Sonic Urban Exploration: Connections between disused urban environments and electroacoustic music composition

Abstract

Urban Exploration is the name given to the recreational pastime of exploring and discovering forgotten spaces left behind by societal expansion. These include abandoned warehouses, underground tunnel systems and spaces that have been abandoned or hidden from the public eye. This practice-based research project details the evolution of an acousmatic music practice concerned with exploring abandoned and disused urban environments. The present thesis outlines how engaging with the aural experience of Urban Exploration can facilitate connections between sonic urban environments and electroacoustic music composition. In the traditions of Urban Exploration, numerous abandoned spaces were explored to capture sonic materials through various field recording techniques. Spaces explored in this project include some of Sydney’s most iconic abandoned and disused spaces, such as The White Bay Power Station, St James abandoned tunnel systems and the WWII Mosman Gunner tunnel systems. Ambisonic, binaural and impulse response recordings collected at each site subsequently formed the basis of three acousmatic compositions developed throughout this project’s life.