This sound was also recorded to go with BADDA 4380 – the MoDA wallpaper design featured in yesterday’s post. It is the sound of a sparkler!

BADDA 4380, image © MoDA and used with their kind permission

I wanted to use the sound of sparklers for this piece because they have an association with childhood, and because as well as reminding people of fireworks, BADDA 4380 made nearly everyone I interviewed think of a child’s bedroom. There are no gratuitous uses of sound in Sonic Wallpapers; each sound used is chosen specifically because of its imaginative associations, and because of its connections to what people said about the wallpapers in MoDA’s collection. The sparkler was therefore a very economic source of sound, relating both to the star-burst/fireworks association of BADDA 4380, and to memories of playing with sparklers when we were younger.

Other firework sounds feature in this Sonic Wallpaper piece; they were all recorded five or six years ago, at the same time as these photos were taken. We played with sparklers then, but I did not have a wind-shield to protect the microphone and the recordings aren’t very good! I therefore lit some sparklers one summery afternoon earlier this year and recorded the sound of the fizzing and popping without any of the visual spectacle of playing with sparklers in the dark.

I did miss writing my name with it against the blackness, though…

I have one copy of the Sonic Wallpapers book to give to someone who would like to have a domestic listening experience for themselves! The book has all 18 wallpaper designs from the MoDA collection used in this project, and a CD in the back which contains all the sound pieces. There are introductions both by myself and Zoe Hendon who is the curator of MoDA, and notes on what people said, and what sounds were recorded, for each wallpaper included in the project.

To win a copy of the book, you just need to leave a comment on this post: -> http://thedomesticsoundscape.com/wordpress/?p=4655 about a wallpaper that you remember from your life, and one sound you recall from the room where that wallpaper was. If you cannot think of a wallpaper design and a sound, you could also leave one thought/response you have to this project. On 24th December, I will draw a number at random and post out a copy of the book to the winner!