Limerick soundscape records highs and lows of city life

Academics at University of Limerick, Mary Immaculate College, and Limerick School of Art and Design, have come together in a research project to launch a new interactive soundmap of the city, where the sounds of the life in the city will be recorded, uploaded and archived for easy online access.
Their website — limericksoundscapes.ie — is an online collection of sound, music, speech and song from all over the city. Contributions have been, and will be, made by volunteer recordists from all walks of life, capturing their sonic experience of the city. The archive will be of considerable value to educators, artists, researchers, tourists, and of course, to the people of Limerick themselves.
Aileen Dillane, of the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance at UL, said: “The project is more than a mere collection of sounds, as it is planned to make it possible for local people to collaborate and actively contribute to the site themselves, thereby reflecting the rich diversity of sound as we experience and ultimately represent it.”
Tony Langlois, of Mary Immaculate College, added: “The purpose of the project is to create a sound archive of everyday life in Limerick City. Over time our work and leisure habits change, as do modes of transport and even the climate. As years pass, the soundmap will allow us to look back on our sonic past and enable future generations to listen to life in our time.”
The project will be formally launched at an international conference on “Urban Soundscape and Critical Citizenship”, which will be held at UL on March 27-28.
Speakers will include experts from around the world who lead research into this expanding field.
A UL spokeswoman said: “This is the first event dedicated to this subject to be held in Ireland and it will include discussions of urban planning, environmental conservation, sonic heritage, oral history, technology and most importantly, music.”
* Details of the conference can be found at: soundandsociety2014.wordpress.com