over the past three + decades of listening, I have gathered an archive of extended recordings in church spaces, mainly from across europe. A hard drive crash on a pc laptop combined with an external hard drive fault means that much of this archive is now 'elsewhere' - in a space that is not accessible to us. somehow, whilst frustrating on one level, this seems to be a natural event for these artefacts....

it also raised a question about how individual artists / recordists (whatever term you choose) work is perceived. I have recently had a few conversations with a friend about the fact that I have not pursued an artistic career in the traditional sense & it is true that my interest in listening, recording & composing / creating works has been driven by my passion for these moments rather than an attempt to become 'well known'.

I am increasingly uncomfortable with the way making work public can create false images, unclear perceptions.

I make some work public, some not. some is still available & some, like this archive of church space recordings, is now elsewhere. what does this mean ? how does the act of listening to these spaces for the past 30+ years exist ? it seems to me that in the pursuit of 'sound art' the act of listening is being overlooked, the fact that many, many people have spent years & years listening to these spaces is being ignored & sometimes is replaced by a sense that only certain approaches can unlock the true worth of these sounds, these spaces.

is there a way to present recordings of such spaces in a different way ? is it simply the case that we should allow listening to exist without the need to glorify the results above & beyond framing what they are in themselves ?