Composer captures 3D soundscape of pre-lockdown London
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Will Cohen, co-founder of the String and Tins collective and the person behind the Silent London project, visited some of London's most popular destinations to capture their soundscapes before the UK lockdown took place.
He used a binaural microphone technique to capture the sound of each place - from Leicester Square and Covent Garden to Charing Cross and Oxford Circus - to create a 360-degree soundscape that everyone can now immerse themselves in from home.
“In the final days before London was shut-down, I made sound recordings of areas that I care about as a Londoner," he explains. "From documenting spots that I skated at as a teenager, through to areas I have worked in - I wanted to see what familiar sounds still resonated at this unprecedented time. I used the binaural microphone technique - if you put headphones on, close your eyes and imagine you are there, the physics behind this method of sound capture will immerse you in the environment pictured in the stills that I took on my journey.”
In simple terms, a binaural recording is a method of audio capture that matches the way humans hear. The recordings are made by attaching two microphones on either a human or dummy head, capturing audio that, when heard back on headphones, creates a realistic immersive experience for the listener.
For Silent London, Cohen used DPA microphones’ new binaural headset.
Listen to the recordings on www.stringandtins.com/silent-london.
(LSi Online)
