Prominent Sounds Heard in Six European Villages
Text: Kaj Ahlsved, Anne Tarvainen & Meri Kytö. Picture: Meri Kytö (Nauvo) Prominent Sounds Heard in Six European Villages presents a series of listening sessions conducted as part of the SOMECO project’s fieldwork in spring 2025. The video brings together six ten-minute segments (plus opening credits), each capturing the sonic character of a different village. […]
The Soundscapes of Curling: From Lago Santo to the Olympics
Text & Pictures: Kaj Ahlsved When the Someco team arrived in Cembra, we had no idea that the sport of curling was practiced at the absolute highest level there. However, already at breakfast on the first day of work, we were told that there is a modern curling hall in Cembra and that members of […]
From Field to Festival: New Potatoes and Finland-Swedish Song Traditions in Nauvo
Text, pictures & lyric translations: Kaj Ahlsved (Cover picture: Gittan Holmberg performing as Evita Päron singing unaccompanied “potato songs”. The traditional Finnish horn septet “Sointu-seitsikko” performed separately. ) The archipelago community of Nagu has a rich cultural life—among other things, several music festivals and events that enrich the everyday life and cultural experience of the permanent […]
When the Recorded Soundscape Roars and Rumbles — Exploring wind noise, hidden frequencies, and the collaborative work of the microphone, ears, and moving air
Text, images, audio: Anne Tarvainen In the cultural study of sounds, field recordings are not intended to produce a high-fidelity auditory replica of the original environment. Instead, they serve as research memos—reminders of the places and situations encountered in the field. Weeks or months later, listening back to the recordings can vividly transport the researcher […]
Ethnography on Mediation: Musica Mobilis and Sonic Effect
Text: Heikki Uimonen The SOMECO research team organised a soundscape workshop at Nauvo Library on 4 June. We were well rehearsed and prepared to present the project to the audience in Swedish and Finnish, and to play recordings of previous studies carried out 25 years ago. Above all we were also very much looking forward […]
On the Move: Secular and Sacred Tourism
Text: Heikki Uimonen My field notes from the first listening walks on 3 June on the south side of Nauvo main street read as follows: “A lawnmower, a garbage truck and a concrete truck – clearly morning commuter traffic, just after 7 am. Jackdaws and pigeons. As the walk continues, the traffic noise diminishes considerably. […]
Mind the step (by step)
Text & picture: juL McOISANS The rocks of Goudoul are my favorit place in Lesconil. Not necessarily for sonic reasons. 25 years ago I came here to record this famous stereo-speleophonie, when the tide is rising and waves, getting short and shorter, are insinuating through the most little interstices of each rock, suggesting me, with […]
Another Listening Walk After Quarter of a Century
Text: Heikki Uimonen Listening walk is sensory evaluation of the environment. It can be carried out in several different ways. I have tried to combine both quantitative and qualitative approaches: categorising sounds heard and at the same time jotting any potentially interesting sound events constructing the environment. While conducting ethnographic observations, it is advisable to document […]
Chasing sounds in Dollar (on an empty stomach)
Text & pictures: Kaj Ahlsved We have now arrived in Dollar, and our ears are slowly but surely starting to get tuned in to Dollar’s sonic environment. When meeting people, we usually point out that its they – the locals – who are the real experts on their sonic environment. We, the researchers, don’t have […]
Acoustic and Imagined Communities
Text: Heikki Uimonen On Saturday 3rd May at 04:00, we started the traffic count and 24-hour recording with our colleagues from Cresson. We were determined to categorise all the vehicles and people in the centre of Lesconil: cars, boats, bicycles, pedestrians, etc., in order to detect any changes in traffic flow compared to the studies […]