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This document provides an exegesis of an ethnographic soundscape composition engagement that culminated with the creation of a work entitled About Us - For Us (2021). This creative artefact is a large-scale work that is presented as a binaural composition for headphone playback. It can also be adapted for multi-channel, site-generic presentation. The work builds upon practice that was developed during the creation of two preliminary works entitled What Does Who to What? (2018) and Cartographies (2019). Despite the existence of innovative works and important development in terms of theorisation, the use of field recording-based composition as an ethnographic practice is still underdeveloped. Voices from within the discipline have called for use of composition as an alternative to a traditional ethnographic write-up and identified the need for rigorous academic documentation to accompany any such undertaking. This study provides precisely this. It is also an explicitly political interaction, aimed at the exploration of power and domination in an area impacted by austerity measures. This exploration is organised according to a methodology that interprets the four stages involved in ethnographic studies sonically. These four stages are: observing and participating in a local area; conducting interviews with local community members; utilising archives; and producing a sonic write-up. As a study that engages with notions of power, careful consideration of researcher-participant collaboration and power relations was deemed necessary. These considerations led to the adoption of a hermeneutic approach to the engagement. Methods such as the Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of interviews and the development of an instrument for the playback of participant statements according to rules derived from interview themes, carried this concern for power relations into the composition itself. The resulting work contributes a sonic write-up to the discipline and the exegesis gives a detailed overview of process. A discussion of contributions to specific aspects of the current literature is afforded by this overview. The benefits of a deep engagement in the locality are argued for, as well as the need for reflexive care at every stage of the process. The impact of the process upon the participants is also examined, and changes to the sonic awareness of one participant is discussed. Although details of the process for implementing the research strategy are singular and contingent, this text is felt to provide an opportunity for the community of practice to scrutinise, adopt, reject or build upon its findings.

“An Omnivorous Ear - The Creative Practice of Field Recording” offers new insights into the history of recording outside of the studio in North America, challenging the various working definitions of field recording in music studies, anthropology, and communications. I examine recording methodologies through the late 19th and 20th centuries as a documentary technique, a tool for composition, and an art object in the United States of America and Canada from the late 19th century to the present day. Within this geographical region, I focus on the invention of acoustic recording, the proliferation of the technology amongst the public, folkloric recording supported by governmental and academic institutions, as well a experimental artistic practices. Throughout the dissertation, I argue that ‘the field’ is a social construction mediated by the recordist and recorder. Chapter 2 focuses on how cultures translate collective and phenomenological experiences into histories through sound media. These include orality, writing, the inscription of sound waves onto media, acoustic recording, and radio as forms of sound media that each embodies distinct forms of social and political knowledge. Chapter 3 details the development of recording machines and their effect on listening practices. Chapter 4 locates practitioners of phonography within the development of portable recording equipment on the one hand and the ‘hi-fi’ cultural movement in North America on the other. Practitioners included folklorists Alan Lomax from the Library of Congress, Moses Asch of Folkways Records, and Harry Smith, creator of the Anthology of American Folk Music; Stefan Kudelski, creator of the NAGRA recorder; and media maker Tony Schwartz, among the first to create the sound documentary by editing field recordings. Chapter 5 explores the relationship between sound, music and the environment within the paradigm of the soundscape as theorized by the World Soundscape Project (WSP). I critique the research and compositional practices developed by WSP members, and the influence it has on ecomusicology and sound art. Chapter 6 outlines sonic ethnography, a methodology that borrows from the best practices of many of the individuals mentioned throughout the dissertation, and employs new compositional techniques to condense and manipulate social, political and historical narratives through sonic works. The dissertation concludes by arguing that field recording, can be used to critique aesthetic and cultural dilemmas of representation.

A portfolio of electroacoustic compositions that draw on environmental field recordings from around the world composed for stereophonic and multichannel formats. This includes nine concert works and four installation works, three of which are collaborative projects. Particular focus is given to the relationship between field recordings and the genres of pure field recording composition, soundscape composition and acousmatic composition. The accompanying commentary discusses the compositional processes and workflow behind the works and the fundamental aesthetic concerns that each composition addresses. It is informed by current research in the field as acquired through interviews with seven artists working in the field: Leah Barclay, Jonty Harrison, Francisco López, Brona Martin, Claude Schryer, Chris Watson and Hildegard Westerkamp. This practice-led research project investigates the use of field recordings in my practice and reflects upon how this relates to practitioners and research in the field.

Fusing practiced-based and scholarly research, this thesis examines and articulates the practice and products of field recording as a form of protest. Unlike studio recording, which transpires in sheltered and otherwise controlled environments, field recordings have historically been made in unstable, ad hoc, and unpredictable contexts often by un- and self-trained scholars, scientists, artists, and explorers. The contingent and elusive categorization of such recordings as ethnographic documents, environmental research, sound effects, nature recording, soundscape composition, sound art, music, and non-music not only can perturb or further unsettle the listener but offers an entryway into explicating ideologies of listening and recording. The practice-based component of this research emerges from phonography, a contemporary form of field recording characterized by critical approaches to subject matter, sonic fidelity, and the role of the recordist--mediated by the relatively recent availability of inexpensive portable recording devices. The written, scholarly component of this research is rooted in the soundscape model articulated by R. Murray Schafer and subsequently developed by theorists of and contiguous to sound studies, including Barry Truax and Hildegard Westerkamp. Research methodologies include historical investigation, paratextual analysis, participant observation, and artistic creation. Drawing from a representative selection of the author's unfolding practice over the last 10 years-- N30: Live at the WTO Protest November 30, 1999 (2008); Favorite Intermissions (2008); and To the Cooling Tower, Satsop (2015)--the case studies in this thesis resulted in a critical framework, "activist sound," for identifying field recordings and field recording-based sound works as a form of protest.

Soundcastles: Play and process in field-recording composition is a practice-led research in experimental music, which investigates the medium of field-recording as a contested vanguard between the listener and the listened; the self and the soundscape; the composer and the material. The research consists of a portfolio of nine field-recording compositions and a corresponding commentary exploring the ideas, approaches, and discourses behind. It studies the complex boundary where the listener and the sonic environment meet, and explores the music potential of sounds in the urban everyday between the immediacy of their emergence, and the cognitive-emotional context of their subjective perception. In the tradition of soundscape composition with field recordings, a main focus of this research is the integration of the affective and the effective qualities of being in the world and listening. The music properties of urban soundscapes can thus be both emphasised and transfigured, so as to include the subjective aesthetic perception without losing the unique connection to their place of origin. The resulting compositions—soundcastles—become mediations between subject and object, soundscape and inner-scape, the actualised and the potential. This research investigates this liminal space of convergence where a listener encounters the sonic environment, and explores the potency of this encounter. It thus problematises the perceived bifurcation of subject and object of listening, and treats the soundscape in terms of imbricated processes within a network of relationships. Each soundcastle is a process of reducing the continuous acoustic environment to a concrete form as perceived from a standpoint. In particular, the methodology of this practice utilises modern signal processing and editing tools to highlight the subjective experience of a soundscape, while preserving the connection of the composition to the specific place and occasion of its recording. In this way, the Soundcastles project aims to situate itself at the in-between space between phonography and acousmatic music within the field of soundscape composition.

This thesis draws on notions of ‘thinking through making’ to consider how the act of field recording reveals new ways of thinking about how technology shapes sonic experience. Within sound art practice, evidence of the act of making audio recordings is commonly removed from or aesthetically neglected in the context of public presentation or performance; sound recordist and recording technology are made invisible to the audience. Rather than concealing the act of recording, the artistic projects presented in this thesis explore methods for engaging publics in the practical activity and particular material qualities of field recording. Three artworks are presented that employ and examine field recording practices; a musical performance (Fields, 2014-2018), a sound walk (Ambulation, 2015-2018) and a sound installation (Ring Network, 2016-2018). Particular elements of the making processes, the technical materials employed, publicly manifested artworks and critical reflection thereon are shared alongside a supporting portfolio of documentation and presentation details (this can be found in the appendices and accompanying USB storage device). The written component of this PhD submission offers an additional access point into this body of work and is designed to accompany rather than stand in for the practice itself. The artworks presented in the thesis were developed in relation to a programme of ‘experiments’ conducted within a number of different cultural institutions. The thesis defines these experiments as an artistic and research methodology, and describes how the process allowed for multiple lines of enquiry and numerous artistic outcomes to be explored in relation to specific thematic, material and contextual concerns relating to sound and technology. The learning that emerged during the creation of each artwork, through field recording and the making activities, contributes to dialogues surrounding practice-based research and the value of artistic practice within academic contexts. Research findings emerging from this thesis offer insight to artists and researchers interested in field recording and electroacoustic music, performance and liveness, sound and technology and making as a research methodology. To the diverse fields 3 of sound art practice, sound studies and soundscape research, which this research is situated within, particular themes relating to sound and technology are also addressed. They include; critical reflection of field recording and electroacoustic practices and technologies, revealing the technological characteristics of creative systems through sound, liveness in relation to digital media, the use of listening technology to extend human perception, approaching technology as a material process and making as a research methodology. Discussion of these specific themes contributes to understandings of the role of listening in art practice, anti-solutionist approaches to technology, creating arenas for attentiveness in performance and sound walking. The work presented in this thesis extends Ingold’s terminology of thinking through making to working with technologies associated with sound and media art practice.

This thesis finalises a 5+3 PhD project within the joint doctoral programme in Digital Heritage established in collaboration between History, Archaeology and Classical Studies, Graduate School, the Faculty of Arts, Aarhus University and the University of York. The thesis deals with the overarching theme of spatial data in archaeological excavation recording. Spatial data are at the core of all archaeological observations, and are expressed in numerous ways, ranging from traditional hand drawings to digital two- and three-dimensional representations in Geographic Information Systems and proprietary 3D software. Yet, despite technological advances, state-of-the art digital spatial data are almost equally detached from textual archaeological interpretation as they were using conventional tools decades ago. The thesis presents a study of how technological advances influence archaeological excavation traditions and methodologies. Special emphasis is directed at exploring how the increased use of image-based 3D documentation may contribute to increased quality of field recording and, in particular, what theoretical conceptualisations and technical developments are needed to harness its full potential. The thesis is composed of four articles, which constitute individual chapters (2-5). Each chapter covers a theme within the underlying topic of integrating spatial data in archaeology, supplemented by an introductory chapter (1), a synthesis (6) and a conclusion (7). The first article (chapter 2) provides an introduction to the overarching research questions and their methodological and historical background. It offers some rudimentary impressions of differing excavation and recording traditions in Britain and Denmark, to critically assess the use of GIS in archaeology and the negotiation between state-of-the-art technology and archaeological practice. The article discusses how the adaptation of GIS may have contributed significantly to the detrimental effect of creating stand-alone silos of spatial data that are rarely fully integrated with non-spatial, textual data, and has acted to stifle the development of digital standards of recording by perpetuating outmoded analogue recording conventions from a previous century. The chapter outlines the potential of born-digital 3D recording technologies such as Structure From Motion (SFM), GPS, and laser scanning in current practice, while advocating for a conceptualisation of new types of data and data representation in archaeological documentation. This, however, requires changes in archaeological methodologies and workflows and that we redefine more explicitly what we actually want to do with spatial data in archaeology. The second article (chapter 3) seeks to advance the conceptual framework of 3D models within archaeological excavation recording. 3D documentation advocates for a new workflow with a more three-dimensional reasoning, allowing for the utilisation of 3D as a tool for continuous progress planning and evaluation of an excavation and its results. Just like the general use of models to form hypotheses, it is possible to use 3D models as spatial hypotheses of an ongoing excavation. This allows us to visually realise or spatially conceptualise our hypotheses as a virtual reconstruction and to combine it with our observational data. The article presents first-hand experiences of working with 3D reconstruction and visualisations during the excavations at Viking Age site Jelling, and explores how the concept of authenticity may facilitate negotiations between visualising what we know, and what we think we know. The third article (chapter 4) further addresses the challenges inherent to the integration of 3D documentation: specifically its inability to convey archaeological interpretations. Image-based 3D modelling is generally considered a superior tool for generating geometrically accurate and photo-realistic recording of an excavation, but does not immediately encourage reflexive or interpretative practice. This is a direct consequence of the technical limitations of currently available tools, but also reflects an archaeological methodology and spatial conceptualisation based on two-dimensional abstractions. Using the example of the excavations at the Iron Age site Alken Enge, this article takes a more technical approach to exploring how new tools developed for segmenting field-recorded 3D geometry allow embedding archaeological interpretations directly in the 3D model, thereby augmenting its semantic value considerably. This is considered a precondition for the successful integration of 3D models as archaeological documentation. Furthermore, the article explores how web-based 3D platforms may facilitate collaborative exchange of 3D excavation content and how the integration of spatial and attribute data into one common event-based data model may be advantageous. The event-based approach is used for conceptualising how digital spatial data are created, derived and evolve throughout the documentation and post-excavation process. This effectively means building a conceptualisation of excavation recording procedures and seeing them through to the data model implementation itself. The fourth and last article (chapter 5) further explores the technologies outlined in chapters two and four. In particular, it focuses on evaluating analytical capabilities and alternative visualisation end-goals for 3D excavation recording. The chapter presents a simple case study, demonstrating the pipeline from excavating an archaeological feature, through image-based documentation and processing, to volumetric visual representation, while exploring the potential of machine learning to aid in feature recognition and classification. Chapter six acts as a synopsis, which provides added context to the results of the preceding chapters and furthermore discusses archaeological data models in general, conceptual reference models and, finally, presents the data model and implementation developed during the research project. The research introduces several novel approaches and technical developments aimed at aggregating the fragmented excavation data throughout the archaeological sector. This includes developing software for harvesting 2D GIS data from file storage at local archaeological institutions, functions for 3D semantic segmentation, automated processes for pattern recognition (SVM), machine learning and volumetric visualisation, and database mappings to web-services such as the MUD excavation database - all of which feed into the development of the Archaeo Framework. The online database \url{www.archaeo.dk} provides an implementation of the proposed data model for complex spatial field recorded data, and demonstrates the achieved data management capabilities, analytical queries, various spatial and visual representations and data interoperability functions. The Archaeo Framework acts as a data repository for excavation data, and provides long-awaited integration of spatial and textual data in Denmark. The benefits of spatial integration are clearly evident, notably having all information in one system, available online for research, dissemination and data re-use. For the first time, it is possible to perform large-scale validation of digital excavation plans against the written record, and perform complex spatial queries at a much deeper level than merely a site on a map. This research frames the basis for further developments of dynamic data management approaches to the integration of complex spatial data in field archaeology. The data model is expected to assist archaeologists in implementing better conceptualised excavation data models, and to facilitate a better understanding and use of 3D for archaeological documentation and analysis. Ultimately, the implementation provides access to the inaccessible dimensions of archaeological recording by joining hitherto isolated and fragmentary archaeological datasets - spatial and textual. Future areas of investigation should seek to advance this further in order to facilitate the persistence of complex spatial data as integrated components of archaeological data models.

This research is based on my practice as a field recordist, a graphic designer and a visual artist. It is through an interchange between these three languages that I propose extended phonography, a form of expanding field recording through a plural and multi-sensorial practice that primarily intersects field recording, photography and design. Extended phonography is a site-and-context-specific practice—its multi-sensorial focus on the act of recording is also extended to its presentation making the recordings and their presentation inextricably linked. The strategies developed throughout this thesis provided me with a new insight into the acts of recording, composing and presenting. The final outcomes are still anchored in sound. However through extended phonnography, other nuances of the recorded event are explored in multi-sensory experiences. These experiences transcend the notion of recording as merely a tool for representation and veracity. In extended phonography the acts of recording and the act of presenting these recordings in different spaces, are simultaneously acts of composing. The portfolio of works comprises eight projects: Phragmites australis, Constructing a Soundscape, Sounds of the City, X Marks the Spot, Almost Sound Diary, Som da Mare: urn projecto participativo de arte sonora, and Moving Still. I also introduced some of the ideas behind my interest in—and reservations about—fostering collaboration and participation as catalysts for a shared understanding of place through the projects: Sounds of the City, X Marks the Spot, Almost Sound Diary, and Som da Mare: urn projecto participativo de arte sonora,. This research also presents how the term site, in extended phonography, is used to refer not only to the physical site, but also the contextual, the experiential, and the virtual site.

Vast numbers of historical field recordings are currently being digitised and disseminated online; but what are these field recordings-and how do they resonate today? This thesis addresses these questions by listening to the digitisation of recordings made for a number of ethnographic projects that took place in Britain in the early 1950s. Each project shared a set of logics and practices I call national phonography. Recording technologies were invested with the ability to sound and salvage the nation, but this first involved deciding what the nation was, and what it was supposed to sound like. National phonography was an institutional and technological network; behind the encounter between recordist and recorded lies a complex and variegated mess of cultural politics, microphones, mediality, sonic aesthetics, energy policies, commercial interests, and music formats. The thesis is structured around a series of historical case studies. The first study traces the emergence of Britain's field recording moment, connecting it to the waning of empire, and focusing on sonic aspects of the 1951 Festival of Britain and the recording policies of national and international folk music organisations. The second study listens to the founding of a sound archive at the University of Edinburgh, also in 1951, asking how sound was used in constructing Scotland as an object of study, stockpiling the nation through the technologies and ideologies of preservation. The third study tracks how the BBC used fieldwork - particularly through its Folk Music and Dialect Recording Scheme (1952-57) - as part of an effort to secure the aural border. The fourth study tells the story of The Columbia World Library of Folk and Primitive Music, produced by Alan Lomax while based in Britain and released in 1955. Here, recordings were presented in fragments as nations were written onto long-playing records, and the project is discussed as a museum of voice. The final chapter shifts perspective to the online circulation of these field recordings. It asks what an online sound archive is, hearing how recordings compress multiple agencies which continue to unfold on playback, and exploring the archival silences built into sonic productions of nations. Finally, online archives are considered as heritage sites, raising questions about whose nation is produced by national phonography. This thesis brings together perspectives from sound studies and ethnomusicology; and contributes to conversations on the history of ethnomusicology in Europe, the politics of technology, ontologies of sound archives, and theories of recorded sound and musical nationalisms.