Part 1

Names: Cameron Webb aka Seaworthy, Matt Rösner
Nationality: Australian
Occupation: Composers, producers, sound artists
Recent release: Seaworthy and Matt Rösner team up for Deep Valley, out via 12K.
Recommendations on the topic of sound: MR -  To be honest, I don’t really read much about sound. There was a time when I was deeply interested in how the brain processes sound and music’s effect on the brain. Oliver Sacks’  Musicophilia is a book that springs to mind. The Great Animal Orchestra by Bernie Krause certainly inspired me to consider the how nature's soundscapes are being changed by the human race.
CW – Notwithstanding literature on listening practice and field recording (such as ‘In the Field: Art of Field Recording’ by Lane and Carlyle), I also recommend exploring some of the scientific literature on bioacoustics and role of changing soundscapes on the ecology of terrestrial and aquatic wildlife. There is an abundance of literature, both recent and historic. However, with the rise of more affordable bioacoustics monitoring equipment, there is a growing body of scientific research in this field.

If you enjoyed this Seaworthy & Matt Rösner interview and would like to stay up to date with their music, visit Seaworthy on bandcamp and Matt Rösner's official homepage.
 


When I listen to music, I see shapes, objects and colours. What happens in your body when you're listening? Do you listen with your eyes open or closed?

Matt Rosner (MR) – To me, the listening experience really depends on the style of music that I am listening to. Ambient and slower tempo music definitely makes me slow down, close my eyes and become more inward looking and this is true of listening to nature all around us. It's great to be in the zone and to be able to think more deeply through focused concentration.

I find that music with a groove and faster tempo makes me want to move, dance or just tap my feet, nod my head and this type of listening also has a renewed place in my everyday life.

Cameron Webb (CW) – I slow down. I’m calmed (mostly, depending on what I’m listening to). But I also consume music throughout the day, it's soundtracking moments of stress and calm, the commute to and from work, duties at work and at home, exercise and relaxation.

But it’s the moments where an opportunity to listen in calm that are most appreciated. To slow down. Eyes closed mostly but to listen and look outside is a real joy. When I listen to music I’m mostly reflecting on landscapes, both real and imagined.

How do listening with headphones and listening through a stereo system change your experience of sound and music?  

MR - There is a physicality to listening on a good sound system that you don’t get with headphones and the acoustics of the room also add to the experience.

I like the sense of community that you get when listening on speakers with others, its one of life’s great pleasures to share that experience. Headphone listening is more private and contemplative, I feel.

CW – While the vast majority of my listening is through headphones, I do enjoy the opportunity to listen through a stereo. Perhaps not so much through the hustle and bustle of a busy household. But when the household is quite or home empty, there is great pleasure is the natural ambience of a space and the occasional drift into the room the outside world.

Especially listening to ambient, electronic, or otherwise quiet music, that natural soundscape that seeps in can add new elements to the overall listening experience.

Tell me about some of the albums or artists that you love specifically for their sound, please.

MR - Mick Turner, Australian guitar player famous for his work in the Dirty Three has a guitar sound that I am constantly falling back in love with. I love the texture and the warmth that Mick has to his playing.  



[Read our Mick Turner interview]

I love the sound of the old jazz classics – Coltrane, Davis and Ellington to name just a few, what they are achieved with just a few microphones and basic effects compared to the arsenal of the modern producer is extraordinary.  

CW – I’m drawn to aspects of recordings and sound that are scuffed up, noisy, and have textural aspects that give them an aged feel. I’m sure for many these are the faults they’re trying to remove from their recordings!

There are artists from the late 90s and early 2000s, lo-fi recordings made with 4-track cassettes and other pre-computer aided assistance. Bands such as Hood, and Empress. Other artists such as Low and Sparklehorse carried similar qualities across to some of their recordings too.



As is the case with Matt, Mick Turner’s solo records, as well as those with The Dirty Three are wonderful. Loren Connors too. In recent years, I’ve really enjoyed the work of Zimoun. Fellow 12k artists are a constant inspiration.

[Read our Zimoun interview]

Do you experience strong emotional responses towards certain sounds? If so, what kind of sounds are these and do you have an explanation about the reasons for these responses?

MR – I love the sound of bowed strings, there is something primal about the bow rubbing against the strings and it has a natural texture to it.

In the natural environment I get a strong response from the ebb and flow of the ocean, wind through a forest and the crunchy sound of footprints on a gravel road. This surely must be a link back to my youth spent outside in Western Australia.

CW. Frogs and birds. In particularly, there are local frog and bird calls that either mark the arrival of different seasons (such as the channel billed cuckoo that migrates to the woodlands around Sydney from New Guinea and Indonesia every spring) or climatic condition (such as the calls of certain frogs after spring and summer rains).

These are just two examples of seasonal soundscape markers, I’ve always enjoyed the changing sounds of seasons.

There can be sounds which feel highly irritating to us and then there are others we could gladly listen to for hours. Do you have examples for either one or both of these?

MR – Traffic and Air Travel sound when you are trying to capture field recordings is extremely irritating. When you spend a lot of time in nature surrounded by the environment you quickly recognise how much the man-made sound world intrudes on nature.

I love the sound of a loop of guitar or piano that might be a bit noisy or a bit out of sync, that’s not quite perfect but it draws you into it. A passage of music that sounds natural and not too pristine.

CW – While I can tolerate it, and perhaps not even give it a second thought, as part of living in an urban area the sound of people planes, and traffic can also be incredibly disruptive and frustrating if I’m looking to listen to the local environment. Even moreso if I’m trying to record it. The sounds of human activity are becoming more and more prevalent and invasive, harder to escape.

I do love the sound of distant sea shores. Growing up I spent much time on the south coast of NSW and when the wind and swell were just right, at night the sea provided a low rumbling hum that was quite hypnotic. Has been too long since I’ve experienced that, it's something I should go in search of more often.

Are there everyday places, spaces, or devices which intrigue you by the way they sound? Which are these?

MR – I live on a small farm that is surrounded by forest. I am drawn to the changes in sound that occur through the seasons. Right now it's winter and there is a fast running stream that creates a range of sound from a deep drone as the water passes through a pipe under a bridge through to percussive microsound as the stream hits a shallow bed of rocks.

If I had to choose a device it would be my old second hand Akai Headrush pedal which creates some interesting delay and looping imperfections.

CW – In my role as a scientist, I work in a laboratory that’s filled with an inescapable hum of air conditioners and humidifiers. It’s a sound I’m used to and I can block it out during the day to day duties. But if I stop to listen, there are strange and unexpected subtleties to the drone of these systems that overlap and interact.

I don’t get much opportunity to sit and listen but when I do its something I enjoy, perhaps moreso a reminder of the unnoticed soundscapes that accompany our everyday.

Have you ever been in spaces with extreme sonic characteristics, such as anechoic chambers or caves? What was the experience like?

MR – I have spent time in large industrial buildings with huge reverbs that create some interesting yet challenging to work with overtones. The sound can be almost overpowering when the volume is turned up and it can take on a tactile, physical element.

I’ve not been in an anechoic chamber but would like to experience one in the future.

CW – Almost 20 years ago now, I had an opportunity to record within some decommissioned ammunitions bunkers. These were amazingly resonant spaces and I had an opportunity to play back both instrumental and environmental recordings in the spaces and I’m not sure I’ve ad such an immersive experience.

The resulting recordings made up the album 1897 released by 12k and while I was incredibly happy with the work, the recordings probably didn’t do the experience inside those spaces justice.