Guilt, Agency, Listening and 32-bit – a composer’s need to capture the sound of Covid

Abstract

As a composer and sound designer, academic and researcher, listener, cyclist, home-schooler and dad, my working patterns and life-style have changed enormously over the past year. Having taken for granted many aspects of our sonic environment, ecoacoustics [Krause 2015] and soundscape ecology, this has gradually evolved into a fascination with my local sound world. And I can only apologise! This is partly based on ignorance; partly based on the belief that I can’t listen ‘critically’ due to my locality, and certainly based on the erroneous belief I can’t ‘capture’ sounds due to my locality. One thing is for sure, my listening has changed.