Soundscapes

Different places have their own sound. You feel it around you.

Big cities, open fields, forest, lakes.

What I like in the cities that you can just pass your time watching other people and listen to the city. All the shouts, walking on the pavement with small stones rolling under the feet and the traffic lights changing. Some sound spaces you can listen only a moment and then it gets a burden. I need to to have also silence.

I like different soundscapes, I also connect a picture in my mind in to these soundscapes. Some of the top things I like, is the wind. Mostly wind anywhere, but especially in the forest, a mixed forest where birches, pine trees and aspen trees. Specially the aspen tree makes loud sound.

Water hitting against the stones on the strand. It's so calming to fall asleep into this sound. But this should not be tried to copy. Because you have so many "relaxing" cd-compilations full of this. And they barely never have the same feeling, unless you have the most amazing surround sound at your home.

Kaskas (in Finnish) cicada and grasshopper. Kaskas in the summer evenings, mostly in the mediterranian area. But I was so happy to hear that also in Netherlands some day. And the sound of grasshoppers in long hay in the summer. How you can hear if it's close or far.

Squeaking sound of the snow under your feet. I still get cold chills from hearing it.

I often choose my songs for acts to create atmosphere so every piece will have their own soundscape.
In ambient, minimal and electronic music is quite often about soundscapes. They are sort of songs of different spaces, you don't need to find a reason in the song, but you can enter into middle of something. I had this feeling quite strongly with Helios because one of the albums was so dark that I sometimes just skipped the middle part not to get too depressed. It felt like entering into a house full of strange sounds.

I found just couple days ago Arve Henriksen. He's great Norwegian trumpetist and a composer. I stumbled upon a song called "Planting trees creating beauty" and was totally mesmerized.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbu0vIEs4Vc

Another beautiful piece from him is "Recording Angel"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zl_WTyHebhw&feature=related

Henriksen has collaborated with many many other musicians.He has released many cds. The latest is "Cartography" 2008, "Stjorn" 2007, "Chiaroscuro" 2004 and "Sakuteiki" 2001. You find more out of him here http://www.arvehenriksen.no/