Five Sound Questions to Alyce Santoro

As you might have read on this website before, Alyce Santoro is the creator of the Sonic Fabric, made of old cassette tapes. Be sure to check out her website and read more about her inspiring projects: www.alycesantoro.com

1. What sound from your childhood made the most impression on you?

The rhythmic slapping of rigging against the masts of sailboats.

2. How do you listen to the world around you?

For me it seems that listening requires not only the ears, but also a heightened awareness of other very subtle sensations/feelings in the body that cannot easily be described by the ordinary five senses.

3. Which place in the world do you favor for its sound?

The place where I live - in the mountains near the Big Bend National Park in far west Texas - has the most peculiar and alluring sonic quality - it’s very difficult to describe. Perhaps I could say the “silence” here is lush and harmonious.

4. How could we make sound improve our lives?

If we could all fully realize the profound effect of sound on the very cells of which we are composed - if we all had an understanding that, on a quantum level we are all literally made of sound - we could more effectively harness the power of sound for healing on a personal and planetary level.

5. What sound would you like to wake up to?

Aside from waking up here in the strange “silence” of the high desert, I love to awake to the sounds of the lapping of waves against the hull of my sailboat, and the slapping of rigging against the mast.

Also read the answers of other artists in the Five Sound Questions section.