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West coast soundscapes

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During spring 2012 I am a guest at the web site of Madstun with the project West coast soundscapes. I will be doing a series of field recordings at various locations in Sotra and Øygarden. The sound recordings will be posted to the Madstun blog with accompanying text and photos.

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Sotra and Øygarden is a series of islands west of Bergen, next to the North Sea. Ongoing changes to these local communitities in many ways reflect general trends of development of society currently seen in Norway. Traditionally this has been a rural region, with fishery and small farms being the main sources of income. With improving road connections the population has increased, and in particular the municipality of Fjell is gradually becoming a new suburbia of Bergen.

Fjell and Øygarden is home to a strong oil-related industry. There are oil and gass pipe lines arriving at Kollsnes in Øygarden. At Ågotnes, near to my home, the Coast Center Base (CCB) is an important supply base for the offshore industry and hub for subsea technology.

The coastal landscape is open, with a wide horizon. The weather is rough at times, and expected to get worse in the coming years, due to the ongoing climate changes.

The field recordings are done using a surround microphone, and will be posted in two versions as regular stereo and binaural. When played back using headphones the binaural version is capable of 3D sound reproduction. The original recordings will also be made available at freesound.com as 4-channel B-format ambisonic recordings.

Thanks to BEK, Bergen Center for Electronic Arts, for access to the surround microphone.

 

About Madstun

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In August 2009 Jon Balke composer / musician and Tone Myskja video / visual artist moved with their two children to an abandoned farm with 60 acre plot at Fall by Randsfjorden in Søndre land Commune, Oppland. The farm is located on the west facing great views of Randsfjorden and Jotunheimen. The old house is now restored and developed with two units in solid wood. The house has been restored and developed in collaboration with the architect Michael Øvergaard, Norsk Massivtre AS and Energigården at Brandbu.

MADSTUN is a permanent, multidisciplinary production site for art / music / scene / text / idea / environmental technology. Madstun rent room / studio / aterlier to individuals and groups. Madstun is a cross-art venue for developement, inspiration and production. Madstun is an active production site generating projects to contribute to local development and value creation in the community. Madstun has a high profile investment in sustainable energy solutions. They want to develop this abandoned place into a vibrant center for art production, art and creative processes that also include art-theori, philosophy, ecology, ecosophy, and other disciplines.