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Closely Observed Trains

The binaural method of recording and reproduction offers a distinct set of characteristics for the composer. The role of the recordist becomes more significant than ever, imparting a presence upon the resulting signals, in the form of negative space (Barnard 2010), left by the recordist and occupied by the listener. The method offers a peculiar perspective upon sonic environments and represents perhaps the ultimate schizophonia (Schafer 1994).

Closely Observed Trains exploits this method by exploring not only the symbolic, associative material of railway travel, but also the sonic reality of the endeavour. The sound of the experience is captured an articulated in such a way as to highlight not only the sense of personal presence, but also the musicality inherent in all aspects of the soundscape.

As the binaural method works under the premise of recording what is heard by the recordist, the capture of sonic environments becomes intuitive: what you hear is what you get. This characteristic is known as the ear-shot aesthetic (Barnard 2010). An inability to eschew the additional activity that isn't necessarily of immediate interest, has forced the hand of the composer to consider a musical language inclusive of the situations surrounding engaging sound events. This composition is an exploration, then, not only of the sonically-engaging material of the railways, but also of the context: the compositional position that the technology has shifted the aesthetic into.

Schafer, R Murray, 1994, The Soundscape; Our Sonic Environment and the Tuning of the World, New York: Knopf.