The Oxford Sound Album

A TORCH Knowledge Exchange Project 2021-22

The Oxford Sound Album will present the favourite Oxford city soundscapes, identified by people who rely on sound for spatial information and people who work with music and/or sound art: It will feature both outside and inside spaces, such as the sound of Radcliffe Square on an early spring morning and the atrium at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History full of excitement from curious school children.

All soundscapes will be introduced by a sound-guide, pointing out certain sounds in the soundscapes, for example, the footsteps echoing against the wall of Brasenose College when walking down Catte Street from Hertford College to High Street. Some soundscapes will also include a piece of live music and/or sound art.

This project is unique: It will present the soundscapes of an entire city centre (not just one outdoor space or inside room), and it will guide the listener to certain sounds in the soundscapes (e.g., echoing footsteps).  

Listen to the Oxford soundscape here- https://podcasts.ox.ac.uk/series/oxford-sound-album