The essay is widely understood as a rigid (written) form which tends to neatly set out an argument line by line, working towards a conclusion. If we expand our understanding of the essay and position its creation and reception as an acoustic activity we find the audio essay, a loosely defined format of knowledge exchange reliant on recorded audio in a multitude of forms.
The audio essay looks to the boundaries of disciplines, ideas, modes or materials – testing the boundaries between fact and fiction, documentary or radio play, ghost stories or adverts, field recording and foley to center the multi-faceted potential for experiencing information via verbal or non-verbal sonic communication.
Perhaps within this experimental framework of audio
This summer Goldsmiths MADEP students from the Communication and Experience studio have been challenged to write, record and produce a 3 minute audio-essay to accompany their early practice-research interests. This website is a constant 7 hour looping radio broadcast sharing acoustic insights and poetic into a constellation of expanded design enquiries.
[*1] Sonic Faction — Justin Barton, Maya B Kronic, Steve Goodman (Editors) — Urbanomic 2024
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