Imaginary Flocks of Lurie Garden

7 ECHOES

Imaginary flocks of midwestern birds gather in Lurie Garden. These imaginary flocks are formed from recordings of individual bird calls and custom performance software by Earful.be. Each Echo presents an audio capture of a different location in the 3D performance space spread virtually over Lurie Garden. These are captured in Ambisonic format for spatial listening here in Echoes.xyz. The illustrations are from paintings by Teresa Parod https://www.teresaparod.com.

For more information, visit https://www.earful.be.

Bill Parod

After many years as a software developer, working on cultural heritage projects, I have in recent years returned to my first and persistent love of music. As a composer I often think of the natural spontaneity and balance of forest ambiance, with the large and small dramas and expressive beauty of the living things there. In recent work on bird groups, I have tried to mimic the interactions of different species by observing their social behavior. This involves grouping species, their evident behavioral states, the recorded vocalization evident in those states, and their behavior as they transition through these states, often in response to other animals. This seems like a natural approach for mimicking bird behavior and the wonderfully musical experience of their dramas.