Participants will meet at Indexical to engage with their surroundings through field recording, listening, and site specific exercises. We will first cover a brief history of field recording and its applications, then split up into smaller groups to explore and record acoustic ecologies near the Tannery. We will also play with sonic ideas and exercises facilitated outside in the “field”. A limited amount of audio recorders and specialized microphones will be provided for shared use, but bringing your own personal recording devices, including phones and handheld recorders, is recommended. 

No prior recording, musical experience, or equipment is required.

**This event is designed as an immersive two session program related to phonography and music composition. Single session guests are invited to attend as well! Learn more about the second workshop on sound design and manipulation of field recordings here.

Anna Friz, sound and media artist (UC Santa Cruz)
Douglas Murray, sound designer (Skywalker Sound)

A series of hybrid study groups, workshops, and gatherings that aim to facilitate a collaborative space for the exploration of a topic or modality under the umbrella of Sound Studies. These get-togethers are experiments in how to learn, play, and listen in collaboration with one another. Rather than the traditional format of teacher/student, the aim is to create a generative communal environment fostered through curiosity and safe space. In other words, being together in a place about a thing.

S.C.U.M. (Santa Cruz Underground Music) is the revival of an old anagram to rekindle a collectivized effort towards performance and skill-share across various experimental art spaces and mediums.