This post will chronicle my October 16-18 “Sonic Safari” to Provincetown, (aka P-Town), a quaint historic village on the tip of Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

The main purpose of my sojourn to P-Town was to capture the sonic ambience of environmental-activist-collaborative-multi-media-artist Jay Critchley’s Septic Theatre (ST) backyard performance space in preparation for his upcoming exhibition at the Florida Atlantic University Art Galleries.

The first session involved the digital capturing of the acoustic signature or impulse response (IR) of its interior with specific digital software, as well as making some reference recordings of sewerphone, conch trumpet, jaw-harp, etc.  within the space.

In order to collect the realistic ambience of the  ST, the IR capture and recording sessions were all conducted in its interior dank darkness, with its patina-encrusted lid in place.

Sewerphone recording inside the Septic Theatre.

A second IR session was conducted on the afternoon of October 17th at the P-Town Pilgrim Memorial Monument (the tallest free-standing granite structure in the world).  In direct contrast to the enclosed ambience of the Septic Theatre, the Pilgrim Monument IR sessions yielded a smorgasbord of lengthy resonances, which were captured at a variety of locations within the interior structure.

In spite of the fact that the monument was festooned with tourists, I was able to make some impromptu Didge-box recordings inside the Pilgrim Monument.

The under- and above-ground ambiences of the P-Town ST and Pilgrim Monument spaces will be replicated inside the University Gallery in the recreated above- and below ground “Jay’s Outhouse” and Septic Theatre performance spaces respectively. IRs and recordings collected during the P-Town Sonic Safari, and other “safaris” on the FAU Boca campus will be re-incorporated into live performances,  sound bites, and audio-visual mash-ups in connection the Jay Critchley Inc. exhibition, opening February 4, 2016 at the FAU Gallery. Stay tuned for more sonic action!