foundsoundscape

The foundsoundscape project from Janek Schaefer combines field recordings from over 100 different artists into a 24-hour streaming experience. At any given point you're hearing three different layers of the world - sometimes four as Schaefer has a live microphone from his studio into the mix as well. It is, surprisingly, the opposite of cacophonous. The writeup on the project lends some wonderful insight into its creation:

Foundsoundscape was inspired by the very first Digital Radio station in the UK, that simply played a recording of a rural location. Radio you could just leave running to add a peaceful ambience to your environment indoors. It heralded a new media paradigm, as digital broadcasting offered more capacity than requred for the first time, and that space needed filling. At the same time on TV, Channel 4 was broadcasting Big Brother live 24hours, and at night I loved to tune-in my analogue TV sets all over the house, and the shed, so I could hear the housemates gently sleeping as I worked through the night. Since then infomercials, and gambling TV have taken over, and I greatly miss that sense of real-time space, that does not demand your attention. This then just quietly underscores your environment, by creating new ones from others.

My hope is that others will find foundsoundscape enjoyable and leave it running all day & all night long, just like a radio! It's as simple as that, with one click. A salute to serendipity and shared sonic space. Bookmark it. Play it in rooms around the house. Share it . . Take a break . . .

The list of contributing artists is long but you'll likely see some names in there you recognize - i.e. Brian Eno.

It is surprisingly pleasant... put it in your headphones. via Disquiet.