Barking box

Barking Box drops a live environmental transmitter into a site by the Thames estuary, setting up ways for listeners to access it remotely and at less heard times of night and day.
The stream is presented on a page with live Internet Relay Chat (IRC), where listeners can join other artists, ecologists and activists to discuss what we are hearing. These conversations will form a log over the period of the conference 'Unheard Landscapes' and the basis of two presentations on-line / on-site for the meeting in Blois.

Stream also available on the Locus Sonus soundmap

Unheard Landscapes runs from 27-30 October 2021 at FKL — École de la Nature et du Paysage — AAU CRESSON. Program


SITE

Barking Creek / River Roding outfall

[T]he perfect destination for wastes
[McGrath demolition archives]

Pollution here takes many forms, as with the former Beckton Gasworks, which until quite recently had its own micro weather system: a cloud cap which could be seen from far off. Heavy contamination has brought a pause in development of the site, which supports a dense and varied soundworld.

Invertebrates and water birds (cormorants, spoonbills) populate the inter-tidal mudflats, while the waste handling facilities, sewage works and rough ground attract gulls, starlings, goldfinches and raptors, with reed warblers and buntings along the fringing reedbeds. River water, tidal movements, wastes, birds, sewage create a complex of flows. While the Thames in both directions is under active development for new housing, the soundworld here is quite wild and unresolved, and the area remains open for off-grid activities: bait collection, hanging out.

The Environment Agency manages the Roding Barrier, which is closed occasionally for flood control or testing. A collaboration in development aims to establish a long-term audio stream from the base of the barrier, near to where the streambox is placed for Unheard Landscapes. The proof of concept allows us to listen collectively and extend a lexicon of more and less familiar entities: settling tanks, excrements, recycling streams, processing plants, strip-outs, shipping containers, logistics, flounder, smelt, surge tides, waders, salvage, hardcore - being constantly aggregated, segregated, assimilated, expelled.

Stream live from Wednesday 27/10/21 until the battery runs out (a couple of weeks)

Presentation by Artur Vidal: Thursday 28th October at 17:30-18:00 UTC+2.
Remote listening session Saturday 30th October at 12:15-12:45 UTC+2

Chat transcript 28 October 2021

16:21:17
ⓘ web24 is now known as dawn
16:21:39
dawn
hello
16:21:39
ⓘ web14 is now known as grant
16:23:04
grant
hello
16:23:36
dawn
peak salvage
16:24:47
grant
it s pretty congested
i think they are fabricating a new waste handling structure
16:28:45
dawn
ah, some respite from the engines
lasted about 20 seconds
16:30:06
grant
the summer seeming like an idyll now..
a wagtail?
16:30:27
dawn
that fleeting high pitch peep or something else?
16:33:14
grant
yes that one
16:35:13
dawn
hoping the person playing the tunes might decide to end the day early
16:36:05
grant
i guess they have to turn it up pretty loud
fragments of water - is the music from a boat?
making backwash?
16:40:14
dawn
could be, the tide should be coming in tho
16:41:15
dawn
high tide approx 17:50
16:41:46
dawn
perfect storm of plane, construction party
16:42:02
grant
sounding really constricted.. to me
16:42:13
grant
like little in the way of niches to cling on to
16:42:20
grant
by comparison, say with earlier
16:42:24
grant
in the seaso
n
in the stoppage
16:43:01
dawn
maybe the fishermen brought some kind of boom box
16:43:23
grant
like a big one - sounds pretty low
16:44:10
dawn
or there's a party on the attenborough boat
16:44:16
web3925
Is that an electronic seagull in the background? Or a child
16:45:37
grant
phases of wastes.. sounding like a thick phase
16:45:48
web62
Ari is here as well
16:46:02
web19
anthropocene
16:46:02
grant
like: i m struggling to hang on to this thing from Tsing..
16:46:16
grant
hi Ari
16:46:39
dawn
peak flight time as well
16:46:41
grant
it s like a maelstrom of waste.. we re in
16:46:41
web39
here in Blois, we can listen to aircraft and beautiful river SOUnDING
16:46:43
web19
this is the end of the world (if we know it)
16:47:05
grant
yeah - it is
16:47:13
web19
(as we know it)
16:47:30
dawn
believe it or not this stream sounded pretty tranquil in august
16:47:38
grant
it feels tough really - undercommons style
16:47:43
dawn
crickets rattling in the long grass
16:47:46
web39
AnthroSCENE
16:48:09
grant
like since the stop, the paro, there has been a (re) intensification
16:48:13
web39
Anthroposcene!
16:48:16
web62
Still waiting for someone barking
16:48:19
grant
since this is like the outfall
of E London..
across the creek is a sewage works
16:49:05
grant
so we can monitor the effluent and those jetting off to quieter places, perhaps
16:49:09
web87
Autumn might need to be a bit tough so at it can be deep
16:49:33
grant
that s it -
16:49:53
dawn
Our Materials Recycling Facility (MRF) in Barking(Essex) is permitted by the Environment Agency toreceive over 500,000 tonnes per annum and acceptvirtually all types of commercial and municipal wastes.
16:50:04
grant
'These [damaged landscapes] are sites in which to seek allies.'
16:50:05
dawn
including asbestos
16:50:11
grant
says Anna Tsing
alliance with toxins
16:50:33
grant
very occasional wagtails
16:51:06
web19
exploring new alliances
16:51:13
grant
To listen politically is to detect the traces of not-yet-articulated common agendas
Tsing says..
16:51:30
grant
hard listening.. you think
16:52:29
grant
then, like Dawn says, there are passages that are different.. maybe very early or when the wind shifts..
16:52:58
dawn
on hot days you can hear the mud cracking on the black rocks
16:53:08
grant
the waste plants are inhabited by great numbers of birds, now submerged..
chuckling in the background.. maybe
16:54:14
grant
this churning..
16:54:22
dawn
digging for food in the mud, avoiding the discarded trolleys and TVs
16:54:51
grant
yeah well off-beat foraging activities..
16:55:06
dawn
can hear the incoming water a little better now
16:55:33
web87
Chirpings gone, crows are back
16:55:34
grant
little sonic clumps and esoteric hangouts
16:57:39
grant
They are what we hear in organiser Beverley] Brown's political listening and related arts of noticing.
They require stretching concepts of the commons.
stretched commons is about right
16:58:37
dawn
hmm chinkook
or chinook rather
16:58:48
web39
Why Arthur don't you explain what we are suppose to do with this? Thank you
16:59:31
web72
: )
16:59:33
grant
Ha
17:00:18
web87
Thxxxx
17:00:20
grant
And perhaps strangest of all:
This patch is a significant reservoir of biodiversity
overflown overstuffed overflowing
17:01:35
grant
By contrast, the more sanitised 'natural areas' down the river are almost certainly less valuable
17:01:37
dawn
sounds like a site under various pressures today
17:01:58
grant
as a fugitive space - under pressure
17:02:16
grant
it sounds exposed to flows
the stream will run for a while - at times, over the next days, there will be openings - clearings
17:04:28
dawn
changing weather, tides, other comings and goings
17:04:36
grant
over long time too
stay with it! ha
17:06:45
dawn
ah- i see it's just SC logged in again
17:07:00
grant
this piece was first tried for 'no matter what' - n'importe quoi
17:07:12
dawn
maybe everybody went for a drink already
17:07:37
grant
a term from Tristan Garcia proposing (for us) flat ontologies of listening
i think we reached the end of the session
we overflowed a little even -
thank you Artur!
thanks very much to Unheard.. for the invitation -
it's great to be in conversation with the conference
it seems like a fascinating program
(earth is the work)
see you on saturday
17:12:40
grant
c u dawn

3 people here

commonslog
dawn
grant

Transcript from the chat on 28/10/2021

11:15:21
web43
good morning
we are wondering how the conference is going in Blois..
i am listening.. and maybe you are listening too..
to this live stream from the Thames estuary
a place of flows..
11:17:50
ⓘ web14 is now known as dawn
ⓘ web43 is now known as grant
11:18:29
grant
of wastes
of signals
of ambiguous materials
the steambox is near the edge of the water – you hear the water lapping, perhaps
11:20:34
grant
we re on the way to Glasgow with a van full of equipment for As if radio..
we re at a birthday event for a pretty old person..
our minds are all over the place (Ella Finer)
11:21:46
grant
taking the live streams as machines as perches
points to sonically alight
well maybe
it s pretty windy
i wonder about the weather in Blois..
11:22:43
grant
all the time our ears are in the washing machine of Barking
up the creek
11:23:47
dawn
also wonder about the weather in barking
sounds pretty stormy
11:24:01
grant
corvids, gulls..
yes! like here in s london feels quite placid
just over the river i am worrying slightly about the box
sounds like fierce gusts and water slopping close by
could be deceptive
migrating birds gather in small groups in pockets of vegetation
11:25:59
dawn
theres a storm in north england where i am not, quite fitting with the sounds from barking
11:26:05
grant
it s a kind of barely a park
is it what you d call a 'recreational space'?
dawn?
derelict natural area?
Third landscape? (Gilles Clément)
3rd soundscape? (Leandro Pisano, John Grzinich)
11:27:44
dawn
is there a 4th landscape
11:27:49
grant
..
11:27:50
dawn
maybe this could be it
11:27:54
grant
it could
were ppl in Blois able to join the IRC?
11:28:45
dawn
3rd soundscapes i imagine as something a bit different
11:29:03
grant
on Thursday there were technical issues..
perhaps there are still..
11:29:23
dawn
a former industrial site re-claimed
11:29:27
grant
ongoing
aha well
it could be
11:29:46
dawn
a verge on the edge of a motorway
11:29:49
grant
but 3rd landscape for GC is i think a variety
of different kinds of places, including motorway verge for sure
11:30:26
grant
a place, i would say, to one side of development narratives
11:30:28
dawn
but barking seems a level more complex
11:30:51
grant
it sounds kind of complex / basic
11:31:10
web1780
hello from Blois
11:31:12
grant
basic life / complex, congested
hello!
11:31:24
grant
bonjour
11:31:37
web1780
we were waiting for you on zoom but nobody is there!
11:31:42
grant
vous pouvez entendre?
aha we are here!
11:31:57
web56
hola
11:32:01
grant
hola
11:32:08
web56
como estas
11:32:10
grant
estamos en contacto
11:32:16
web56
si
11:32:22
grant
bien - gracias -
11:32:22
dawn
mccartney used ecotone – a marginal zone, a transitional area or time where species from adjacent ecosystems interact.
11:32:41
grant
estas escuchando
este lugar curioso
11:33:05
web1780
we can listen perfectly the birds and the river on the background
11:33:07
web56
i love goélands
11:33:11
grant
?
11:33:13
dawn
yes we try to avoid zoom whenever possible
11:33:36
grant
i am sorry, otoh, to add technical challenges for the organisers..
11:33:40
web1780
yes but we agreed to have a meeting!
11:33:43
grant
as if they do not have enough
11:33:44
web56
🌊🐣
11:33:46
grant
but here we are
11:33:53
web56
cui cui
11:33:55
grant
de todos modos
11:34:00
dawn
what is goélands?
11:34:01
web1780
yes here we are!
11:34:05
dawn
hello
11:34:09
web56
a bird of course
11:34:14
web42
Seaguls
11:34:18
dawn
ah
11:34:20
grant
yes! what is ah of course
11:34:34
web56
seaguls yes
11:34:37
grant
it s onomatopoeic? a bit?
maybe
11:34:47
web56
maybe
11:34:54
grant
so now boat traffic
the thames is wide here
11:35:18
grant
we re actually at the outfall of a tributary
the River Roding
11:35:28
dawn
barking creek
11:35:28
web1780
are there idrophones as well underwater?
11:35:36
grant
and its smaller sub channel, is it?
11:35:37
dawn
maybe one day
11:35:43
grant
Barking Creek?
11:35:47
web11
I love the sea 💧💧
11:35:53
web81
⚓⛴️⛵🔱🚢🚣🚣‍♀️
11:35:57
web64
Barking whale
11:36:01
dawn
brackish water
11:36:14
grant
ok - so transitional
between river and sea perhaps
11:36:26
web11
There is some lobsters ?
11:36:30
grant
depending on the tides..
well.. there could be crayfish
11:36:49
web81
test
11:36:49
dawn
i saw a seal there once
11:36:53
grant
!
11:37:03
web11
I love lobsters too more than goélands
11:37:09
grant
would we hear one?
11:37:13
ⓘ web81 is now known as sousterrain
11:37:19
grant
lobsters also pretty quiet animals?
11:37:21
sousterrain
holo guapos
11:37:22
grant
or perhaps not
11:37:23
web1780
"if you don't like the sea, if you don't like the mountain, if you don't like the country... well, go f**k yourself " JL Godard
11:37:33
dawn
nice
11:37:47
grant
definitive summary really
11:37:56
web11
Yes lobsters IS pretty cool 👌
11:38:14
sousterrain
i prefer 🦀
11:38:15
web11
Parking goélands
11:38:24
sousterrain
cormoran are good too
11:38:27
dawn
i went to this place first in lockdown when we couldn't travel very far
11:38:27
web11
Barking sorry
11:38:43
grant
reversing vehicle?
11:38:48
sousterrain
yes
11:38:57
dawn
the sense of openness was welcome in quarantine
11:38:58
web11
With some curry or "sauce Andalouse"
11:39:07
sousterrain
mmmm andalouse
11:39:17
web64
Seagul hamburger
11:39:18
grant
ah yes - i sense it s almost lunch time in Blois..
11:39:19
web1780
motorbike?
11:39:22
dawn
and the tidal comings and goings
11:39:27
grant
ha
11:39:40
sousterrain
samourai ou andalouse
11:39:47
dawn
i think you can fish for smelt
11:39:48
grant
the steambox is strapped to a kind of log
11:39:56
dawn
but i don't know how appetising they are
11:39:56
grant
which i guess will wash off
11:40:02
web64
Harissa
11:40:03
grant
if the water comes much highter
higher
11:40:17
web11
We are in the toilet next to the sea and we eat lobsters with andalouse
11:40:25
sousterrain
yummy
11:40:42
web1780
we're stil having issues with laptops on different browsers . tried both wi-fi network and mobile data...
11:40:51
grant
it is really a toilet on city scale
11:40:58
dawn
i think if you go fishing in barking you are more likley to pick up a discarded tv
than a lobster
11:41:08
sousterrain
i love sea urchin miam
11:41:20
web11
This IS a COOOL chat
11:41:31
grant
the sewage works sits on the very edge by the river..
11:41:36
sousterrain
nice 2 meet u
11:41:37
web11
We're all Friends now
11:41:42
sousterrain
oui
11:41:49
grant
with settling tanks and pumps
and sifts out.. supposedly..
11:42:01
sousterrain
<3
11:42:04
grant
the shit
11:42:08
dawn
yes the sewage- they let out clouds of black liquid around once a day
into the thames
the cormorants seem to love it
11:42:20
grant
however, people working in the river have some doubts
11:42:23
web11
Good bye my love lobsters ans sous terrain
11:42:27
grant
they do
11:42:28
sousterrain
byeee
11:42:46
dawn
happy lobstering
11:43:23
web11
Ok
11:43:32
grant
aah.. are we finishing?
is it over?
actually the stream will be up for a little more..
then i m going to go pick it up and take it to glasgow
listen in at acousticommons.net/listen
to As if radio..
11:44:29
dawn
still some people here it seems- unless they are checking out the page for as if
i guess the chat is linked
11:44:44
grant
from 31st OCT to 12 November
we will be streaming live sounds like this, together with sound and transmission works
and real time coverage of actions around the COP
11:46:10
dawn
in glasgow
11:46:30
grant
you can also send us your sounds
using the free app Locuscast
or by other means..
11:47:37
dawn
https://mailchi.mp/7027cb4b175a/air
i guess people have gone for lunch?
11:48:24
web3
https://mailchi.mp/6bda28238cff/air-announce
11:48:35
grant
bon appetit
hasta pronto
many thanks to Unheard.. for working out the tech
and welcoming us to the conference
11:50:38
grant
c u l
11:51:00
dawn
thx bye!
11:51:02
grant
bye dawn
5 people here

commonslog
dawn
grant
web3
web52