machinefabriek: take a closer listen

[taylordeupree]

did anyone order Rutger's little book, "take a closer listen"? i'm not sure how many he has left (he can chime in on this question).. but i just wanted to say how great it is. a really cozy and personal little object.. and such a wonderful, simple idea.

i enjoyed reading it to my son the other day who proceeded to sound out each sound explained on the pages.


http://www.machinefabriek.nu/

under the "art projects" heading...

[steinbruchel]

i have a copy and it's wonderful. a simple, but nice idea and beautiful designed.
a very nice object about sound without any sound...

rutger also asked my for my favourite sounds (but as they're not included in the booki thought i'd post them here)...
maybe other forum members could also post their favourite sounds?

--

- the humming drone of the waste combustion dump which i pass every day with the bike during my lunch break
(this is for sure my favourite sound in the whole city)

- the sound when my son let's pieces of stone fall into the water of the lake. the different sizes of stones each
generate an individual sound with it's own pitch

- the crackling of fire and wood splintering in our fireplace when me make a fire in our home during the winter

--

i've also asked my son max the same question and here's his answer:

- the sound of the pages when he flickers through the pages of a picture book

[radere]

i have a copy and it's wonderful. a simple, but nice idea and beautiful designed.
a very nice object about sound without any sound...

rutger also asked my for my favourite sounds (but as they're not included in the booki thought i'd post them here)...
maybe other forum members could also post their favourite sounds?

It's definitely a rather thought provoking question, isn't it? If 2009 stands out for me as an artist working with sound in any one way, I'd have to say that it was the year in which I really started to listen to my surroundings. Between projects like Taylor's one sound each day series and this book, I found myself actually starting to pay attention to all the myriad sonic minutiae that we are constantly immersed within, a new obsession that ultimately lead to me capturing my own field recordings.

That said, I've found myself constantly enamored with all things related to water. Be it streams, the slow (or frantic) drip of a downspout, ice melting or whatever, I could sit and listen to water all day! Also, the sound of the marshes on the western side of the Chesapeake Bay where my parents store their boat. Those are some of the richest sonic environments I've ever come across...

[taylordeupree]

yes, to add my own favorite sound to rutger's idea:

the sound of a vacuum cleaner in another room (through a closed door)

when i was younger i remember taking naps in my room and hearing my mother vacuum downstairs. the noise and hum of the vacuum cleaner muffled through the floor of the house always put me to sleep.

[billygomberg]

The radiator in my room.  A very expressive lil thing.

Teapot on the stove

anne or my roommate going about their business in the kitchen

[gjhardwick]

this thread has just reminded me that i need to get a copy of this from Rutger...

[NQ]

[taylordeupree]

yes, i know what you're talking about exactly on this one... really great...

Summer: a warm night. a dark room in a building (urban area, most preferred upper levels), open window distant cars passing by.

[billygomberg]

yes, i know what you're talking about exactly on this one... really great...

Summer: a warm night. a dark room in a building (urban area, most preferred upper levels), open window distant cars passing by.

I'll be the third on this.

totally forgot the sound of the woods in a deep cover of snow.  it's a very synaesthetic experience, but one of my absolute favorites.

[radere]

yes, i know what you're talking about exactly on this one... really great...

Summer: a warm night. a dark room in a building (urban area, most preferred upper levels), open window distant cars passing by.

I'll be the third on this.

totally forgot the sound of the woods in a deep cover of snow.  it's a very synaesthetic experience, but one of my absolute favorites.

Really, any environment after a heavy snow is an amazing thing...even my urban neighborhood sounds incredible.

[billygomberg]

yes, i know what you're talking about exactly on this one... really great...

Summer: a warm night. a dark room in a building (urban area, most preferred upper levels), open window distant cars passing by.

I'll be the third on this.

totally forgot the sound of the woods in a deep cover of snow.  it's a very synaesthetic experience, but one of my absolute favorites.

Really, any environment after a heavy snow is an amazing thing...even my urban neighborhood sounds incredible.

absolutely.  I remember an early morning in Brooklyn & Manhattan after a really heavy snow...sublime really.

[NQ]

absolutely.  I remember an early morning in Brooklyn & Manhattan after a really heavy snow...sublime really.

especially really early sunday mornings (or any bigger holiday) like around 6 am is amazing in thick covered snow in any city, when nobody is out on the streets. this has a nearly rural aesthetic , although mostly without birds and a bid more muffled

[machinefabriek]

Nice to see this topic! Thanks!
It seems that alot of favorite sounds are muffled, distant, in another room, etc... kinda ironic, isn't it? ;-)

p.s. there are plenty of copies of the book left...

[taylordeupree]

it's an interesting observation, rutger..

my first thought would be.... oh, people like sounds that are muffled and distant because they don't WANT sound..... but, it probably has more to do with the idea of taking every day sounds and changing them some way to create something perhaps more nostalgic or removed from reality.

Nice to see this topic! Thanks!
It seems that alot of favorite sounds are muffled, distant, in another room, etc... kinda ironic, isn't it? ;-)

p.s. there are plenty of copies of the book left...

[NQ]

it's an interesting observation, rutger..

my first thought would be.... oh, people like sounds that are muffled and distant because they don't WANT sound..... but, it probably has more to do with the idea of taking every day sounds and changing them some way to create something perhaps more nostalgic or removed from reality.

Nice to see this topic! Thanks!
It seems that alot of favorite sounds are muffled, distant, in another room, etc... kinda ironic, isn't it? ;-)

p.s. there are plenty of copies of the book left...

i could imagine, that this may also be related to the fact, that muffled, distant sounds blend more into the whole "mix" creating a more dense sensation.