Mobile Sound

We are surrounded by sound, of both natural and artificial origin. As a token of resistance to the plethora of chart hit ringtones that constantly barrage us, I am providing a few alternative ‘mobile sounds‘ here (which may be used as ringtones or message alerts). But there are other angles on mobile sound too…

Setting The Tone For Mobile Sound

If you want to put some different sounds on your phone, feel free to avail of these short clips. They were not designed as mobile sounds per se, but were actually composed as audio logos for last year’s Sennheiser sound design competition – the brief being to create a signature sound no longer than eight seconds.

• Podcomplex Sound One
• Podcomplex Sound Two
• Podcomplex Sound Three
• Podcomplex Sound Four
• Podcomplex Sound Five

The Short Sounds Of Eno

The exercise of creating a piece of sound (or music) within such severe limitations is surprisingly liberating, and can actually lead to new techniques or developments in one’s style of composition.

Probably the most famous exponent of micromusic is Brian Eno’s Microsoft sound for Windows 95. According to the man himself, he was charged with creating “a piece of music that is inspiring, universal, optimistic, futuristic, sentimental, emotional…and it must be 3 1/4 seconds long”.

He states that this project unblocked a logjam in his own creativity, and I must say that the Sennheiser logo exercise was similarly enlightening for me.

I’m not sure how Eno feels about mobile music in general, but he seems to be fond of recording in different spaces. In one interview, he stated that his ideal studio would in fact be one that he could pack up and bring with him – so, instead of capturing an entirely dry recording and then attempting to create a space with convolution reverbs in post-production, he could simply record the space he was in. Music Thing has some more interesting Eno snippets for your delectation.

Mobile Sound As A Concept

Taking mobile sound at a more conceptual level opens up a whole new world of audio adventure.

The mobile sound blog involves the artistic realm of sound in the environment, and deals with alternative approaches to the experience and design of auditory experience on the move.

One interesting project flagged there is the idea of lonely velcro sound, which was not originally intended as a mobile sound exercise, but could certainly be categorised as one – velcro does have its own sonic signature, after all.

The idea is that people wear velcro jackets as a means of interacting with people they meet – as you brush against people on the street, you literally become engaged with them on a physical level.

The premise is interesting, but if implemented on a large scale, I’m sure that several levels of chaos would ensue…!