Sounds Curious Podcast

Banshee Media

Banshee Media Publishing presents Sounds Curious, a captivating podcast for the adventurous listener. In each episode our intrepid producer scours the globe to bring your ears the very best in sound art, improvisation, environmental recordings, acousmatic and experimental music. Featuring gorgeous audio, engaging interviews, and conversations with some of the most curious minds in contemporary sound, Sounds Curious is for everyone who is passionate about listening and just can’t hear enough of this big, beautiful world. read less
ArtsArts

Episodes

A Winter's Soundwalk
24-12-2021
A Winter's Soundwalk
We break our long silence in the podcast feed with a very special episode for the solstice holidays. An immersive, imaginary sound walk through a wintery, landscape - complete with stops at market sound stages, through bustling train stations packed with holiday travelers out into the landscape and past seasonal bonfires to the depths of the forest and even catch an improvised performance deep inside a cave... Enjoy the spatialized field recordings with very little processing save layering, mixing and mastering - with locations from Berlin to New Zealand, South Africa to Finland - captured in a single, sonic ramble through the holidays. May it warm your holidays by giving you a great reason to turn down the lights, grab your headphones, put tired feet up by the fire, and let your ears do the walking this holiday season. With love, from us to you! Keep great sounds like this going by becoming a Patreon over at https://www.patreon.com/TheWillowsNest With a shout out to all our current Patreons - thanks for all your ongoing support! With our eternal thanks to Radio Aporee and Free Music Archive artists - who deserve recognition this time of year. A list of all recordings included are below. Sound recordings/phonography, in no particular order: From Radio Aporee (aporee.org): Winter walk / ул. Лесная, Сергиев Посад, Московская обл., Россия, 141307 - Alex K Leaving our microphones by a waterhole at night / Mmabolela Reserve, Limpopo, South Africa - Jeremy Hegge Outflow of Lake Pupuke, contact mic / 26 Minnehaha Avenue, Takapuna, Auckland 0622, New Zealand - summerxc@gmail.com white dragon, sleeping still, green giant immersed within tranquil dreams / moss garden, Studenice, Slovenija - OR poiesis Berlin's loudest sonic place? / Westend, Berlin, Germany - Peter Cusack Freiluftkonzert des Nordholländischen Jugendorchesters auf dem Neumarkt / Open air concert of the North Dutch Youth Orchestra / Altstadt-Nord, Köln, Deutschland - Matthes moss garden, dry, flux / moss waterfall, Studenice, Slovenija - OR poiesis Kauwberg under the bridge / Kauwberg 22, 1180 Uccle, Belgique - Flavien Gillié Vilnius, Lithuania, Rasos cemetery - alas23/sala Kalamaja park (former cemetery) / A sonic walk and deep listening to Kalamaja 2 (from Kai Center) - bruno.quast cemetery ambience, trains / Friedhof Baumschulenweg, Berlin, Deutschland - udo noll Jet Crows Birds Feet / Recordings in the Garage, Malvern, Worcestershire, UK - david.j.pitt@btinternet.com Owls in the night / Recordings in the Garage, Malvern, Worcestershire, UK - david.j.pitt@btinternet.com Conference of crows / Piirimäe, Põlva maakond, Estonia - john grzinich Winter forest solitude / Järvselja primeval, Tartumaa, Estonia - john grzinich Wind, snow and hiking / Mustarinda forest, Hyrynsalmi, Finland - john grzinich 내리는雪_overnight snowfall / 내리는雪_overnight snowfall - abyssence@gmail.com Utena, Lithuania, flag poles in wintery wind / Utena, Lithuania, flag poles in wintery wind - alas23/sala Burning Laurel Leaves, Bredenbury, Herefordshire, UK / Bonfire - david.j.pitt Electricity pole resonance / Šlavantai, Lithuania - Marius Paulikas wind im kulturpalast warschau - udo noll Býčí skála (a cave), Czech Republic / Handpan improvisation - Pavel Paseka From Free Music Archive (https://freemusicarchive.org/): Audiotransparent - December Radio - by coverclub.nl Shchedryk by Mystery Mammal
Drones, Part 3
25-06-2020
Drones, Part 3
Part three (at last!) is the opposite of a deep dive – it’s a flight upwards through the night sky exploring the power of drones as medicine. We go into a bit of the reasons why drones have such a physical effect, with excerpts from an article by Robert Lamb (published Nov. 16, 2016; accessed June 25, 2020): https://science.howstuffworks.com/life/inside-the-mind/human-brain/ambient-music-calm-psychic-maelstrom.htm#:~:text=%22What%20happens%20with%20ambient%20music,scanning%20the%20environment%20for%20danger. We then ponder for a moment the power of drones to connect us to the world, and all who inhabit it, through deeply restorative soundscapes. After using some drones created by Tibetan singing bowls in the opening, we move on to the brand new "Celestial Music Box" to consider how the star field above us might "sound" if each star could be played like a music box. Thanks to friend of the podcast Michael Riley for granting us permission to use this excerpt! As always, thanks to all our Patreons for your support! If you'd like to join them in supporting independent arts and production, you can find us on Patreon at https://www.Patreon.com/TheWillowsNest You can also support this podcast and the work of our independent productions here at The Willows nest, through a one-time donation at https://www.paypal.me/bansheemedia Tracks in order of audition: (Under the voice): Glen Hoban “Singing Bowl Tanpura 1 & 3.” These were published in September of 2018. From the composer’s notes: “The sound of a "G" ('Throat Chakra') Himalayan singing bowl being droned, then having the resulting drone copied, pitch-shifted and multi-tracked to produce a long, subtly evolving drone.” Found on Freesound.org. Find these tracks and more about Glen Hoban at: https://freesound.org/people/Glen_Hoban/ Sound artist and composer Michael Riley (mikronesia) created the Celestial Music Box to be available through Patreon only under the name “Meditative Soundscapes.” Check out his Patreon over at https://www.patreon.com/meditativesoundscapes. This one-hour excerpt from the music box was recorded in June 18, 2020 of the sky over Berlin, Germany. Find the trailer for the project on Youtube at: https://youtu.be/rcXzER9eEQI And check out our episode, "Long Time Gone" for more of Michael's amazing work! If you are looking for some summer reading, may we at the podcast suggest the New York Public LIbrary's massive, and fabulous, Schomburg Center Black Liberation Reading List, published on June 9, 2020. So much good stuff, so much summer reading! https://www.nypl.org/blog/2020/06/09/schomburg-center-black-liberation-reading-list Because until Black Lives Matter, no lives matter. We are all related, beloveds.
News from the Nest: Quarantine Edition
20-04-2020
News from the Nest: Quarantine Edition
Sounds Curious Listeners - here's a crossover episode from our Patreon feed from The Willows Nest. This is a personal little audio postcard with two fantastic new musical pieces that have graced the tiny little stage here and some lovely binaural field recordings by some favorites over at Radio Aporee. There is no advisory to wear headphones for the binaural recordings, or podcast audio branding, its just some lovely sounds from me to you. Please stay safe wherever you are, reach out if you need support, and thanks for listening! Find us on Patreon at www.patreon.com/TheWillowsNest, on SoundCloud at www.soundcloud.com/sounds-curious-podcast Welcome to a special home quarantine edition of News from the Nest! We're obviously on lockdown, so no concerts for the foreseeable future, but that doesn't mean we don't have lots of archives to plunder for you, our Patreons! This episode is a bit like Sounds Curious, and may indeed find its way into the feed over there one day soon. But you get exclusive access for the next few days at least, and all my thanks! Tracks you'll hear in order of audition are: (from aporee.org/maps, Radio Aporee): "Beautiful early summer morning birdsong/Leafield Rd. Chipping Norton Ox7 3DB UK" by Mike Taylor. mike@miketaylor.pro "evening walk/gravel path and streets, Castello, Venice" by OR poiesis From The Willows Nest: Andrew Raffo Dewar "Ghosts in the Uncanny Valley IV" presented back on November 2, 2019. From the shownotes: “Ghosts in the Uncanny Valley IV” for soprano saxophone and quadraphonic live electronics using the Kyma sound design environment. This is a new work from a series of pieces that explores the interactive possibilities of live electronics and acoustic instruments, and the unusual sound areas to be discovered between and within them. Find more on the composer at: https://music.ua.edu/people/andrew-raffo-dewar/ (Also from Radio Aporee): "Tourists in front of the cathedral/75004 Paris, France" Vincent Duseigne. From The Willows Nest: Stefanie Egedy from the evening "Triptico Utropico Transnistrio." From the show notes: Stefanie’s field of action is the sound territory. Her motto is the sub-bass and bass sounds, whose capacity of making itself present in the space and of interacting with the medium is of her greatest interest. Besieged by this scenario, she operates in the interaction between the sonorous and musical language in the communication between beings. In her works, she uses field recordings, electronic and daily material sounds. Alongside Simon Fernandes she does the label Coisas que Matam, is part of the artist run space Dahaus, acts as a DJ, has a residency at Obra party and researches with Camille Laurent the relations between light and sound. find out more about her at: www.stefanieegedy.com
Failure
10-04-2020
Failure
Look, we can't all be William Shakespeare and knock out King Lear while we're stuck at home. Most of us are lucky to put on pants at some point in the day. So in this episode we ponder one of my favorite topics, failure, and the beautiful things that become possible through it. Featuring two gorgeous performances that happened during less self-isolating times in Berlin. Content Warning: The first performance features frequent, non-explicit but repeated references to prostitution. May not be appropriate for younger listeners. But honestly it is kind of hilarious. The first feature is by the Brazilian performer-composer Manuel Pessoa de Lima, whose intimate performances defy genre as he will tell you himself. Taking on failure as a topic of research through his graduate work, he confronts it in his work in some unique and haunting ways. His piece is a strange and sometimes awkward journey through sound worlds and self-reflections to arrive at last at some truly terrible, terrible Strauss. Failure never sounded so right... More information on his work can be found at: https://www.manuel-lima.com/ A link to the performance archive from the October show: http://willowsnest.org/events/triptico-utropico-transnistrio/ His video works: https://vimeo.com/manuellima The second featured track is from a recent performance by AudeRrose. Aude is a particularly versatile artists, working in fine and media arts, performance pieces, experimental works and installations. From her performance biography: "Her performance works oscillate between digital and analog medium, combining original cross-border techniques between real-time video feedback and digital and acoustic sounds. She often uses overhead projectors, slide projectors, typewriters, clocks, that are amplified via micro-contact microphones, combined with acoustic and digital sounds." Find her website at http://aude-f.com/ More of her performances on her performance page at: http://aude-f.com/performance/ Aude teamed up with your intrepid host, Renée Thérèse Coulombe in our duo "les demoiselles d'analogue." More information about me can be found on my own web page: www.reneetcoulombe.com. Of course as always if you like the work and want to support the podcast, our little production space in Berlin and all that we do - you can make a one time donation through Paypal at: www.paypal.me/bansheemedia Or join the Willows Nest Patreon over at www.patreon.com/TheWillowsNest Donations keep us going through this crazy time, and keep the electricity flowing through our computer to keep the art work flowing...
Spooky Yule:  The Goodwood Ghost
20-12-2019
Spooky Yule: The Goodwood Ghost
Celebrating an old tradition a new way: telling a spooky story at Yuletide, a Victorian ghost story, complete with some sound installation from field recordings by artists around the world. Celebrating the wonderful atmosphere that field recordings can make. So turn down the lights, stoke the fireplace and settle in for a spooky tale for the longest night of the year. The story, The Goodwood Ghost, has been attributed to Charles Dickens, but the author is unknown. With a The story can be found at https://ghostsandstories.com/short-ghost-story-11.html The sound installation contains field recordings and sound effects from Radio Aporee and Freesound.org and include: mike@miketaylor.pro "Beautiful early summer morning birdsong / Leafield Rd, Chipping Norton OX7 3DB, UK" on radioaporee.org/maps Timbre "simulation of Victorian Street" https://freesound.org/people/Timbre/sounds/87462/ Fritz Schl "Horse-drawn carriage in the forest/Ribbeck 14641, Nauen Deutschland" on radioaporee.org/maps nikolajdehaan@gmail.com "Birds on a summer day on the Danish countryside 8752 Østbirk, Denmark on radioaporee.org/maps Matucha "Door thick creak medium perspective" https://freesound.org/people/matucha/sounds/181458/ Lucas McBath "horse whinny" https://freesound.org/people/foxen10/sounds/149024/ Soundscape_Leuphana "soundscape leuphana dog whimper" https://freesound.org/people/Soundscape_Leuphana/sounds/210440/ Prosounder "galloping-horse" https://freesound.org/people/prosounder/sounds/32679/ Arnaud Coutancier "nervous-horses" https://freesound.org/people/arnaud%20coutancier/sounds/271266/ Veljo Runnel "Windy hilltop by Hornoya lighthouse / Hornøya og Reinøya, 9950 Vardø, Norway" on radioaporee.org/maps
An Autumn Ramble
18-11-2019
An Autumn Ramble
Today's episode goes back to some musical basics, with several live recordings with global artists from my home to yours. Opening with the glorious Aristarain & Lewkowicz Duo of Sophia Aristarain and Javier Lewkowicz, who rocked the house last Spring with their concert of traditional and original music from the native Argentina, as well as music from Brazil and all over South America. We then jump to a concert of traditional music from Greece and Turkey and the Ufki Bobowski duo of Fatih Ermete (Lute of Istanbul, Ud) and Borys Slowikowski on the frame drums. While Fatih is from Istanbul and Borys from Poland, the two met in Crete and were drawn together by their mutual love of these musical traditions. We then slow things down with a stroll in Southern India with Dr. Vijay Kannan, whose Haunting Bamboo: Nada Yoga with Indian Bamboo flute event at The Willows Nest just happened back in October. This truly haunting and beautiful musical recording includes the moment when he asked a friend in the audience, a wonderful classical singer in this tradition, to improvise with him on the flute! Finally, we hop the Red Eye 2 Tokyo, a new musical project by composer and multi-instrumentalist Shih-Wei Wu, that fuses the raw energy of Japanese Folk music with the cool sounds of West Coast Jazz. So sit back, relax, and travel the globe without ever leaving the couch - from our little global Nest perched high atop Boxhagener Strasse... If you like what we do and want to support our mission, please consider joining The Willows Nest Patreon over at www.patreon.com/TheWillowsNest Audio installation under voiceover: Felix Blume, "Wind singing in an old tube on the top of the mountain" https://freesound.org/people/felix.blume/sounds/447375/ More Aristarain-Lewkowicz on YouTube: https://youtu.be/2oFVmkg7bZc Ufki Bobowski on YouTube: https://youtu.be/wryTr0BLsWU Vijay Kannan has his own very successful YouTube channel over at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ6QWInwx5uN4frT6_tHRiQ Finally Red Eye 2 Tokyo can be found over at www.shihweiwu.com. You can find their single over at https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/redeye2tokyo and look for the new album soon! If you are in the Los Angeles Area, consider stopping by the RE2T album release party at Angry Horse Brewing Company in Montebello on November 19, 2019!
ASMR and Acoustic Intimacy (Part Two)
12-11-2019
ASMR and Acoustic Intimacy (Part Two)
After a long absence! Finally - thanks to everyone for your patience waiting for part 2! Want to help me dedicate more time to the podcast and less time to getting freelance work? Please support our home! www.patreon.com/TheWillowsNest – home of the Sounds Curious podcast, and so much more. Every contribution, no matter how large or small, is greatly appreciated. There are great rewards at every level, too! We try to feature recordings made in The Willows Nest where possible. Show notes for recordings used in this episode in order: freesound.org/people/bajko/sounds/378055/ (Artist: Bajko; title: “sfx_snow_footstep-02.wav) freesound.org/people/felix.blume/sounds/447375/ (Artist Felix Blume; title: Wind singing in an old tube on the top of the mountain) freesound.org/people/dahlJ/sounds/419727/ (Artist: dahlJ; title: “ASMR Tapping) freesound.org/people/harveyjnz/sounds/360382/ (Artist: Harveyjnz; title: “foam microphone wind screen”) freesound.org/people/Cass_bass/sounds/401180/ (Artist: Cass_bass; title: “ASMR test, Eating chips, clock ticking, and soft talking and whispering”) freesound.org/people/That_sound_was_strange/sounds/490896/ (Artist: That sound was strange; title: Exo Blubl) From Radio aporee, (aporee.org/maps)Artist: John Grzinich; title" Mustarinda forest, Hyrynsalm, Finland" Recording Live at The Willows Nest from D.A.M.P.F. / August of 2019. From the program information: "Participants: Fiona Sullivan (USA): Fiona creates to explore extended vocal possibilities and discover new sonic realms influenced by the beauty and complexity of nature. Vinyl Dinosaur (NZ/TBA): Amateur Optical Semi-Professional Nonmusician Art. Uses bodies, some virtual. Offers adventure, contemplation and fun sound Georgie (BO): Bolivian musician, composer and improviser based in Berlin. Fabs die rakete (DE) – 3….2….1… Oh no fuel…. Again Bpschhhhh#wuuuuusch Chance of success: 0% Sharon Mercado Nogales (BO): (1994) Dancer/ choreographer from Bolivia, based in Berlin. *terms and conditions apply The Willows Nest is a private arts incubator high in a roost above Boxhagener Kiez, that holds space for artistic exploration and development through residencies, gatherings, skill sharing and teaching. We are a completely non-corporate and non-institutional space that invites the Berlin community to experience global arts in a very local setting."
ASMR and Acoustic Intimacy (Part 1)
22-05-2019
ASMR and Acoustic Intimacy (Part 1)
Sounds Curious: ASMR and Acoustic Intimacy Please support our home! http://www.patreon.com/TheWillowsNest – home of the Sounds Curious podcast, and so much more. Every contribution, no matter how large or small, is greatly appreciated. There are great rewards at every level, too! Credits: Intro and audio installation: Title: Ocean / Ziyaaraiy Magu Road, Maafushi, Мальдивы Artist: ChuprinGA@mail.ru http://aporee.org/maps/ Hydrophone tracks: “humpback whales, Boucan cannot, ile de la reunion” and later Hydrophone_Chant des baleines_22/07/2010” Artist: Pierre Gauthier http://aporee.org/maps “large-pond-harlaxton-manor-hydrophone” artist: Vortichez found in the hydrophone recording package. http://www.freesound.org/people/Vortichez Performance audio (starts at 39:59 – use ear buds for an even stronger effect): From “Amplified Bricks” by Brad Nath – performance at The Willows Nest, Berlin on October 20, 2018. Check out the event page in our archives for links to video by the artists, his remarks on “Acoustectonics” and sounding materials, and a photo of one of his custom-made instruments at http://willowsnest.org/events/amplified-bricks-brad-nath/ More videos of his work at: https://vimeo.com/bradnath Don't want to subscribe with Patreon, but still want to support the little podcast that could? Consider scoring a Sounds Curious T shirt or mug from The Willows Nest Shop over on Teespring! With our lovely logos designed by the visual artist Ilknur Demirkoparan, and styles selected personally by your podcast host - they make a material statement and keep us going. Part of each sale supports our audio efforts. Check out the designs at: http://teespring.com/stores/the-willows-nest-shop
News From the Nest (a crossover episode)
05-05-2019
News From the Nest (a crossover episode)
To celebrate the launch of our new Patreon for the home of Sounds Curious - The Willows Nest in Berlin - I am releasing this first audio digest created for our Patreons to the Sounds Curious podcast. It has been quite a journey bringing this new vision to life - and you can be a part of us. Check out our campaign at www.Patreon.com/TheWillowsNest and for just 5 dollars a month you can get an audio digest featuring the best performances, installations, sound art, interviews and more going on right here on our tiny stage in Friedrichshain. Higher levels get you live streams of our events, hangouts with the founder and featured artists - even weekends at The Nest to experience the magic yourself! I want to thank every artist who has stepped through our door already in Berlin, every audience member or workshop participant or student who has supported us with their presence. Lastly, an enormous thank you to Ashram, Interaxia, and Marko Ivic whose gorgeous sounds grace this episode and this space. To hear Ashram, jump to 13:39 www.findmyashram.com (and check out their latest music video! It's amazing!) To hear Interaxia, jump to 25:47 Which is Anaïs Poulet http://anaispoulet.com/ Marion Ruault http://youtu.be/Du2pubOpmgY Leander Reininghaus http://leanderreininghaus.bandcamp.com/ Valentin Martel http://youtu.be/VqEE6BzTzBE To hear Marko Ivic, jump to 1:24:54 http://glogauair.net/activity/meet-the-artist-marko-ivic/ https://soundcloud.com/marko-ivic Show notes at www.bansheemedia.com, more on The Willows Nest at www.willowsnest.org.
Yesterday's tomorrow, today
07-01-2019
Yesterday's tomorrow, today
This week we take our curious listeners on a little tour through and underappreciated moment in musical history: “space-age” music, or lounge music, or whatever term floats your boat. We trace the relationships between this “exotic” moment in musical history, and Jazz, classical, film and television music. After pondering the rhetoric that greeted some of the musicians behind the movement, we look forward – through futurisms far from retro – to examine the lingering effects of this musical phenomenon in our media music today. Audio installation under narration: edited and processed tracks from NASA including: “Cassini: Saturn Radio Emissions #1” https://soundcloud.com/nasa/cassini-saturn-radio-emissions-1 “Jupiter Sounds 2001” https://soundcloud.com/nasa/jupiter-sounds-2001 Audio Tracks featured in the discussion (all links accessed January 3, 2018): Frank Comstock “On The Dark Side of The Moon” from Project: Comstock Music from Outer Space (1962). From “Ultra Harmonics Channel, YouTube. https://youtu.be/Q-BbnOt3reQ?t=1280 Ferrante & Teicher “Poinciana” from Soundblast (Westminster Records, 1958). From “Dr. Hofmann’s Electric Kool-Aid Party!” Channel, YouTube. https://youtu.be/0zoGG3uSjZI?t=408 Juan Garcia Esquivel “Poinciana” from Other Worlds Other Sounds (RCA Victor, 1958). From “Dr. Hofmann’s Electric Kool-Aid Party!” Channel, YouTube. https://youtu.be/pVfZTtgGS3E?t=589 George Russell “Chromatic Universe, Pt. 2” from Jazz in the Space Age (Decca Records 1958). From “Dr. Hofmann’s Electric Kool-Aid Party!” Channel, YouTube. https://youtu.be/tCfzE7w0SFw?t=1004 Dave Pike “When I’m gone” From Jazz For the Jet Set (Atlantic Records, 1966). From “Dr. Hofmann’s Electric Kool-Aid Party!” Channel, YouTube. https://youtu.be/jvoSSkp2Njc?t=962 Links and articles from discussion: Ferrante & Teicher: https://www.discogs.com/artist/179036-Ferrante-Teicher Esquivel: http://www.spaceagepop.com/esquivel.htm, Obituary from Independent: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/juan-garcia-esquivel-9263481.html George Russell: “George Russell, Composer Whose Theories Sent Jazz in a New Direction, Dies at 86” by Ben Ratliff, The New York Times, July 29, 2009. https://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/30/arts/music/30russell.html His book: The Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organizations: The Art and Science of Tonal Gravity” https://www.amazon.com/Lydian-Chromatic-Concept-Tonal-Organization/dp/0970373902 Dave Pike: https://www.discogs.com/artist/18121-Dave-Pike Information about The Willows Nest Artist Residency Program: http://willowsnest.org/artist-residencies/