That urban not urban
I made lots of field recordings with a portable Zoom H4 Handy recorder, as I wanted (and still want) to capture the London living spaces and human behaviour (mostly speech, singing, arguments...). The selected audio files were dragged into ProTools software and mixed according to a narrative set by a passage in time: from evening to night, caos to order; by the end, the sound of rain was manipulated (D-Verb plugin) to create a sense of abstract and night falling, then, the silence. Used also some panning (left right perception) and volume (close/distant, far/near effects) to create the sense of movement, travel, continuity and passage. That Urban not Urban reflects the dificulty in communication, the crescent isolation in our modern societies, the chaos of speech before the nigh falling is a process we all live day by day, time by time. [Manuel Xastre]
Originally from Portugal, Manuel Xastre was born in 1967 and now is living in London, where he has attended the ABC Sound Design and Music Technology at London College of Communication, University of the Arts, London, grade Distinction. Second year in Arts and Sound Design, London College of Communication, University of the Arts, London. Published two Lps and one Ep about atmospheres and emotional soundtracks Transparent, 2004, Emotional landscape, 2005 and EP Elements, 2006, with four videos about the four elements. Some collaborations with sound artists and new musical language. Investigating sound and environmental composition technics and approach.