3 Times Musicians Used Found Sound To Create Masterpieces

Artists are creative not only because they produce beautiful music. But also because they exploit the things around them to create tunes. ‘Found sound’ is sampling but on a broader range. Apart from old songs, it entails fusing any sound to make music, from the sound of someone biting into an apple to birds chirping. Fortunately, natural and human sounds are limitless, so artists can create as much music as they want. Here are three ways artists used Found Sound creatively.

1. Whitewater – Boards Of Canada

Boards of Canada is an eccentric band composed of siblings Mike and Marcus. They create their music on a remote farm to protect it from conventional influences. This has left fans to create myths about them. 

They are renowned for creating creepy songs from old sounds from the ’70s and ’80s. A popular one was sampling a child’s speech on Sesame Street. They manipulated it into a lowered pitch to sound like an adult. Although some might consider their music eerie, no one can deny their genius.

2. In Search Of A Lost Faculty – Matmos

M.C. Schmidt and Drew Daniel, also known as the duo Matmos, are disrupting the musical status quo. They use the most mundane things to create music, from the sounds of salt crushing to hair brushing. 

They placed participants in their recent project in a state of sensory deprivation. They plugged their ears and played white noise. Most of the participants claimed they saw triangles of varying colors. You can fault their method, but not the outcomes that push the boundaries of music.

3. Music From A Dry Cleaner – Diego Stocco

Stocco always passed by a dry cleaner’s place on his way to the bakery. He observed various intriguing sounds coming from the shop. The rhythm of the washer that got loud and quiet at intervals. The clanging of bowls and buckets. These were what Stocco used to experiment in his studio. The outcome is a quirky and lively song.