Sounds of the Underground

Another university project

A request for some help on another Tube art installation. I remember last year a student from another university got in touch about some help for a "sounds of the Underground" project and we have a similar request. I've snipped quite a lot Andrew's email but if you're interested in helping out I'm sure he'll be happy to provide you with more of the examples he's looking for:

"I was wondering if you and the readers of your �blog� might be able to help me.

The project is concerned with constructing a sound �map� of the London Underground. This will involve capturing sounds that help to mediate the experience of travelling by tube both for visitors to London and regular commuters. It is proposed that these will eventually be used to capture the atmosphere of tube travel beyond the traditional visual representations.

Given that I do not live in London at present (I�m from Northern Ireland) and the sheer scale of the Underground network I feel that the visitors and users of your site are best placed to help me research this project. I am particularly keen to learn of their experiences of Underground travel, particularly in the context of the sounds that proliferate those experiences.

What I am keen to establish are the type of sounds people notice whilst travelling on the London Underground. For example, are there any station announcers at a particular station whose voice sounds somewhat unusual, perhaps pleasant or irritating? Are there particular lines where the famous �Mind the Gap� announcements on board trains are worded differently or presented with a different voice? What of the buskers in stations and on board trains, both legal and illegal? .......

I would be delighted if as many visitors to your site could contact me through the comments with as much information as they are able to provide. I would encourage you to provide whatever detail you can, however irrelevant you feel it to be. This project is about unlocking our ears to the sounds of our everyday environment and that is about identifying those sounds that are both individual and often unheard."

It would be great if Andrew (as promised) could keep us informed of this project's fruition and let us know when the final installation takes place. I'd suggest you make a lot of visits to London yourself really though Andrew as it's a very ambitious thing you're trying to do particularly as you don't even live in London. But, anyway, best of luck.

London Underground; Tube Posted by annie mole Saturday, February 26, 2005 Permalink COMMENT HERE
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