In the spring / summer of 2020, the global pandemic seemed to temporarily transform the way music is listened to in the city. In the absence of licensed premises or large corporate music festivals, all of the music that is heard in public spaces is generated by the people that live there. Using a mobile device, I have been recording the soundscapes of various squares and parks of East London, where bike-speakers and portable sound systems often create ad-hoc, community-generated listening environments. I use fragments of the recorded audio and the original tracks (identified via the music-recognition app Shazam) as counterpoints in abstract DJ performances. As well as celebrating the soundscape of the area, the work seeks to reframe portable and public music expression as a vital tool for opening up thresholds of possibility and constructive disorder in the city.
IRL Performances in 2022 @ Centrale (Birmingham), Iklectik (London), New River Studios (London), ICMC (Dublin)
Online performances in 2020/21 @ NTS Radio, Kismif Conference, BEAST FeAST, Further_In, Iklectik off-site, Sonitus LIVE!
READ: Williams, J Shazam Walks & voice notes : Soundscape, sociality & joy. GUERRA, Paula & SOUSA, Sofia (2022) (Eds.). Keep it Simple, Make it Fast! An approach to underground music scenes (vol. 5). Porto: Universidade do Porto – Faculdade de Letras [University of Porto. Faculty of Arts and Humanities].
Review in The Wire (Sonic Electronics, 27/02/21)
See also: Shazam Walks & Voice Note 1 – Gillett Square
BEAST @ Centrale, Birmingham, 12/03/22
Fractal Meat on a Spongy Bone, NTS Radio 23/03/21