them together in an authentic way, and given me ideas for my own project.

Escapism is a large aspect of the piece, demonstrated through the way he expresses the way that 'ear worms' keep him going. 

Child of Ardoyne by Alan Hall

This track demonstrates a number of adults telling their story of "The Troubles" during their childhood in the 1980's. They discuss the new generation of children that live in Ardoyne today and the distinct difference in what was and what is now in relation to the constant war and the IRA. 

From what I understand of this audio, it does not portray a personal story from just one persons point of view, but rather one place.

A sense of space is indicated through the slight atmosphere and sound effects of children playing on the street and cars passing by. 

It is not an abstract piece, but relies primarily on it's delivery in order to gain a response from it's target audience.

Blue Veils and Golden Sands by Delia Derbyshire

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This piece by Delia Derbyshire is creative and allows the audience's imagination to create a sense of space. The high frequency sounds are reminiscent to sci-fi films, and so when I heard this piece, I immediately thought of the atmosphere surrounding us and that beyond our planet. I think that this track would fit easily into a film's soundtrack however listening to it alone, I feel it becomes repetitive.

The audio was recorded within the 60's and Delia stated about the track that it incorporated her "castrated oboe" [2]

[1] http://www.rte.ie/radio1/doconone/the-curious-ear-doconone-meat-factory-ear-worms.html

[2] http://www.delia-derbyshire.org/recordings.php