Mount Ainslie

Trees have always stood in the background of our lives, silent witnesses to our joys and tragedies. In the mountains we have taken their abundance for granted, but now, there are spaces where their shade once fell. This work gives voice to the trees of Pilot Hill, assigns them stories of their own beyond that of survival. Dark Forest is not so much a collaboration, but a collective of authors each contributing their creativity and talent to make the trees speak, and to help the people of this region memorialise and celebrate. They are participating simply because I asked them for help. This in itself is an echo of the generosity we of the Snowy experienced from across Australia and the world during the fires—and so Dark Forest nods to that overwhelming spirit of solidarity in its creation, as much as it commemorates the green giants we lost to the flames, and celebrates what survived.

a walk back in time of Australian black history this takes you back in time to first settlers

##### Blue Mountains National Park, Sydney [Trail Map](https://www.alltrails.com/trail/australia/new-south-wales/grand-canyon-track--5?u=i&sh=ysuzkr)

School Memories begins near the furthest carpark entrance to Blaxland High School, located in the lower Blue Mountains region. At a leisurely pace, walk along the outside of the high school to discover the many sounds of the school environment and recall your own personal times when you were a student. This project takes us on a short audio journey of walking through a school (along the outside of the public high school) and re-experiencing the sounds of the school grounds and classroom. You will explore the variety of sounds associated with school and reminisce on your own time there when times were simple. As an ex-student from Blaxland High School, this holds deep meaning to me, I had many amazing and emotional experiences, and of course miserable, but have come to truly appreciate the beautiful moments of school and you will too. The true meaning of the variating sounds and atmospheres of this project will be interpreted differently from person to person as we have all had different types of experiences in the school environment. Canadian electroacoustic composer Barry Truax (2001) suggests that “the way in which a sequence of sound is structured determines the type of meaning, or levels of meaning, it communicates, provided the listener has the appropriate tacit knowledge to decode it” (p.177). In this project, we all possess the knowledge to understand the meaning of the sounds and all the sonic components due to the commonality of school that is shared by almost every person. This provided me with a clear fundamental basis and goal to gather the relevant audio to construct a project that illustrates the meaningfulness of the arrangement of sound and how it can affect the listener. It is structured in a way where the meaning of the project is amplified the more you discover and remember the sounds of the school environment, which can be led by your interpretation. The audio of the school children's ambience during their break times as well as audio of a teacher talking to his class creates thick background layers in the project that immerses us into the audio. These are driving forces in the school soundscape that draws us to be conscious of and think about our own experiences in school. The initial chaos of the sound of kids in the school environment is dampened by the calming and peaceful sounds of the birds in the Blue Mountains, adding an extra atmospheric layer and illustrating the tone of the project, which may be interpreted in your own manner. To complete the atmospheric layers, a short and gentle musical composition is utilised to evoke emotion and support the ambient soundscape. The project is portrayed with the familiar sound effects of an everyday school student's life. I recorded a wide variety of sound effects that illustrate the time during school to transport you back into your time there. Some sounds including writing on paper, laughter, typing, and bag zippers are highlighted to position you in a space where you feel as though you are back at school. Is it enjoyable? Is it bad? What did you find pleasant about school? These will be the types of questions you will ask yourself when walking through the project, making you conscious of your past and reminisce on the memorable times of school. The image you will have in your head whilst walking will be led by your imagination and interpretation to make the soundwalk truly your own. The project attempts to remind you of the memorable and enjoyable times of being a school student and to reminisce on those times. This provides a unique and interpretative listening experience, where every listener will have many different experiences to think about, causing you to appreciate the times you had. Enjoy the walk along the outside of Blaxland High School and appreciate the enjoyable memories! References: Truax, B. (2001). Acoustic communication (2nd ed.). Greenwood Publishing Group. Additional sound effects recording: Declan Muller, Dylan Perera, Jonathan Remfrey

Embark on an auditory journey with this captivating and unique exploration of the soundscapes at Georges River and Casula Powerhouse Park. This work weaves together carefully curated recordings that capture the symphony of nature and urban life, offering a vivid representation of these iconic locations known to Liverpool. Through the meticulous layering of these sounds, listeners will be transported underneath the M5 motorway bridge as well as the grassy riverbank, and the cultural hub of the park. This experience centres around the rich soundscapes that define Georges River’s natural beauty and Casula Powerhouse Park’s cultural vibrancy. The Bridge over Georges River becomes a central character, with the low hum and thumps of tires on the metal, resonating through its structure entirely. The vehicles above create a rhythmic pulse that echoes beneath, providing an aural representation of the busy city life here in Liverpool. Standing under the bridge, the deep rumbles of trains passing and the whooshing of cars above mix with the sound of cars driving under the bridge on the recorded location. The bridge creates a cavernous effect, adding depth and resonance to the composition. While moving from the bridge to find and collect a more natural soundscapes of sounds, the best sounding option I had discovered was the tall grass. The tall grass gives off soft rustles with the footsteps, with a bit of crunching sounds when stepping on the long grass. Walking through the tall grass near the riverbank paints an image of tranquillity and exploration, almost like an adventurous theme of this echoes walk. This natural symphony contrasts sharply with the urban sound, offering a brief escape into nature. Moving towards the parking spaces and small road, leading straight to the Powerhouse Museum, I walked near the park and found a location to collect a sound most heard around the area I live in. Music drifting from a parked car offers an intimate glimpse into the lives of visitors at the Casula Powerhouse Park. With the car doors open, the music fills the surroundings, blending with the ambient noises around it, such as birds chirping, trains, and cars driving by. With the doors closed of that same car, the music becomes muffled and isolated, leaving loud bass and thumping noises playing from the car within, emphasising the car's interior as a personal sanctuary. Georges River is known for its very polluted waters, however, it still carries such beauty and presence. As I threw sticks into the river from the riverbank, gentle splashes of sticks hitting the water injected a playful and nostalgic element into the soundscape. Each splash is a reminder of the simple joys of nature. This work strives to achieve several creative aims. It juxtaposes the industrial and natural elements to offer a nuanced representation of the delicate balance between urban development and nature. Through the layering of contrasting audio elements, the composition tells the story of Georges River and Casula Powerhouse Park via a blend of natural melodies and the hum of urban life, providing immersive storytelling. Additionally, the sonic representation invites listeners to reflect on their surroundings, emphasising the importance of environmental conversation amid urban growth. The sound files were selected and processed to create this cohesive and immersive auditory journey. The equipment used were high-fidelity stereo microphones, allowing for capturing high quality recordings and gathering authentic sounds of each location. While layering and mixing, I had used these rich soundscapes that blend bridge noises, train rumbles, and footsteps, along with other sounds to convey the coexistence of nature and the urban industry. EQs played a major role, highlighting the unique tonal characteristics of each sound, and spatial panning positioned them across the stereo field for a 360-degree auditory experience. The rhythmic pulse of vehicles driving over the bridge and steady beat of footsteps on concrete served as an auditory anchor for the composition. This echoes walk offers listeners a chance to transcend the visual and immerse themselves in the layered and diverse soundscape of Georges River and Casula Powerhouse Park. Through the harmonious interplay of natural and industrial elements, this work paints a vivid and holistic picture of these locations. It portrays the intersection of nature, history and contemporary culture, inviting listeners to reflect on the delicate balance between urbanisation and environmental conversations.

Walking around the creek

This music soundscape walk was created by composer Tristan Coelho and harpist Emily Granger during their time as Artists in Residence at the Mount Wilson Old School. This walk is a collection of pieces that are directly inspired by specific sites in the area. You'll hear rich and lush musical depictions of the natural environment incorporating field recordings, harp, live and sampled piano from the community hall, loops, synthesisers and guitar effects pedals. Starting from the Old School, you have two directions of travel: one towards Du Faurs Rocks Lookout and beyond to Pheasants Cave, the other back down The Avenue and left on Wyndham Ave towards Waterfall Track. You can stream the walk directly or download it to your device before setting off. A pair of good headphones is highly recommended. Although it's recommended to do this sound walk on foot, you can still explore the various pieces of music from the comfort of your own home by either: – heading to soundcloud.com/tristancoelho/sets/mtwilsonsoundwalk – or clicking at the top right of the ECHOES app after the sound walk has loaded, turning 'Autoplay' off and then selecting a track. Enjoy exploring the areas and the sounds that emerge. Please feel free to get in touch with us by email at tristan@tristancoelho.com Check out more of our work at: tristancoelho.com | emilygranger.com All music for this project was recorded and produced in The Old School, Mount Wilson.