AudioSpaces #10
AudioSpaces
Happy 2025 everyone. I hope the year has been treating you well so far—who knows, it might be our last!! (just kidding)
It’s great to see the number of you engaging with AudioSpaces continue to grow over the past year. If you’re new, welcome to the newsletter. If you’re not so new, welcome back.
Every month we do a round-up like this to keep you all on top of what’s going on with the project. I usually like to throw in some other nice things I’ve come across recently too, all of which will hopefully induce a generous chin stroke in any AudioSpaces user, follower, reader or friend out there.
First things first, let’s catch up with some of our favourite contributions to the map from the past month.
AudioSpace(s) of the month
Early rise salsaby sebastian sw
Mire Lee -‘Open Wound’ @ Tate Modernby matt shenton
Toads and frogs after storm in ZA 🐸by lucas almeida
I was here, and this mattered to me.by jody
En el mar con las perrisby sofia chaman
A martial arts class at McGillby vad
Dawntreader in the windby chiara
fresh snow underfoot (top 10 fave sounds)by tax
Just a note that these links will only send you to AudioSpaces if you have the app downloaded. If you don’t yet, not to worry—we usually showcase some of these on our Instagram too. We will release an Android version this year though, plus loads more.
Substack orientation
Those of you who haven’t used this website before but have come here because you’re interested in our project might be asking: what the fuck is Substack? And, relatedly, what does it have to do with AudioSpaces?
Well, it’s a slightly difficult question to answer because Substack itself seems to change its mind quite a lot. But right now it’s somewhere between a more considered (and less horrible) alternative to Twitter, and a place for writers and artists to build their own audiences independently of full-on publications. It’s also where all the cool kids are, apparently.
In terms of our own output, we use it like a lot of others do: as a platform to send out these newsletters compiling all our thoughts, updates, collaborations and other stuff related to AudioSpaces. And yes, this year will definitely see a return to our longer articles, so keep posted. The easiest way to do that is to subscribe. You’ll get these monthly newsletters as they come out, but also when we do post other things you’ll always be the first know.
Apart from its newsletter function, the main reason why I think Substack is a good place to be right now is because loads of new fascinating writers are still popping up on here all the time. With that in mind, just in case you were interested in finding yourself with a million new tabs open to kick off your year, I thought I’d share some of my recent favourite pieces.
An *AudioSpaces Substack Starter Pack for 2025*, if you will.
Not all of this is strictly sound-related, and some of it is admittedly quite niche, but hopefully most of it will be of interest to you lovely freaks. This tiny list is also to be considered alongside all the other amazing publications we’ve mentioned here already over the last year or so. Go get reading and listening, and if you like what you find, then subscribe!
Old folk recordings and acoustic environmentsField Noise Transmissions The Sound of Science: An Interview about the Folkways Science SeriesMoe Asch wanted to record everything. So when he started Folkways Records in 1949, he didn’t act like a major label record executive—he acted like an archivist. He didn’t charge musicians to use his recording studio—you could just walk in. His records didn’t come in glossy packaging—they came in rough cardboard and plastic sleeves with photocopied liner… Listen now6 years ago · 2 likes · Craig EleyWitches, Afrosyncretic rhythms and sound systems[
Blazing FireBlazing Fire 1Mojubá Elegbá Elegbá agó…Read more4 years ago · 12 likes · 2 comments · Anthony Nine](https://anthonynine.substack.com/p/blazing-fire-1?utm_source=substack&utm_campaign=post_embed&utm_medium=web)Seeing in the age of seeing machines[
Do Not ResearchTywen Kelly: Worlds Made Without HandsTywen KellyDo Not Research is a reader-supported publication. Each week we highlight the work of a writer, artist, filmmaker, poster or creative. You can help to support this project…Read more2 years ago · 25 likes · 1 comment · Do Not Research](https://donotresearch.substack.com/p/tywen-kelly-worlds-made-without-hands?utm_source=substack&utm_campaign=post_embed&utm_medium=web)Surviving the algorithm[
Stay Grounded"For you" isn't.“The early advocates of universal literacy and a free press […] failed to take into account man's almost infinite appetite for distractions.” — Aldous Huxley…Read more3 years ago · 39 likes · 18 comments · Justin](https://www.staygrounded.online/p/for-you-isnt?utm_source=substack&utm_campaign=post_embed&utm_medium=web)Surviving collapse
The bizarre state of the internet and reality more generally[
Joshua Citarella's Newsletter“The Biggest Red Pill is Just Reality Itself”TrueAnon #425: The Blue Light Killer. I recently sat down with my favorite internet sleuths for a 3 hour episode diving deep into Luigi Mangione’s political ideology. We explore his possible motivations for killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Most of the media coverage has treated this story very superficially. I think we do a good job of getti…Read more2 years ago · 146 likes · 3 comments · Joshua Citarella](https://joshuacitarella.substack.com/p/the-biggest-red-pill-is-just-reality?utm_source=substack&utm_campaign=post_embed&utm_medium=web)On shifting frames of listening and radiophonic art[
a closer listenFrom the Archives #14“Radiophonic Arts and the Problem of the Stage…Read more2 years ago · 4 likes · 1 comment · a closer listen](https://acloserlisten.substack.com/p/from-the-archives-14?utm_source=substack&utm_campaign=post_embed&utm_medium=web)That’s a lot to get through for the month.
Once you’re done consuming, I would suggest to step outside of the screen for a bit. Listen around and make your own sounds, wherever you are. Engage with the places you inhabit, with yourself, with your ears. Pay attention to the spaces and bodies around you. How do you relate to them? How do you shape the places you’re in, and how do they shape you?
Recording audio—perhaps like taking photos or videos—can be a powerful tool for this kind of spatial, sensory approach to the world. Choosing to record involves a kind of paying attention, a kind of openness and sensitivity to acoustic detail, that gets both more intuitive and more interesting the more you do it. Inviting you to listen in precisely this way is a massive part of what AudioSpaces is about. Let us know what you find!
Nice month xx