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MULTIPLE IDENTITIES VIA THE GLOBALIZATION OF ART, MEDIA AND PERFORMANCE 119Image 2: Concert setting at Tempo Reale Music Center, Firenze,Italy 2011the topic. Over the years, soundscapes have tended inlarge part to be about the creation of electro-acousticmusic with the use of digital technology. Participantsin the World Soundscape Project, including BarryTruax and Hildegaard Westerkamp, were primarilyelectro-acoustic composers. A notable soundscapereleased as a CD, “The Vancouver Soundscape 1973”was based on recordings taken from around BritishColumbia but produced as a form of electro-acousticmusic. In general, the issue of technique has receivedlittle attention in relation to soundscapes. By contrast,I foreground technique and process in bothproduction of “The Land of Isolation” and in thisdiscussion.2. The definition of field recordingField recordings are one of the core elements ofsoundscape production. Field recordings have longplayed a role in both artistic production and in thefields of ethnomusicology and anthropology. In thedigital era, field recordings are used in digital media artand in the composition of digital music. Digitalequipment has enabled people to create soundscapeseasily and economically, by simply pressing “play” and“stop”. In an earlier era, recordings were made onanalog equipment such as magnetic tape recorders andwere more difficult to do.Image 3: Graphical sound system for the concert. 10.2ch multisurroundsound system setup.Soundscape composition and relation to fieldrecording1. Soundscape compositionA soundscape is an organic or non-organic sound thatenhances and deepens our sonic environment. Theconcept of soundscapes received wide attention withthe work of Canadian composer R. Murray Schafer,leader of Simon Fraser University’s World SoundscapeProject 1970s. 1 Since then, there has been an increasein both the number of soundscapes produced and inthe number of publications and research devoted toHowever, in the digital age field recordings still relygreatly on factors such as skill, method and technique.Sound quality varies greatly depending on the choiceof microphone and microphone position, and thechoice of recording equipment and how it is used. Forexample, in the CD, “The Vancouver Soundscape1973” there is an impression that high and lowfrequencies within the materials was sometimes lost.The technical equipment for “The Land of Isolation”was chosen carefully. “Shotgun” type microphoneswhich have a wide dynamic range and greater soundabsorption were used for both monophonic andstereophonic sounds. Digital recording technologyallows for recordings of up to 96kHz of samplingfrequency, capturing more than magnetic tape, wherefrequency rates are from 20Hz to 20kHz. Althoughthe sonic perception of human auditory rates are from20Hz to 20kHz, with the use of digital technology, thelistener’s so-called alfa wave function is understood tobe activated.The Work of the 2010/2011 API Fellows