Listen Up!

For this post I visited field artist, Aaron Ximm's website. I started listening to a few of the field recordings and there were a couple that stuck out leaving a timely impression on me. Personally I really enjoy the sound of water and/or the sounds that certain liquids make. Water itself, to me has always had a very tranquil connection to it. In most occasions no matter the intensity, to some extent, water has always felt soothing or relaxing, either while sitting inside listening to the pitter-patter of rain drops hitting the window pain, or in a car during a down pour, as the the windshield wipers flip back and forth unable to wipe away the constant blur of the rain-covered glass. One of Ximm's pieces I listened to was entitled, "Beach Rain." The description says, "Rain on my poncho as I stroll on the Nha Trang beahces." As I listened to the recording it felt as though the microphones were placed at about ear level when the recording took place. As I listened to it with my headphones on, giving the piece all the more dedication and personalizing it in a way, it felt as though my head was actually under a poncho, as the rain came down, and my body was actually walking along the beach's shore. The sounds of waves crashing down in the surf almost sound like thunder clashing in a storm, accompanied by the rain I was hearing, and almost felt. The repetition and generality of water sounds like this keep one's mind from focusing too closely on one particular sound, but rather allows your mind to think and drift with no restrictions, just nature's ambient soundtrack. Another piece I enjoyed alot in conversation with the theme of liquid sounds, was the work entitled, "Faucet," which was described as the ominous gurgling from the faucet in room 402. Different from the previous water sound, the gurgling of this faucet almost in some ways sound like a monologue of some sort. The faucet's own language. Maybe asking for attention. Something is obviously wrong or unkept otherwise it wouldn't gargle. This piece sparked an amusing tone for me while listening. It was almost entertaining to sit back and listen to it talk.