All sound material recorded by Elisabeth Schimana from 22 04 2012 to 28 04 2012
Sound engineer: Fritz Trondl
Speaker: Anna Soucek
produced by ORF Kunstradio
15 12 2013 performed live on air – on line at studio 4 Viennese radio house
Idea
The basic idea was to sit on the Potemkin Stairs in Odessa for seven days and record sound.
Realization - Generation of the Material
Material I Stairs
It became clear to me during my first recording on 4/22/2012 that the material would essentially be determined by the sounds coming from the busy street at the bottom of the stairs. I decided, therefore, to set up my recording device not only at different times of the day but also at different places on the stairs.
Material II Hotel Window
The hotel room where I was staying looked out on one end of Odessa’s pedestrian zone and a park with a pavilion. I decided to record from this hotel room window almost every night.
Material III City
I explored the city on foot and by tram. I sat down in a monastery courtyard, walked past a bird woman with her boxes of chicks on the curb, rode the tram, and strolled through the shopping arcades.
Material IV Sea and Port
I took long walks along the seashore. Sooner or later one arrives at a point from which one sees and hears the activity of the container terminal of the Port of Odessa from above. On the bank across from the Potemkin Stairs I came across a completely different spot, a place where sailboats and passenger ships dock.
Material Handling
All materials were labeled with the recording date. In addition, I noted the time of day on the recordings made on the Stairs and from the hotel room window. Material needs to age a bit, like a good steak, in my case that usually means for about a year.
All material was listened to in order to determine usefulness and a rough cut was made. This clearly revealed that the footsteps on the stairs would need to be brought out using filters. The rest of the material was only slightly cleaned and fine edited, but otherwise hardly processed at all. With field recordings it is very important to me to leave the material the way the microphone heard it. I am not interested in processing the material by complicated electroacoustic means.
Structure
The structure followed naturally from the idea and the material.
*
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Sitting on the Stairs 9 a.m.
Strolling through the streets
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Listening out the window 5 p.m.
Monday, April 23, 2012
Sitting on the Stairs 9 p.m.
Strolling through the streets
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Sitting on the Stairs 1 p.m.
Strolling through the streets – Listening to the sea
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Sitting on the Stairs 6 p.m.
Listening out the window 5 a.m.
Strolling through the streets – Listening to the port – Listening to the sea
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Sitting on the Stairs 9 a.m.
Strolling through the streets – Listening to the port
Friday, April 27, 2012
Sitting at the bottom of the Stairs 5 p.m.
Listening out the window 10 a.m.
Strolling through the streets – Listening to the sea
* For the Live Mix this text will be read by a female speaker
Radio Live Mix
Why not produce a finished piece, go to the studio, and mix it during the program?
1. Because it is exciting, and this exciting, charged atmosphere produces the right emotional feeling for the live broadcasting situation.
2. Because I love this indefinable acoustic space and the intangible audience I play for.
translated by Kimi Lum
