Urban Resonances
Urban Resonances is a site specific sound installation using church bells as both instruments and microphones, amplifying their natural resonance and using them as a method of recontextualising the sounds of the inner city. The first instance was held in St John the Baptist Church in the city centre of Newcastle upon Tyne. This church has a wonderful bell tower with 8 tuned bells and being in the city centre close to the main overground train and underground metro stations it is surrounded by sound from people, traffic and the city wildlife constantly during the day and night. This makes it an ideal venue for debuting this installation by providing a wide range of natural and human-generated interactions with the bells to punctuate their inherent sound and energy. Bells are amazing feats of instrument engineering and spending time working with them is a humbling experience. Alongside their designed pitch and complex musical timbre, their individual tone and character i...