Listening Fields #3: Elsa M'Bala

L’Heure de Pointe

In this episode of Listening Fields, I have the honour and pleasure to welcome Cameroonian-German sound artist and musician Elsa M'bala as a guest. We talked about the shift in her work and music from a more 'classical' singer-songwriter practice to an experimental approach through field recordings, her work in different phonogram archives in Germany and Cameroon and how listening and field recording helped her to reconnect with her roots.

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Listening Fields is a bi-monthly radio show that oscillates around various listening and field recording practices and the discourse surrounding them. We invite you to come listen to buzzing, squealing, chattering, fluttering - sounds that tell stories about the living and non-living beings we share our space with. For each show, we pay attention to the work of guests from different backgrounds that share an interest in listening and field recording. Where do we listen, how do we listen, what do we hear and what do we filter out? What attracts us and what repels us when listening to our surroundings? When do we start recording and when do we ask for consent? Are we present in the recording, or are we hidden? What can we learn by listening closely to our surroundings? We invite you to join the voices of sparrows, cicadas, rivers, deer, trees, winds and many others to echo in the ether what is often overheard.

Listening fields is produced by Nele Möller.
Big thanks to Emma Kraak for lending her voice for the introduction!

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Listening Fields est une émission de radio bimensuelle sur l'écoute et les field recording. Nous vous invitons à venir écouter des bourdonnements, des piaillements, des bruissements, des gazouillis - des sons qui abordent les êtres, vivants ou non, qui partagent nos espaces.Lors de chaque émission, nous tendons l'oreille aux pratiques d'invité·e·s provenant de divers horizons autour d'un interêt commun pour l'écoute et les fields recordings : Où écouter, comment écouter, qu'entendons-nous et que filtrons-nous ? Qu'est ce qui nous attire ou nous repousse dans l'écoute ? Quand commencer l'enregistrement ou demander le consentement ? Sommes-nous présents dans l'enregistrement, ou bien cachés ? Et que pouvons-nous apprendre en écoutant attentivement autour de nous ?

Listening Fields produite par Nele Möller.
Merci à Emma Kraak d'avoir prêté sa voix à l'introduction!

Image: Nele Möller