Patrick Franke: "During owl monitoring, I encountered this European hedgehog, which was very vocal in its search for food and apparently hunting successfully. The sniffing and smacking was quite great to listen to and of course such a close encounter was altogether wonderful."

Visit Patrick's Website: www.singwarte.info

Best Naturally Occurring Sound: Hedgehod - Patrick Franke

Anonymous Submitter:

"I share these sounds believing that they can help amplify important issues and subjectivities, making them resonate even more broadly. The microphone is not a hunting device but an amplifier helping bring to the fore that which is structurally pushed to the background. Both sounds have no singular authorship. They are results of distributed agency, energy and will of many people who care and persevere. This is why this submission is made anonymously. It is also made to complicate the perception of a field recording as an artifact generated with a genius and outstanding technical skills mastered by an individual professional. However individualistic and autonomous it seems to be, the act of pressing the record button is about establishing relationships with and between diverse actors whose actions co-constitute that sonic imprint.

Sounds and their recorded forms exist always in relation to events, places and actors they are concerned with but also to each other. Never autonomously. Thus, this double submission sheds light on two interrelated forms of resistance to violence, structural racism discrimination and unbalanced participation in a public space.

This first recording is a recording of radio communication between NYC police after a series of demonstrations following the tragic killing of George Floyd. It was recorded on the 2nd of June, 2020 via one of the services spread among activists on social media. Listening to police communication has in 2020 become a social and activist practice, a form of surveilling the system in order to make it accountable and gather proof of misconduct. Ever since that eavesdropping practice was mobilized as a resistance technique, the police in many cities in the US announced that they will introduce new encryption solutions so that their communication won't be subject to interception anymore. This move causes that this recording accounts for a disappearing sound and practice. It would, however, be much more hopeful if such sounds were vanishing not because of being hidden from the public but as the effect of the dismantling of social and racial injustice."

Sound of the Year: NYC Police Communication During Black Lives Matter Demonstrations - Anonymous

Anonymous Submitter:

"I share these sounds believing that they can help amplify important issues and subjectivities, making them resonate even more broadly. The microphone is not a hunting device but an amplifier helping bring to the fore that which is structurally pushed to the background. Both sounds have no singular authorship. They are results of distributed agency, energy and will of many people who care and persevere. This is why this submission is made anonymously. It is also made to complicate the perception of a field recording as an artifact generated with a genius and outstanding technical skills mastered by an individual professional. However individualistic and autonomous it seems to be, the act of pressing the record button is about establishing relationships with and between diverse actors whose actions co-constitute that sonic imprint.

Sounds and their recorded forms exist always in relation to events, places and actors they are concerned with but also to each other. Never autonomously. Thus, this double submission sheds light on two interrelated forms of resistance to violence, structural racism discrimination and unbalanced participation in a public space.

This second recording is a full recording of the Juneteenth demonstration in Vancouver following a global wave of protests against the same killing of George Floyd. The piece was recorded on June 19, 2020 near the final destination of the protest that gathered several thousands of people."

Sound of the Year: Black Lives Matter Demonstration In Vancouver - Anonymous

Alien Bee Hive Sci-fi alien beehive created using a mobile phone, wine glass, fish bowl and leaves by Julien Pirrie at The Foley Barn (performed and recorded in 2020) - features in new TV Series Intergalactic (SKY), out in 2021.

Intergalactic Trailer: www.youtube.com/watch?v=wd0WhxFqY1o

Best Studio Sound Recordist: Julien Pirrie - Alien Bee Hive

Matthew Eric Hart: "I imagine this sound to be what we would hear if we could poke our heads under the ground and submerge our ears in the deep root network of trees. I have often attempted to record the sounds of trees, and even recently have been leading field recording workshops exploring this very practice. Though the practice is often challenging! With this sound, I wanted to create a space that would sound natural, despite its artificial nature. The source of this sound was created using a single contact microphone placed on the central stem of a pine cone. With my fingers I manipulated the scales, much like a kalimba player would to play the instrument. I then used an array of multiple effects in editing, including reverb, time stretching and frequency modulation to create the finished sound."

Best Artificial Sound: Matthew Eric Hart - Submerged Under Trees

A celebration of sound presented by the Museum of Sound and the New BBC Radiophonic Workshop

Sound of the Year Awards

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