Mallorca Soundmap

MALLORCA STIPENDIUM

I studied electroacoustic composition at the HfK Bremen and specialised in acoustic ecology. Ι participated in the 6th Conference on Acoustic Ecology at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in November 2021. This means that I collect sounds from the environment and create electroacoustic pieces or Soundmaps or Soundwalks that help to explore the surroundings of a place and positively develop its sounds. It can even be part of sociological research and analysis and contribute to ecological development and awareness.

For these reasons, I considered the environment of Mallorca to be unique and I have collected unique sounds by recording there. Mallorca as an island in the Mediterranean Sea has a completely different natural beauty and a completely different soundscape than the sea and the coast of northern Germany. Therefore, I had the opportunity to discover and record the sounds and soundscapes of this unique island in order to create a sound map that offers to society an ecological innovation.

I’ve always liked maps and I had no idea how it could be combined with sound. During my postgraduate program in Bremen I learned a lot about it and about the existence of sound walks. I found it fascinating! With a small group of students we created a soundwalk in Bremen by sketching the map and the route by hand! A very beautiful experience given to us by our professor Kilian Schwoon.
But my love for sound and geography made me want to create a map of my own and even an interactive one. This opportunity was given to me with the scholarship I won for the trip to Mallorca.

During my stay there my aim was to observe, record and categorize the sounds of the city of La Palma and the wider environment of the island. Also the creation of a soundroutes/walks in which the recordings would be used as they are or edited.

This island is very rich in sound material. One can encounter soundscapes of high fidelity and acoustic clarity. That is, a listener can distinguish the sounds in the foreground from those in the distance by having a picture of a sound horizon. These sounds are located in places where there is no noise to overlap them such as the village of Valdemossa, Mirador des Colomer, Es Pontes and various remote parts of the island with a small population of residents or tourists. But this island has completely different sounds with low fidelity and acoustic opacity. But this island has completely different sounds with low fidelity and acoustic opacity. That is, sounds overlaid by intense or prolonged noises, such as engine noise or the hum of the city. We met them in La Palma and in the port of Soller. In both of these locations, although the scenery was magical, the noise from machinery due to construction was so deafening that it spoiled the whole beautiful atmosphere.

Over 100 recordings were made. The sounds were organized and some of them were processed. The most suitable ones have been selected and are presented in points on the interactive map below.

It was a very intense week, an unforgettable experience from which I learned a lot, I enjoyed it and it is with great love that I share it with you. This is something I intend to continue to contribute to for the rest of my life, creating not only an audio map of my recordings, but also an audio diary of my travels and memories.

I hope that the interaction of the map will give you as much joy as it gave me. Have fun.