A review of Isle is Full of Noises - Peiran Chen

The Isle is Full of Noises is an environmental sound installation composed by Professor Michael Century with the assistance of Eric Miller and it was held on the 5^th  floor of EMPAC, November 27 – November 29. The whole composition consists of environmental sounds, animals sounds, and phonemic particles of language.

Professor Michael Century brought us to EMPAC’s studio room on November 29 so we had a chance to get to know “The Isle is Full of Noises”. In the beginning, the music composition was just the pure environment sounds like winds and sea waves, etc. As time went by, some indistinct chats appeared in the middle of the sounds. Those vague conversations just like the small pieces of the dandelion fluttered from the other side of the ocean. Gradually, those indistinct voices became clear, then became unclear again, and finally, those conversations became some phonemic particles of language. Except for all the different kinds of sounds combined together, “The Isle is Full of Noises” also employed an 8-channel sound composition which is my favorite part of the whole show. The 8-channel sound composition basically is some programmed speakers arranged in a row, with the help of the studio’s environment, there’re specific eight spots where can enjoy the perfect sound quality feedback. When I sat one of these spots, the sound collision was so on the point that not only on the volume but also the simple vibration brought by the sound composition. When the characters Caliban and Miranda started to speak, the indistinct chats just like the feathers flew in my ears and became a part of the natural sounds echoed in my mind. Later on, when Professor Michael talked the system in details, we found out that the 8-channel sound composition not only can play the sound from left to right or right to left but also can change the delay during each sound output. For example, Professor Michael changed the output to a single one – just the conversation. By changing the delay, the poetic text sometimes became slowly and expression sometimes became rapid and pressing as well. Overall, this immersive sound quality just like warped listeners and create a whole new space for them, the overlapping sound effect also gave us another reality.

Since the conversation was from Caliban and Miranda the character from Shakespeare’s The Tempest, it was a pity that I’ve never watched Shakespeare’s play before. That is the point that I feel regret for the whole composition. I do not think the composition is bad, but I just regret that I did not watch some Shakespeare’s play before, even if the clip used in this sound composition is the most classical one; I still did not hear before. But I can still feel the emotion in the voices, the love, and the virtue. Those intangible but vocal voices blended with the nature sounds make me feel like back into the tropical island. Relaxed with winds and ocean waves, and the poetic text just like the feather, flew in our ears. Brought us peace and tranquility, it is a relief and a beautiful scene.

Overall, I think “The Isle is Full of Noises” was a great sound experience for me. The phonemic particles of sound with sounds of nature made a great composition that made people relax on relief in the tropical island. The warping sound effect created another space for the room. And I also want to watch Shakespeare’s The Tempest, to feel the love and their will to make a better world.