West Vertical

Escaping via the opening from the underground subway infrastructure situated in between the railway platforms and a first series of social housing blocks, sounds of arriving and departing trains loudly occupy the area around west station. The concrete wall of high-rise buildings bounces back the crackling and tearing sounds of these motorized beaters to area surrounding the railway platforms. Vibrations coming from the underground subway infrastructure travel upwards through the metal structures of these platforms above ground. De vacant land keeps traffic sounds coming from Vandenpeerenboom Street at a distant drawing attention to smaller sounds that would otherwise slip unnoticed in the chorus of the traffic buzz. Sirens contour sonically the open space around the west station. Helicopters flying over, taking control of the open railway space volumetrically. The presence of animals and vegetation in undeveloped areas adds fluidly shifting patterns with huge masses of pointillistic sound to the urban sound space of this area. With rain or storms, these textures take on a more intense dominant position here.

Recording (2016) : on site