Sincronia Sonoras: Soundscapes with the Ymboré indigenous community (Cachimbo, Bahia, Brazil)

This is the binaural audio recording element of an audiovisual exhibition created during the project Sincronia Sonora. Myself and Tom Jackson were hosted by the Ymboré indigenous community, and during a week-long residency we created soundscapes and field recordings in collaboration with members of the community.

During 32 minutes you will hear extracts from seven soundscapes, capturing everyday experiences and environments. This early draft was produced and exhibited just a few days after the recordings were wrapped up (late August 2019) and it is finally made public a year after its premiere in the Teatro Municipal of Ilhéus, Bahia. Here is the sequence of soundscapes/recordings:

  1. Amanhecer na aldeia / Dawn in the village (00:00 - 02:18)

  2. Beira do rio na floresta / Riverside by the forest (02:19 - 08:00)

  3. Frenesi / Feeding frenzy (08:01 - 09:10)

  4. Café com leite / Coffee and milk (09:02 - 10:25)

  5. Tirando leite / Milking the cows (10:26 - 14:22)

  6. Batendo barro / Mud slapping (14:23 - 21:30)

  7. Toré na floresta / Toré in the forest (21:31 - 32:47)

Key words: soundscape; field recording; indigenous electronic art; binaural recordings; Ymboré; Thydêwá

Rauh, A., Jackson, T., Ymboré (2019) Soundscapes of the Ymboré. Binaural recording. Ilhéus, BA, Brazil.

Edit: typos and phrasing.

Rauh, A. (2019) 'Summer Storm'.

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A 48-minute sonic exploration of a summer thunder storm recorded with an Olympus LS-P4 and post-produced in Ableton Live (10.1) and Adobe Audition (12.1.4). Has strong percussive elements and a wide frequency range that captures rolling thunder, wind, rain, birds, and the ambiance of a suburb in a mid-sized Bavarian city.

Recorded in Augsburg in early June, 2019, and post-produced in Dublin, August 2019.

Project: reboot_ Leeds events (August 2015 – January 2019)

In parallel with my academic research about grassroots independent music in the North of England I took an active role as a cultural agent in the city of Leeds. As a founding member of reboot_ music events, I applied my experience as a musician and my academic knowledge about cultural production and the creative industries to running a 3-year long series of 14 events, largely designed to foster local talent, thus offering a stepping stone and network connections to newcomers.

Responsibilities: founding member; communications manager; resident musician; on-site event producer and manager; treasurer; liaison with guest DJs and partners; multi-platform and offline promotional strategies.

Rauh, A. (2017). “Berliner” [Digital, excerpt]. Leeds, UK: unreleased.

As part of my research about the Virtual Studio Technology (VST) software for music production (particularly by independent musicians) I selected a number of freely available (freeware and open-source) software and sounds recorded with non-music specific devices (smartphone) to produce this track. My aim was to assess audio quality and user friendliness of freely available software for independents and grassroots musicians to operate within industry-levels. The result attests to the potential of low-cost, low-fi, commonly available consumer electronic devices for music production, though the results for post-production and mixing requires further developments.  DAW: Ableton Live 9.7.

Responsibilities: VST assessment; sound design; composition; arrangement; recording; editing; and mixing.

Trifonic Remixes

Rauh, A. (2015). “Trifonic – Good Enough (212 Rauh Instrumental)” [Remix]. Trifonic (2007) Emergence [Digital] Los Angeles: self-release.

Available from: http://ccmixter.org/files/AndreasRauh/49877

Rauh, A. (2015). “Trifonic – Good Enough (212 Rauh Vocal)” [Remix]. Trifonic (2007) Emergence [Digital]. Los Angeles: self-release.

Available from: http://ccmixter.org/files/AndreasRauh/49973

The two pieces above were produced as part of my research about online platforms for independent and grassroots music production. The production processes of the tracks were part of a broader investigation about working and production conditions for grassroots musicians and aspiring professional producers who participate in online remixing contests. These contexts offer participants the opportunity to practice their musical skills using professional-grade audio content, but, when structured as a commercial enterprise, remixing contests are marred by potential exploitative practices and unethical procedures (such as unfair rewards and appropriation of intellectual property). The two tracks presented here were made as part of a contest held at CCMixter.org, an ethically sound platform for online remixing which embraces a collaborative co-creation ethos (via Creative Commons licenses and Open Access ethos) and fosters community support in an online environment that blends User-generated Content and social media elements. These tracks are hosted in the CCMixter.org website in accordance to the licenses and user agreement for non-commercial use. DAW: Ableton Live 9.2.

Responsibilities: arrangement; sound design; composition; recording; mixing; editing

Rauh, A., Pla I Conesa, P. (2013). “Soundscape – Poblenou (Andreas Rauh and Pol Pla I Conesa)”. São José dos Campos, Brazil: unreleased.

In 2013 I revisited audio content recorded a few years earlier (2009) and re-edited a soundscape of the neighbourhood of Poblenou, in Barcelona. Audio recordings were made as part of a field recording workshop hosted in Hangar cultural centre (hangar.org) using entry-level audio recording equipment (Tascam DR-1). The piece aims to provide the listener with the soundscapes of a walk starting from the commercial sector of neighbourhood towards the sea-side on a sunny weekend afternoon. No synthesised audio was used, only original field-recordings manipulated and edited digitally with minimal use of sound effects. DAW: Ableton 8.3.

Responsibilities: field-recording; editing; mixing;