Thames Festival

I heard many sounds and I did not have an audio recorder with me. Sometimes it is not necessary to record every sound in order to ‘own’ it—so that experiences and memories will not fade away. By keeping listening experiences in memories, experiences changes and distorted in the ways I like. Perhaps that’s way I enjoy recollecting memories through sounds. By listening to the played-back sounds of my past, I perceive and focus on the imagined part instead of the acoustics of sounds. I am not into finding new sounds but narratives hidden behind sounds. What do sounds relate to you personally? What do London sounds relate to Taiwanese sojourners?

I heard many London sounds that I have never experienced before.
- Navy band was so spirit-up-lifting, particularly the sounds of metal xylophone. They made my tiring feet recharged immediately.
- Mexican-Indian performed on nicely-built open-stage instead of being poor street performers.
- People who were in the competition of rowing counted numbers to coordinate moving pace while switching sides. They sounded nervous but also tried to be calm.
- The Chinese guide spoke really good English. He also had a good sense of humour. People liked him very much and they liked to go to him to have more conversations.
- The two teachers in St Francis of Assisi School enjoyed teaching in the observatory classroom. The shape of the dome helps them to speak easily without forcing themselves to be loud. Pupils can hear easily. The sounds of raindrops on the roof of the observetory do not disturb their lessons. But those raindrops sounds happening on the outside plastic roof are very loud.
After I asked the teachers about their acoustic experiences in this room, they seemed to have many views about it. Later, I returned to the classroom and heard that they were telling other visitors their acoustic experiences again.
- A kid was walking with his skateboard-with-a-handle on a bridge inside Holland Park tube station. The sound was not disturbing.
- At home, when bath water almost drained, the pitch of water sound changed. It sounded like the original sound was computer processed/distorted in the quality of electroacoustic work! So, why process with computer? I can just record it! Cage's spirit: there are enough sounds in our world. Listen to them. There is no need to make new sounds.