The Secret Life of the Conservatory
2021-23
The Secret Life of the Conservatory was a family headphone audio trail in the Conservatory, the botanic gardens in the Barbican Centre in London. Writer Emma Hayes developed five stories in response to plants found in the gardens. Participants would engage with the stories by scanning QR codes and this would take them to a page that would play back the corresponding audio.
Listen to an extract of one of the stories below. Use headphones for the best experience.
As the project’s Sound Artist, I created the binaural (3D audio) soundworlds for the stories, which were a mixture of environmental ambiences, original music and soundscaping.
🌿 To make the sounds, I made recordings from the Conservatory itself as well as field recordings from various natural areas around where I lived.
🌿 For the narration, I recorded my and Emma’s voices and edited them using tools like iZotope RX for cleanup and crispness.
🌿 I advised the Barbican team on how to make the experience accessible for wider audiences.
🌿 To support the staff who would be running the installation for the next two years, I wrote detailed documentation for how the experience should run.
This project was a great use of my Sound Production skills, specifically using Extended Reality techniques to mix binaural music, voice and sound effects. I did this using a mixture of the open source IEM Ambisonic suite and the Max for Live device Envelop.
Xavier was a pleasure to work with. He produced such brilliant and highly skilled work with originality and speed. We were working to very tight deadlines, but this did not seem to scamper Xavier's creativity. He consistently produced unique soundscapes that explored a range of techniques and complimented the stories created by our Creative Writer so beautifully. The result was stories that felt immersive, playful and nurturing. He was also great at interrogating the brief and translating his ideas so that we could really understand his creative process. He has a way of making tech feel very accessible and advised us on best practice around this. As a Producer, I couldn't have wished for a better experience in collaborating with a Sound Artist.