[ISEA2000] Artist Statement: HILDEGARD WESTERKAMP – Kits Beach Soundwalk

Artist Statement

MUSICAL BREAK

About ten years ago, Hildegard Westerkamp animated in Vancouver a radio-phonic show entitled Soundwalking during which she offered an electroacoustic exploration of the different locations of the city as well as its surroundings to her audience. Kits Beach Soundwalk is a prolongation of this initial idea in the compositional field.

Kits Beach is located in the heart of Vancouver. The original recording for this work has taken place on a peaceful winter morning while the soft lap of waves and the tiny limpets eating were heard as a vibrant backscene to the city. In this soundwalk composition, we end up leaving aside the city for the exploration of the tiny acoustic kingdom that of the limpets, of the high frequencies, the inner scapes and dreams.

Live voice and recorded. Hildegard Westerkamp, voice, 1989