Suite à un état de l'art détaillant la création et l'utilisation de l'espace sonore dans divers environnements urbains virtuels (soundmaps, jeux vidéo, réalité augmentée), il s'agira de déterminer une méthodologie et des techniques de conception pour les espaces sonores urbains virtuels du point de vue de l'immersion, de l'interface et de la dramaturgie.ces développements se feront dans le cadre du projet terra dynamica, tendant vers une utilisation plurielle de la ville virtuelle (sécurité et sureté, transports de surface, aménagement de l'urbanisme, services de proximité et citoyens, jeux). le principal objectif du doctorat sera de déterminer des réponses informatiques concrètes à la problématique suivante : comment, en fonction de leur utilisation anticipée, les espaces sonores urbains virtuels doivent-ils être structurés et avec quels contenus?la formalisation informatique des solutions étayées au fil du doctorat et la création du contenu sonore illustrant le projet seront basés sur l'analyse de données scientifiques provenant de domaines variés tels que la psychologie de la perception, l'architecture et l'urbanisme, l'acoustique, la recherche esthétique (musicale) ainsi que sur l'observation et le recueil de données audio-visuelles du territoire urbain, de manière à rendre compte tant de la richesse du concept d'espace sonore que de la multiplicité de ses déclinaisons dans le cadre de la ville virtuelle. / In video gaming and interactive media, the making of complex sound ambiences relies heavily on the allowed memory and computational resources. So a compromise solution is necessary regarding the choice of audio material and its treatment in order to reach immersive and credible real-time ambiences. Alternatively, the use of procedural audio techniques, i.e. the generation of audio content relatively to the data provided by the virtual scene, has increased in recent years. Procedural methodologies seem appropriate to sonify complex environments such as virtual cities.In this thesis we specifically focus on the creation of interactive urban sound ambiences. Our analysis of these ambiences is based on the Soundscape theory and on a state of art on game oriented urban interactive applications. We infer that the virtual urban soundscape is made of several perceptive auditory grounds including a background. As a first contribution we define the morphological and narrative properties of such a background. We then consider the urban background sound as a texture and propose, as a second contribution, to pinpoint, specify and prototype a granular synthesis tool dedicated to interactive urban sound backgrounds.The synthesizer prototype is created using the visual programming language Pure Data. On the basis of our state of the art, we include an urban ambiences recording methodology to feed the granular synthesis. Finally, two validation steps regarding the prototype are described: the integration to the virtual city simulation Terra Dynamica on the one side and a perceptive listening comparison test on the other.

Suite à un état de l'art détaillant la création et l'utilisation de l'espace sonore dans divers environnements urbains virtuels (soundmaps, jeux vidéo, réalité augmentée), il s'agira de déterminer une méthodologie et des techniques de conception pour les espaces sonores urbains virtuels du point de vue de l'immersion, de l'interface et de la dramaturgie.ces développements se feront dans le cadre du projet terra dynamica, tendant vers une utilisation plurielle de la ville virtuelle (sécurité et sureté, transports de surface, aménagement de l'urbanisme, services de proximité et citoyens, jeux). le principal objectif du doctorat sera de déterminer des réponses informatiques concrètes à la problématique suivante : comment, en fonction de leur utilisation anticipée, les espaces sonores urbains virtuels doivent-ils être structurés et avec quels contenus?la formalisation informatique des solutions étayées au fil du doctorat et la création du contenu sonore illustrant le projet seront basés sur l'analyse de données scientifiques provenant de domaines variés tels que la psychologie de la perception, l'architecture et l'urbanisme, l'acoustique, la recherche esthétique (musicale) ainsi que sur l'observation et le recueil de données audio-visuelles du territoire urbain, de manière à rendre compte tant de la richesse du concept d'espace sonore que de la multiplicité de ses déclinaisons dans le cadre de la ville virtuelle. / In video gaming and interactive media, the making of complex sound ambiences relies heavily on the allowed memory and computational resources. So a compromise solution is necessary regarding the choice of audio material and its treatment in order to reach immersive and credible real-time ambiences. Alternatively, the use of procedural audio techniques, i.e. the generation of audio content relatively to the data provided by the virtual scene, has increased in recent years. Procedural methodologies seem appropriate to sonify complex environments such as virtual cities.In this thesis we specifically focus on the creation of interactive urban sound ambiences. Our analysis of these ambiences is based on the Soundscape theory and on a state of art on game oriented urban interactive applications. We infer that the virtual urban soundscape is made of several perceptive auditory grounds including a background. As a first contribution we define the morphological and narrative properties of such a background. We then consider the urban background sound as a texture and propose, as a second contribution, to pinpoint, specify and prototype a granular synthesis tool dedicated to interactive urban sound backgrounds.The synthesizer prototype is created using the visual programming language Pure Data. On the basis of our state of the art, we include an urban ambiences recording methodology to feed the granular synthesis. Finally, two validation steps regarding the prototype are described: the integration to the virtual city simulation Terra Dynamica on the one side and a perceptive listening comparison test on the other.

This practice-based research is concerned with a collection of fixed media compositions written between 2005 and 2012 with accompanying contextual writing. The primary focus of this research was to produce sound works, but the concept of place has played a significant role throughout both the compositional process and in the reflection of each composition. This research explores how place is ‘heard and felt’ (Feld, 2005) in a composition and how recollected memory impacts on the compositional process. Artistic decisions made with regard to creating the compositions reflect my personal place and associations with these sound materials at a given time whether they are field recordings or synthesised materials. The way in which sound material is subsequently processed and structured reflects this. Place and the compositional practice inform each other in a two-way process. This results in what Katharine Norman (2010) has referred to in her writing on sound art as an ‘autoethnographic’ journey; a representation of the creator’s personal experience. I have begun to reflect on these compositions as art works that represent a particular time or place. The artwork represents the trace of the place from which it was composed (Corringham, 2010). I believe that I cannot totally transport a person to my place; rather, I intend this creative representation to enable the listener to create and inspire their own narrative.

This thesis is an ethnographic analysis of a collection of field recordings of music from sub-Saharan Africa: The Sound of Africa series made and published by Hugh Tracey between 1933 and 1973. I analyse the aims, methods, value and potential use of this collection, now held at the International Library of African Music (ILAM), in order to address a gap in the ethnomusicological literature and to begin to develop a critical framework for an evaluation of field recording and aural ethnography. An archival analysis of the collection enables me to trace the scope and intended uses of Tracey’s recordings. Identifying a primary intended audience that has not to date been engaged, I argue for the need to develop a new way to circulate recordings among a source community that has never before been reached through institutional archival practice. I use a small sample of Tracey’s archival Xhosa recordings and develop a method of sound elicitation designed to take the recordings back to urban Xhosa communities in the townships located near ILAM. By circulating archival recordings using local mechanisms in township communities, rather than institutional archival methods, I assess the potential relevance of historical recordings to an urban source community more than fifty years after the recordings were made. Having collected and analysed contemporary Xhosa responses, I consider the limitations and the potential for the recordings to connect with indigenous audiences and generate value. I argue that non-analytical responses to historical recordings may contribute to ethnographic understanding, to people’s own sense of Xhosa identity, and to archiving practice in future. Such responses may help increase our understanding of the relationships between music collectors in the field and the people recorded, whether fifty years ago, today or in future.

<p>Bilaga: 1 CD.</p>

Espaces, sons et écosystèmes fragiles: exploration des impacts sociaux de l’art sonore écologique dans le contexte Indien cherche à découvrir le potentiel transformateur des œuvres sonores en interaction avec des espaces dotés de contextes écologiques vulnérables, offrant ainsi la possibilité de nourrir les discours critiques entourant divers enjeux environnementaux sur le territoire indien. Cette thèse de mémoire tente de découvrir, plus précisément, les retombées sociales potentielles qui sous-tendent les projets in situ de deux artistes sonores indiens, Farah Mulla et Pratyay Raha, réalisées au moyen d’installations sonores publiques et d’enregistrement de terrain. En encadrant ces impacts comme du soutien communautaire et de l’influence politique, cette analyse souligne les dimensions collaboratives et souvent interdisciplinaires des initiatives des artistes—des méthodes pouvant amplifier leur discours politique. De plus, cette recherche soutient que les philosophies collaboratives et interdisciplinaires sont enracinées dans la communauté élargie de l’art sonore. Cela est illustré par les programmes socialement engagés et expérimentaux des organisations autogérées par des artistes telles que l'Indian Sonic Research Organisation, Synthfarm et Khoj, qui offrent un soutien structurel à des artistes comme Mulla et Raha. Ces efforts sont dédiés à la diffusion des pratiques de l'art sonore et à la création d'espaces de partage des connaissances, au-delà des sphères conventionnelles des musées et des galeries. Enfin, cette étude cherche à faire émerger de nouveaux points de vue susceptibles de contribuer à une reconnaissance plus large quant à la place et l’importance de l’art sonore indien dans le domaine de l’histoire de l’art global, tout en explorant la manière dont les installations sonores et les enregistrements de terrain peuvent servir comme forme d’activisme sonore dans les espaces publics, sensibilisant ainsi les populations aux problèmes écologiques du context indien. / Sites, Sounds & Fragile Ecosystems: Exploring Ecological Sound Art's Social Impacts in the Indian Context seeks to uncover the intricate interplay between sound, space, socio-politics, and ecology, thereby shedding illuminating insights into the transformative potential inherent in sound-based art as catalysts for raising social consciousness and nurturing critical discourse within the ecological context of endangered indian settings. This thesis is an attempt to uncover the potential social impacts that underlie the site-specific endeavours of two Indian sound artists, Farah Mulla and Pratyay Raha, more specifically through forms of sound installation and field recordings. By framing these impacts as communal care and political influence, this analysis underscores the collaborative and often interdisciplinary dimensions of the artists’ initiatives, methods that can amplify their political agency. Moreover, this study contends that the collaborative and cross-disciplinary ethos are rooted within the broader community of sound-based artists, as evidenced by the socially-engaged and innovative programs of independent artists-run organisations such as the Indian Sonic Research Organisation, Synthfarm, and Khoj, which offer structural support for artists like Mulla and Raha. Their work is dedicated to disseminate sound art practices and fostering spaces for knowledge sharing beyond the conventional settings of museums and galleries. Finally, this research aims to bring forth new viewpoints that may contribute to a more expansive recognition of the place and significance of Indian sound art within the realm of art history. Simultaneously, it delves into how sound installation and field recording serve as instruments of political agency in public spaces, thereby raising awareness about pressing ecological issues caused by human dominance.

Cette thèse interroge, par la méthode et la conception design, les modalités permettant de construire des récits liés à l'imaginaire urbain. Ces derniers constituent des potentialités qui racontent au travers de la dimension sonore des faits mémoriels, histoires et vécus de groupes. Le « designer des sons de l'urbain » construit alors sa propre scénophonie urbaine, procédé permettant de raconter l'espace sonore, entre espaces du temps et temps de l'espace. Cette posture permet de rendre compte de la prégnance socio-culturelle du fait sonore dans la manière de raconter le monde. Il s'agit de déceler puis d'interroger les enjeux d'une société en pleine mutation à partir de l'utilisation d'enregistrements de terrain et de créations sonores de territoire, c'est-à-dire des narrations composées à partir de ces premières captures. Ce travail s'articule autour d'une étude théorique d'un corpus artistique (Tome 1) et d'une recherche-action menée dans le cadre d'un contrat Cifre au sein de la Direction de la Culture de la Ville de Strasbourg, pour le Shadok, fabrique du numérique, régie directe de l'Eurométropole en collaboration avec une association trandisciplinaire, Horizome et l'équipe d'accueil ACCRA de l'Université de Strasbourg (Tome 2). / This dissertation questions through a design approach the ways and means allowing the construction of stories related to the urban imaginary. The latter constitute possibilities of telling something through the sound dimensions of historical events, and both individual and collective experiences. The “designer of urban sounds” then builds their own urban scenophony, a method allowing the telling of the sound space — between the spaces of time and the times of space. Such a position allows to account for the socio-cultural weight of sound in the waythe world is told. This research is about detecting and then questioning what is at stakes in a changing society, using field recordings and “territory sound creations,” i.e. narratives built from the raw material of those field recordings. Two dimensions are involved in this work: a theoretical study of an artistic corpus (Tome I) and an action research born outof a city of Strasburg Cifre contract for the state-sponsored and controled Shadok,fabrique du numérique, in collaboration with a transdisciplinary association, Horizome,and the ACCRA team of the University of Strasburg (Tome II).

The histories of acoustic ecology, field recording, and soundscape composition are intertwined. This combination of disciplines has lead to the potential for powerful insights, but an over-emphasis on music composition using recorded sound has to led to some problematic tendencies in the study of soundscapes. I begin by tracing the development of acoustic ecology and related disciplines, leading to a proposal for a practice of acoustic ecology that centers the study of all sounds from an ecological perspective and incorporates the insights of creative practices. I include the results and data from my acoustic surveys in Patagonia, Iceland, and Texas. These three locations are varied in their climate, and they are all threatened by noise pollution or human interference from one source or another. Each survey plots out the daily sound activity in a given location and then includes information such as decibel level and the amount of anthropogenic noise. Using the field recordings from my acoustic surveys, I composed a non-linear piece, Resonance Ecology, that generates soundscapes by combining sounds from different locations based on connections such as geography or weather patterns. There is also the option for acoustic performers to perform alongside the electronics, creating an unpredictably evolving soundscape. The structure of the piece mirrors the ecosystems that serve as the foundation and inspiration of the piece. Importantly, the composition is not meant to represent the real ecosystems, but rather serves as an surreal ecosystem portraying my experience in these locations.