For a while I've nurtured the idea of remixing a location and with the centenary of Leeton being celebrated later this year I decided to develop an album based on sounds recorded at the playgrounds in the town.
Being a parent and an audiophile I've spent a lot time tapping slides and swings -- but I should be careful saying that aloud because people are paranoid about other types of 'philes at playgrounds!
This video shows part of the song I created from sounds recorded at Mountford Park, which is at the heart of the town both literally and metaphorically. It's a wonderful green space with a large playground, as well as an aviary and stage that's the focus of many events.
The idea of taking everyday noises as music has a long history but my inspiration comes from the Italian Futurists, particularly the Art of Noises manifesto written by Luigi Russolo.
Aside from being a potent document, I think this is a cool reference as it comes from around the time when the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area was first proposed and they both share a similar sense of the excitement of the Modern age.
A couple of other influences were reading about the album Pink Floyd originally planned to record as a follow-up for their landmark Dark Side of the Moon, and; Matthew Herbert, particularly his Bodily Functions album.
I started making videos to accompany the songs I've created from Leeton's playgrounds after getting feedback from people that they couldn't see how I'd processed the sounds. You can read more about the park remix project at my bassling blog and there are videos for other parks and some unprocessed sounds also at the bassling YouTube channel.
My aim is to edit together an audio-visual mix made from all of the tracks to launch the album in the second half of the year. Not sure of the venue at this stage but I'm open to be part of another event if the Centenary Committee are keen or maybe have an outdoor launch with the projector and sound system I used to screen Metropolis for the 2011 Art Deco Festival.
