walking without you

https://soundcloud.com/camp-firey/art-240-soundscape

this is a soundscape i recorded back in 2022 at my old church in los angeles. i recorded it on my phone, and the recording isn't perfect; there's a lot of wind noise, you can hear me stop the recording, stuff like that. but it's become one of my favorite field recordings i've gotten in my life, and it's influenced my field recording process a lot since then, with a large focus in just getting the recording rather than making it sound good. i was always enchanted with the sound of that hall when it was empty, and towards the end of my employment, i went really early on sundays (sometimes 4-5am) just so i could have the sanctuary by myself for even longer. 

the title is the title of another guitar piece i wrote during those mornings i spent by myself in there, but the meaning has developed a lot since moving away and losing that job. i do a lot of footstep recordings, but this was the first one i ever did, and every single one since has felt like an emulation of this. 

"The ear favors no particular "point of view." We are enveloped by sound. It forms a seamless web around us. We say, "Music shall fill the air." We never say, "Music shall fill a particular segment of the air."" (McLuhan, 111)

this recording has become a lot more important to me since the fires. the church is still there, but so many people in it's community lost so much. im so grateful i got to meet and make music with all of those people when i did.

a picture of the sanctuary from the chancel the afternoon i took this recording just taken on my phone.