Sonic Babylon

During the past few months Nora and I have planted four sound gardens in Australia. And with each one, we've learned a bit more about both the logistics and the artistry of this endeavor. For example, our intent was always that each garden should sound unique. But we observed rather quickly that visitors to a garden respond best to sounds they know and recognize.

Sonic Babylon's latest Sound Garden opens this Sunday, 13 September 2009, at the Noosa Regional Gallery in Tewantin. The event, scheduled from 14:00—16:30, will feature sound artist Leah Barclay performing on world percussion instruments and percussionist Steve Weis performing on metal sculpture. Both artists will play live with the sounds of the garden.

As part of Sound Day 2009 festivities, the National Film and Sound Archive's Sound Garden, the first permanent garden in Australia, will open in the Inner Courtyard of the NFSA in Canberra at 12:30 on Wednesday, 19 August. The opening will feature vocalist Robyn Archer performing live with the sounds of the garden. Garden sounds will include excerpts from the Sounds of Australia, an iconic collection of music, radio broadcasts, and stories chosen by listeners throughout the country, including the ten newest entries to the collection announced by Minister Peter Garrett the previous day.

If you're in Brisbane, come to the Red Note Cafe in the South Bank Parklands at 18:00 on Wednesday, 5 August 2009, and help celebrate the opening of Sonic Babylon's South Bank Sound Garden. The Cafe is located on the ground level of the Queensland Conservatorium, and the opening, which is free and open to everyone, will feature percussionist Vanessa Tomlinson performing live with the sounds of the garden. Visitors to the garden may either drift through the virtual soundscapes, or bring Wi-Fi enabled mobile devices and participate in the pruning and planting of sounds.

Nora and I enjoyed our talk with Spencer Howson yesterday morning on the Breakfast Show on ABC Radio 612 AM Brisbane, even if we did have to get up at 05:00 to get to the studio for the 06:20 live to air. Spencer and his producer, Majella Marsden, first had us on in 2007 when we were here to stage iOrpheus, and it was good not only to see them again, but even better to be talking to people who “get” our projects. (Thanks, guys.) But in the excitement of a live broadcast, we left one thing hanging that I'd like to fill in.

Come join in as the first of Sonic Babylon's Sound Gardens in Australia opens in Cairns this Thursday, July 9th. A joint initiative of the On Edge Festival, KickArts, and the Queensland Conservatorium Research Center, the garden will grow in the outdoor area of KickArts at 96 Abbott St in the CBD. The official opening begins at 13:00. The event is free and everyone in the Cairns area is invited. Visitors to the garden may either drift through the virtual soundscapes, or bring Wi-Fi enabled devices and participate by pruning or planting the sounds.

When we arrived in Australia two years ago to create iOrpheus there were fewer options for telling people where we were and what we were doing. Email worked for personal friends and the blog at iOrpheus.com worked for everyone else. This trip, however, things have changed. There are a lot more options for spreading the word and many more reasons to take advantage of them. For this visit both Nora and I have Twitter accounts, as does Sonic Babylon, plus we're blogging on my website as well as at sonicbabylon.com.

The National Registry of Recorded Sound, an outgrowth of the Recorded Sound Branch of the NFSA, was launched in February 2007 as a way of highlighting Australia's rich and varied sound heritage. Each year ten entries are added to an ever-growing list of iconic sound recordings.

We're taking a three-tiered approach to organizing the sound of each garden. In addition to Ground Cover we'll also be planting Remix!Trees and Flowers.