Listening Conditions - Musicworks
Listening Conditions
In separate interviews, composer and sound artist Raven Chacon and interdisciplinary artist Lou Sheppard talk to contributor Sara Constant about their unique sonic practices, focusing on the challenge and importance of listening during times of emergency. Chacon discusses two recent collaborative projects: Dispatch, which reflects on the fight for cultural preservation and defence of Indigenous sovereignty at the Standing Rock Reservation Water Protector encampment in 2016; and Parallel 03, a digital installation created through the COVID-19 pandemic. Sheppard discusses their recent works Nine Songs for New York, Rights of Passage, and A Strong Desire, and how they use musical gesture as a way of reimagining climate crisis. The artists trace the potential of sound as a catalyst for critical thinking and hearing—providing a glimpse into the exploratory approaches to scores, space, and the listening body, as employed by them both.