confronting the sounds that shape society

John Levack Drever is a researcher and practitioner engaged in the critical and creative study of sound, listening, and hearing, with particular attention to their cultural, ecological, and phenomenological dimensions across society. He is Creative Director of Otoloci, an ambiance and soundscape consultancy, and leads Working Group 1 for COST Action CA23145, Architectural and Urban Ambiances of European Cities and co-directs the Cambridge branch of LAURA (Leverhulme Trust Aural Diversity Doctoral Research Hub). He is preparing plans to mark the centenary of London Street Noises (1928–2028).

Between 2007 and 2012, John investigated the soundscapes of public toilets, where the widespread use of ‘ecological’ hand dryers had created a hostile environment for many. This work led him to advocate for a new paradigm of hearing, which he termed auraldiversity—shifting from an otological notion of “normal” hearing to a socio-cultural understanding of auraltypical hearing. His inclusive agenda of auraldiversity now shapes thinking across music, sound studies, acoustics, and urban design. First presented at Harvard University in 2015, these ideas have since gained momentum, influencing research (AHRC Network, RMA 2020, Internoise 2022, Urban Sound Symposium 2023), policy (DEFRA, Welsh Government), and industry practice (ReSound, ARUP, Anderson Acoustics). With Prof. Andrew Hugill, he co-directs the Aural Diversity Project and co-edited Aural Diversity (Routledge, 2022).

An avid soundwalker and field recordist,John grounds his practice in acoustic ecology. Following his PhD in composition at Dartington College of Arts, he coordinated Sounding Dartmoor: A Participative Soundscape Study. In 1998, he co-founded the UK and Ireland Soundscape Community, affiliated with the World Forum for Acoustic Ecology, and chaired Sound Practice (Dartington, 2001), the UK’s first conference dedicated to soundscapes. He has also contributed a sonic perspective to many urban place studies with the Academy of Urbanism.

John has collaborated with Rachel Gomme, Yvonne McGuinness, Alice Oswald, Alaric Sumner, Tony Thatcher, Lawrence Upton, Tony Whitehead (RSPB), Louise K. Wilson, Suiji Okada, and comedian Mark Kelly, and is a member of Blind Ditch.

‘I have written a blasphemous book’, said Melville when his novel was first published in 1851, ‘and I feel as spotless as the lamb’. Deeply subversive, in almost every way imaginable, Moby-Dick is a virtual, alternative bible – and as such, ripe for reinterpretation in this new world of new media. Out of Dominion was born its bastard child – or perhaps its immaculate conception – the Moby-Dick Big Read: an online version of Melville’s magisterial tome: each of its 135 chapters read out aloud, by a mixture of the celebrated and the unknown, to be broadcast online, one new chapter each day, in a sequence of 135 downloads, publicly and freely accessible. 


For more info please go to: www.mobydickbigread.com

Singer, Songwriter and Producer creator of Afro Hop: Eclectic mix of styles from the West blended with traditional
Somali music, including the classical Oud­ centred Qaraami style of the 1940s.

Join our host Oliver Kadel and guest presenters, in conversation with industry thought leaders, practitioners, artists, academics and entrepreneurs discussing all aspects of this rapidly evolving industry from art, science and business to practical insights and project case studies. We aim to inform, educate, explore and unite the community. Immersive Audio Podcast is produced by 1.618 Digital Ltd.

Alice Eldridge works with sonic systems, acoustic, ecological and informatic. 
This is a backyard space for sharing sonic experiments. 


Older field recordings and things are here: 
https://soundcloud.com/aliceeldridge-1

http://soundcloud.com/collectress
http://collectress.co.uk
http://soundcloud.com/duot/
http://rothkoveil.bandcamp.com/
http://www.maryhampton.org/

michaelzed is following