akousma pt. II
2025 _ 29’min _ sound piece
earsight standard microphones stereo + zoom h6
various locations, september 2023
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作曲⑯
︎︎︎ listen to the entire piece
the second (and final) part of akousma unfolds in tokyo, a city of immense density and sonic richness, where future and tradition coexist through abstract rhythms, flows, and interruptions. while the first part of the project centered on urban trees in barcelona—using their acoustic environments as a medium to reflect on ecological, material, artistic, and ethical concerns—this new iteration transposes that inquiry into a vastly different context.
over the course of 20 days, I explored the auditory surroundings of various forms of vegetation in the japanese capital, observing how these relationships extend, identifying points of resonance, and noting the disparities that emerge between both locations.
what became clear is that, despite their many contrasts, barcelona and tokyo share a common (and perhaps obvious) sonic thread: traffic. the persistent low-frequency hum of engines remains a ubiquitous presence. yet in tokyo, the widespread use of hybrid vehicles and a hyper-efficient public transportation system—handling over 80% of daily commutes (compared to barcelona’s 40–45%)—contributes to a distinct acoustic profile: less aggressive, more diffuse, and at times, hauntingly quiet.
still, sound pollution—though fleeting and non-accumulative unlike other pollutants—can exert significant physiological and psychological effects. even subtle sonic environments leave a lasting impression. through this lens, I began to perceive the city’s "noise" not as something to eliminate, but as an ecological signal: a trace of how we coexist—or fail to—with the world around us.
why trees, if they lack auditory organs? because, like us, they exist in constant vibrational exchange with their surroundings. they are silent participants in a shared environment. shifting away from an anthropocentric mode of listening allows us to engage more fully with 'the other'. as raoul h. francé noted in the early 20th century, our failure to recognize plant sensitivity stems largely from our failure to truly observe.
and beyond observation, if we are to imagine a fairer and more sustainable future, it may begin with learning to listen with/to—genuinely and symbolically—those who have long gone unheard, whether they speak with words or not.
in addition to this, akousma pt. II was also an attempt—perhaps not entirely successful—to rethink what it means to travel. in contrast to extractive forms of tourism, I approached tokyo as a place to listen to, rather than to see or consume. the project became a practice of attentive presence, guided by sonic disturbances and temporal immersion. trees served not only as (dis)compositional allies for gathering sound material, but also as guides for navigating the overwhelming landscape of the city.
through deliberate acts of selection, omission, and manipulation, I aimed to carve meaning from excess, using only material recorded on site. I sought to extract something personally resonant from sonic artifacts that are not immediately apparent, resulting in a piece consisting of 20 short compositions.
