World Listening Day 2013: New York City

For World Listening Day 2013, I thought I'd post something a little different from my usual environmental recordings. This piece was recorded from the window of the ACE Hotel, 20W 29th Street, New York City, just before 1am Sunday 24 February 2013. One first pass, it may seem like a typical city soundscape. Traffic. Distant voices. Hum. However, to my ears it was distinctly different to what I was familiar with. I live in a busy city, Sydney, in Australia. I'm used to these sounds. But as I sat there listening to these sounds, the subtle differences in the sounds, the sources of which were all too familiar, from what my ears were accustomed to sounded somehow new. Unique. I guess this taps into the ideas behind World Listening Day, it isn't just the sounds, its what you hear.



You can listen at Soundcloud here.

Blast Furnace Park, Lithgow

Blast Furnace Park is located in Lithgow, NSW (about 2h drive from Sydney). The old blast furnace was constrcuted in the late 1880s and marked the beginning of the iron and steel industry in Australia. The furnace operated until 1928. The remains of the furnace foundations and associated structures remain and parklands, including a small wetland, have been preserved. You can read more about the history of the iron and steel industry in Lithgow here.

This recording was made in late 2012.