Capturing the disappearing sounds of the workplace
- Published
Si么n Parkinson recorded the sound of jute machines at Dundee's Verdant Works
The sound of workplace hustle and bustle is something that's been missing from many of our lives over the past 16 months.
And with the way we work changing all the time, some of these sounds could soon become a distant memory.
A new project has been launched in Dundee, inviting people to send in the noise of their offices, factories, labs or shops for an archive that will preserve these evocative sounds for future generations.
has already collected about 50 workplace sounds, including a at Dundee Contemporary Arts and , which closed in 2020.
Field recordist Andy Truscott captured the sounds of the Michelin factory floor in 2018
The site has been created by Dundee artist Si么n Parkinson, working with the
Si么n said the Michelin recording was of personal significance.
He said: "I was born in Dundee after my father came to help set up the Michelin tyre factory.
"We were lucky enough to record it in 2018, and we didn't know then that the factory would soon close with the loss of 850 jobs.
"That's the sound of my heritage, my father being here.
"All of that is kind of suddenly lost, so we're really lucky to be able to have preserved that and to give it to the library."
The sounds of an MRI scanner are featured in the Song Work archive
Another sound in the archive was collected after Si么n was diagnosed with epilepsy last year.
He said: "Part of that process was to have an MRI scan, and the sound of being in that machine was extraordinary.
"Speaking with the team that work at Ninewells Hospital, they recognise that the sounds of this machine will also soon become obsolete as they're replaced with more up-to-date technology."
He said that while the MRI sounds are "almost unlistenable" on their own, they could be used as part of a music track or film score.
He said: "I'm drawn to these kinds of sound environments and how we might be able to use them to make music.
"One of the reasons that we set up the website was so that artists and musicians could use it to download sounds for free which they might be able to use."
The sound of machinery at Dundee Contemporary Arts print studio was also recorded
A new song has been commissioned to launch the website.
was created by artist and musician using sounds from the Michelin field recording.
Si么n said: "He was listening to the key in which the the ambience of the factory was in, and the rhythm of some of the machines.
"It has a resonance for a closed-down factory, but also for where we are right now, with lots of people working from home, and the whole changing face of how we will work in the future."
Si么n is encouraging others to submit the sounds of their own workplaces
Si么n said he wanted people to use their phones to record the sounds around them and to submit them to the Song Work website.
"It's very easy to do, microphones on phones nowadays are incredibly powerful," he said.
"There's a heritage element to the project by gifting these sounds to the National Library of Scotland Sounds archive.
"They will be able to use them, so that in future we'll be able to remember some of the sounds that were part of our everyday lives."
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