Utopia C3: Seven minutes in northern Utopia

Today’s contribution to Utopia takes us right into the very centre of the country, courtesy of Chicago’s Lee Barry.

Seven Minutes in Northern Utopia, Behind The Third Eye – Lee Barry, Chicago, USA

“My approach was to construct a virtual soundscape, as it would have been experienced in the 16th century.

There are constant non-pitched ambient sounds emanating in the foreground (late-summer cicadas, wind) and background (church bells and voices).

In the first few minutes a bell rings in the immediate foreground, then activities are heard within the grounds around what could be a school.

The church bells at the north end of the island begin ringing. A storm approaches and the bells grow louder.

There is a civic debate going on in earshot, just loud enough to be a foreground element, competing with cicadas and a brisk wind in the foreground as ambience.

My plot of Utopia is also in the third-eye chakra area of the “skull”, hence the title.”