Audiosketch is a Chamber Made podcast created and produced by Roslyn Oades. Roslyn created a series of art dates with artists about their practice, with conversations particularly referencing how they have been listening at this moment in time.

Credits

To discover more about Hildegard Westerkamp’s extensive body of sound works, including links to full recordings, visit her website here.

Hildegard was part of theWorld Soundscape Project with R. Murray Schafer which you can learn more about here.

Hildegard Westerkamp is a founding member of the World Forum of Acoustic Ecology, of which you can learn more about here.

The personal art-crush Hildegard cited was Tina Pearson and her sound work Music for Natural History (created with Paul Walde) which you can learn more about here.

Our Audiosketch podcast title music is by Fia Fiell. All in the Same Room, is from Fia Fiell’s 2018 album of the same name, which you can find on Bandcamp here.

Transcript

{Signature title music by Fia Fiell}

Welcome to Audiosketch, a Chamber Made podcast dedicated to innovative artists working across performance, sound and music. I’m Roslyn Oades and I’m joining you from the lands of Bunurong Boon Wurrung and Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung peoples of the Eastern Kulin Nation, also known as the City of Melbourne. In this episode, I’m a remote art date with pioneering composer, radio artist and acoustic ecologist Hildegard Westerkamp, who joins us from the West Coast of Canada. Hildegard’s impressive career spans near on 50 years of artistic practice. She was part of the World Soundscape Project with the late R. Murray Schafer, she produced and hosted the radio program Soundwalking in the late 70s and was a founding member of the World Forum for Acoustic Ecology. In summary she is a pioneering female sound artist we should all be aware of. In fact, this conversation was so good we had to split it into a 2-parter. So, be sure to catch our second half in the next episode. Now let’s meet the inspiring Hildegard Westerkamp…

Roslyn Welcome to Audiosketch, Hildegard.

Hildegard Thank you, Roslyn. Thank you for inviting me.

Roslyn It’s such an honour. Given so much of your work is about listening to place, before we start, perhaps you’d like to share a bit about where you are right now.

Hildegard Yes, I’m on the ancestral lands of the Coast Salish peoples in what is now called Vancouver here. The Musqueam, Tsleil-Waututh, and the Squamish. And I have been here since 1968. And I must say, it’s been a really long journey in beginning to relate to the incredible richness of this coast here – sort of my consciousness really understanding that I’m a settler here. And the gratefulness I feel of having been able to live most of my life in this very special place.

Roslyn As per tradition on Audiosketch, my first question I’d like to ask you, is if you were a sound right now, what sound would you be?

Hildegard Yeah, I find that an interesting question. Slightly disturbing. Because I am a sound right now. My voice is the sound I am. And we can reflect on that and think about it as, what is that sound that I am? And how am I placing that sound into the world? How is that sound heard? How do I hear that sound? And what is that relationship between the sound as it comes out of me to as it is heard by others. It sounds a certain way because of my physical being. The resonances in my body, the way I’ve been trained or not trained. The way I feel right now. Just like listening, it’s a lifetime of learning about the impact that one’s own sound and sound making has in the world.

RoslynIt’s interesting, you talk about the voice being your sound. A lot of people really hate the sound of their own voice. What’s your...