The chance meeting of a goose and a plover on a turntable: Chris Watson’s wildlife sound recordings

Jacob Arnaud Smith

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

Abstract

Wildlife recordings have an uncertain position within media industries and genres because they can circulate as documentary soundtracks, sound art, or music. In this paper, I explore the cultural life of such recordings through an examination of the work of wildlife sound recordist Chris Watson. After a sketch of his professional career and discussion of the relation between his career trajectory and formal solutions to the spatial and temporal problems of wildlife sound recording, I consider the status of Watson’s work as audio-based eco-criticism, via the record El Tren Fantasma (2011).
Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)151-164
Number of pages14
JournalSound Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal
Volume2
Issue number2
StatePublished - 2016

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Sound Recording
Wildlife
Trajectory
Sound Art
Music
Documentary
Ecocriticism
Sound
Soundtrack
Media Industry

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Smith, Jacob Arnaud. / The chance meeting of a goose and a plover on a turntable : Chris Watson’s wildlife sound recordings. In: Sound Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal. 2016 ; Vol. 2, No. 2. pp. 151-164.
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Smith, JA 2016, 'The chance meeting of a goose and a plover on a turntable: Chris Watson’s wildlife sound recordings', Sound Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 151-164.

The chance meeting of a goose and a plover on a turntable : Chris Watson’s wildlife sound recordings. / Smith, Jacob Arnaud.

In: Sound Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal, Vol. 2, No. 2, 2016, p. 151-164.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

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AB - Wildlife recordings have an uncertain position within media industries and genres because they can circulate as documentary soundtracks, sound art, or music. In this paper, I explore the cultural life of such recordings through an examination of the work of wildlife sound recordist Chris Watson. After a sketch of his professional career and discussion of the relation between his career trajectory and formal solutions to the spatial and temporal problems of wildlife sound recording, I consider the status of Watson’s work as audio-based eco-criticism, via the record El Tren Fantasma (2011).

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Smith JA. The chance meeting of a goose and a plover on a turntable: Chris Watson’s wildlife sound recordings. Sound Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal. 2016;2(2):151-164.

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