04/05/23, London College of Communication

In this lecture, Salter talked us through his past works and practices that he is developing in real time, amongst personal anecdotes that provide fitting context to his works. He also briefly discussed the idea of ethics and morals in field recording, an important element of his artistry.

Rory began by playing an excerpt from his project ‘Free Music On The Clock’. Whilst I found the name to be quite comical and wry, I think it it gives the listener important context both literally and theoretically. I think it is a perfect, fitting name for the piece. There are moments where the pieces shift between Musique Concrète and lonely distorted mumblings. I find that this contrast adds a dreary but dreamy element, Salter wants us to know about the sometimes monotonous nature of a day job combined with the need to experiment, hence ‘Free Music’ a potential reference to the experimental nature of the Free Jazz movements of the 20th century. Whilst I love the collage aspect of these pieces, I find that they maybe lose focus at times. Maybe this is the intention however.

After this, there was a brief discussion about the ethics of field recording. Salter spoke about recording sounds in the wild, and whilst he’s the one who recorded them, who really owns them? As well as raising the question of whether manipulating these sounds is ethical. Rory chooses to keep his field recordings organic with little to no manipulation.

Rory finished with not talking about a piece but more about a theme that is crucial to his works; walking. He described walking as being an integral part of his process.