Location: Grand Union Canal, Birmingham

Duration: 60 mins

Created by Iain Armstrong & Annie Mahtani

SOUNDktichen were commissioned to create this SOUNDwalk for Flatpack Festival 2014. It took the form of a guided SOUNDwalk taking in the Grand Union Canal and the backstreets of Digbeth. This often overlooked but varied urban landscape, on the edge of Birmingham city centre, presents a rich listening environment for those who take the time to stop and listen. We combined environmental listening with augmented listening stations using live micrphones.

Sonic features of this walk included: contrasting the roadside city traffic to the relative calm of the canal-side towpath; exploring the varied acoustic properties of six bridges; listening to passing trains from several vantage points; augmented listening stations revealing pigeons roosting under bridges, underwater sounds and the internal sounds of a wire fence.