Joan Schuman, Audiophile

Emily posted on Wednesday, January 12th, 2011 | Uncategorized

New to REMIX Radio this week are 9 pieces from Joan Schuman.  Joan’s work is ripe for REMIX because it blurs the boundaries of public radio and sound art, giving equal attention (if not more) to the aesthetic qualities of a sound event as to human speech.

One thing I like about Joan’s work is that even in the absence of a traditional narrative, a story often reveals itself.  You might hear this in her recent project, Catalogue of Mourning.  “I hear them as a 30-minute span of different approaches to the concept of mourning, both environmental and personal,” Joan says of the two pieces, below.

Like her work, Joan evades definition. Her bio starts not with “Sound Artist” nor “Radio Producer,” but: “My audiophilia whispers into the radio’s ear.” Joan lives in Arcata, CA and teaches online classes in production, sound culture and media ecology at The New School in New York. You can click on stuff, read more and listen to her work at JoanSchuman.com.

Ligature:

This Beautiful Carcass: