In 2009 I contributed a project to Sound Diaries awkwardly titled Unspectacular February. We had just published a series of recordings from the first minute of 2009 full of fireworks, excitement, and new beginnings and so it seemed like we should follow this up with something from the everyday business of being. The result was a series of one minute recordings capturing the everyday activities of the kitchen – the sound of the dishwasher, kettle, fridge, toaster, cutlery drawer, microwave and the more distant sounds of the house – television from the next room, footsteps upstairs, the washing machine in the shed. I thought that I should mark the passing of ten years by doing this again. I’m in a different kitchen now but many of the objects are still the same.
We’ve reached day nine of unspectacular february and finally there really seems to be nothing much going on. You can hear the sound of me putting my car key back in the wooden box where we keep most of the keys and you might be able to hear some footsteps upstairs and me sitting on a sofa. Such excitement!
(February 9th 2019 putting the car key in a box, nothing)