World Listening Day 2021
July 18 - July 18,2021
To listen to this upcoming audio event, go here.
From the organizers:
Join us as we listen to the sounds of The Unquiet Earth and commemorate World Listening Day 2021 by taking over the airwaves of Austin’s KOOP Radio 91.7 FM. The hosts of Commercial Suicide are graciously allowing us to play field recordings of Austin-based artists on Sunday, July 18, 2021 at 8:30 PM CDT. For those outside the listening area, a live stream is available at koop.org. Additionally, we will simultaneously release a free compilation of the works played on air through our Bandcamp site.
About The Theme
The theme for 2021, The Unquiet Earth, was an invitation for field recordists to reflect on the sounds beyond the threshold of human hearing and to serve as a reminder that we share this mysterious and awesome planet. Small, hidden, subterranean, aerial, underwater, infra- and ultrasonic sounds may bring a new—and potentially hopeful—perspective on the future of the planet and humanity. Listening as activism encourages us to question our attitudes as listeners as we aim to construct a more inclusive and empathetic new world.
About World Listening Day
Since its inception in 2010, thousands of people from six continents have participated in World Listening Day. July 18th is the birth date of renowned Canadian composer, music educator, and author, R. Murray Schafer. With the World Soundscape Project he developed the fundamental ideas and practices of acoustic ecology in the 1970s. These inform the current, burgeoning interest in our changing acoustic environment. Thus, World Listening Day honors Schafer’s contribution to understanding our world.
World Listening Day is a project sponsored by The World Listening Project, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt non-profit charitable organization devoted to fostering understanding of the world and its natural environment, societies and cultures through the practices of listening and field recording.
About Phonography Austin
Phonography Austin is dedicated to exploring phonography (the creation and presentation of field recordings as art objects) and acoustic ecology (the study of the effects of the acoustic environment on those living within it). We are an informal, non-heirarchical collective.
Phonography Austin was founded to host Austin’s first World Listening Day event. Since then we’ve hosted multiple free workshops, conducted citizen research into acoustic ecology issues, began releasing annual report compilations with accompanying public events, and partnered with the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, the Church of the Friendly Ghost, and COLLIDE Arts.
We meet, virtually and in-person, on the first Wednesday of the month to discuss all things related to the aesthetics of phonography, the technology of field recording, and the discipline of acoustic ecology.
To become involved go to phonographyaustin.org/join-us
Artist talk: July 12, 2021 | 12-12 am
