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Soundwalks: An experiential path to new sonic art

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 November 2019

Christos Carras
Christos Carras*
Affiliation:
Onassis Stegi, Athens, Greece
*
Email: cnjcarras@gmail.com
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Abstract

The diverse practice of soundwalking is approached through its constituent parts (walking and listening) as an ideal ‘way in’ to the appreciation of new sonic art. It is argued that, because it engages the subject in a manner that encourages an aural perception of the environment not only as a physical space but also as a space of social and political tensions, divisions and flows, it can act as an experiential foundation for understanding how sound inflects our thoughts about and our relationships to agencies, human or not, that we interact with. This in turn renders possible modes of listening that are particularly adapted to contemporary forms of sonic art. Furthermore, soundwalking ties in to important contemporary discussions about participation, its potential for radical engagement of audiences and also the various forms of mediation it involves.

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Type
Articles
Information
Organised Sound , Volume 24 , Issue 3: Bringing New Music to New Audiences , December 2019 , pp. 261 - 273
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press, 2019 

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Footnotes

This paper is a revised and extended version of a talk given at the conference Space, Sound and the Improvisatory at the Onassis Cultural Centre, Athens, in October 2018 (www.sgt.gr/eng/SPG2172/?). The conference was co-curated by Prof. Eric Lewis (McGill) and myself as the third in a series produced in collaboration with the International Institute for Critical Studies in Improvisation. I would like to thank Eric Lewis for the inspiring experience of working with him on these projects.

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