Central Station

In contrast to the harsh soundscape of the train, Central Station is a place of harmony. People from various different parts of Sydney and greater New South Wales conglomerate, and perform sound in unison. This diversity is represented implicitly, by the sound signals of opal cards as they “tap on” and “tap off”. The multiplicity of age groups and proficiencies are ordered into categories (Adult Opal, Child/ Youth Opal, Gold Opal, Concession Opal, School Opal and Free Opal) which each inhabit a unique pitch when a payment is approved. So unlike the “flatline” of the train, the soundscape of Central Station is alive and thriving, and although contained within industrial structures, sounds embody “biological existences”: “They are born, they flourish and they die.”(Schafer, 1993). Furthermore, these sounds are arranged within the format of Western music as a chord progression consisting of Emajor, Amajor, Emajor and Gmajor (background), guides the melodic ostinato (foreground). The major Key provides a sense of unity and utopia, as a “tonal centre” (Schafer, 1993) is naturally generated. This tonal centre and key signature are based on an original (unedited) recording of Central Station, and therefore, my composition aims to reconstruct and build upon the pre-existing soundscape. This euphoria is juxtaposed as the listener becomes lost within the physical structure of the train station; lost within the complex architecture of Central Station. In a liminal space between where they have been and where they are going. Sound becomes warped and distant, as visual perspective is lost, and time feels as though it slows down.

A broad variety of additive effects were implemented in the sonification of Central Station. Pitch effects allowed me to create harmony between different samples and tracks, and a reverb bus applied broadly, enabled previously dry samples to exist within the natural atmosphere of Central Station.

References Schafer, R. M. (1993). The Soundscape : Our Sonic Environment and the Tuning of the World. Inner Traditions International, Limited.