Portable Soundscapes: An Acoustic Travelogue by Adrift Performance Makers

In July 2015, in our collaborative partnership as AdriftPM, we created Portable Soundscapes: An Acoustic Travelogue, travelling down from Portsmouth, UK, to Thessaloniki, Greece. A series of local buses, over ground and underground trains, trams, taxis, and international coaches brought us to Paris, Munich, Zagreb, and Belgrade. Carrying pre-recorded Southsea sound bites in our luggage, we listened out for unexpected voicings, misplaced soundtracks and fleeting sonic passersby. The project developed as a series of online responses to inadvertent encounters with unfamiliar sonic environments. In its unfolding, processual character, a few questions became prominent: What is the contemporary version of the flâneur? Can her account of the journey be disentangled from textuality (city as text) and visuality (city as spectacle)? Which opportunities does sound dramaturgy afford for new engagements with notions and practices of travel? Blending live art with acoustic ethnography, our logs in various media platforms extended an invitation to stand at the crossroads of Europe and listen.