RMIT University, Melbourne CBD

Environmental sound is a forever moving element that can position one’s present state of being and experience of place. This project allows new discoveries of the sonic world of the Barwon and the Yarra rivers through listening, recording, reflecting and composing. Human impact and urbanisation has marked the acoustic ecology and soundscape of both rivers. Initially I visited, recorded and composed, expecting to be surrounded and swept up by the natural environment, however with the regular recordings I soon realised that the natural sounds were being suffocated by human-machinery noise. I realised that the overriding noise level of traffic and other human-machinery sounds are causing harm and detrimental impacts on the rivers, through this I understood that silence is now an unheard experience. As the continuing atmosphere of human activity has become a louder element that is overlapping the peaceful song of birds. This level of noise was explored greatly with high disappointment that human activity has distrubed our silence of the natural system. Changing the outcome of the work, my intention soon become an ideology about bringing an awareness to listeners of the harm human activity has caused between the two rivers. The composing process took on a new form and I wanted to indicate my own experience in the work, and started using the spoken voice of words, reflecting my own views on the rivers. The importance of the project is to present listeners with the realistic approach that human-machinery noise is affecting our natural soundscapes, highlighting how human activity has brought great sonic harm to the natural song of birds between the rivers.