Human soundscape, strange weather, and methodologies

Text: Heikki Uimonen, Anne Tarvainen & Kaj Ahlsved

On Friday morning, the Someco research team sat down for a coffee at the Peppes Café in Lessebo to wait for the train to come and to reflect on the field work.

The first thing we noticed was how friendly the people were and how positive they were about our work. We were greeted on Storgatan, which made the group feel welcome and safe. The overall impression was that the neighbours were cared for and that help was available if needed. The church, the sports club and the shop bring people together. “There is no village without a grocery store”, Dr Ahlsved recalled being told.

The Skruv soundscape can be characterised as human.  Children’s voices carry far and wide and are rarely masked by other sound sources. Sounds associated with the industrial life of the village are generally not disturbing and are quiet at weekends. Seasonal sounds associated with sport and exercise have moved indoors. Life is indoors: sauna, gymnastics and choir activities. In the summer, the gymnastics group and their music are outside in Idrottsparken.

Smartphones are not allowed in school, which caught Dr Tarvainen’s attention. In her home town, children walk to and from school “with their nose on the phone”. As for the seasonal soundscape, children’s voices can also be heard in the summer, especially around the sports field. At this time of year, the area is waiting for something to happen. We did not see too many young people. Where are they?  At the school outside Skruv?  

The windy, cold weather defined the research team’s activities, but wind was also highlighted in the interviews. This adds an interesting dimension to the construction of meanings of nature and silence. One interviewee described the storm Gudrun in 2005, after which the unpleasant silence was of its own kind: defined by a piece of debris in the middle of the road and days of power cuts. 

In Lessebo we also reflected on the methods we were using, in particular the use of archived sound clips in public meetings. Playing the factory whistles proved to be a double-edged sword. Good discussions, but at the risk of triggering some nostalgic memories, which are of course valuable in themselves. An article in the Smålandspost may have helped. In another way, the discussions have inspired us to learn more about other community issues. A gentleman who worked in the voluntary emergency service (Räddningstjänst) was concerned about his service, which was in danger of being closed down, and invited Dr Ahlsved to document their work in action.