19 Sep 2020 | 6-7.30pm
Talk by Peter Cusack
Hosted by Schaubühne Lindenfels
‘Inaccessible sounds are those we cannot easily hear. They may be too high or too low for our ears, exist underwater or as hidden vibrations in our surroundings. They may also be behind fences in forbidden zones or in places simply too remote to visit. But there are many, very many, all of which inform and tell stories about the localities where they are found and, increasingly, touch on broader questions of global concern. They are sounds of the earth and skies, of the biosphere and non-human world and of 8 billion people as we interact with each other and the planet that is home. We live in the Anthropocene where daily events show the growing impact of human activity on geological and planetary scales. As well as the effects that regularly make the news these impacts also have sonic consequences. Listening to them is not always easy, but it is constantly fascinating.
The talk will consider some of these sounds, their narrative and places of origin. Hidden sounds and vibrations from familiar cities such as Berlin and London will be explored, but also soundscapes of the Chernobyl exclusion zone and Aral Sea in Kazakhstan – areas that have experienced major human-caused environmental damage and change in recent years. To finish there will be a little speculation on what sounds we might expect to hear more of in the future.’