Sounds hold memories, from a certain song that brings back fond memories to random noises that spark emotions of joy, sadness, and amusement. Sounds that U.S. filmmaker Sam Green highlighted in his performance of his documentary, “32 Sounds.”
As part of Hancher’s Infinite Dream Festival, Green performed his documentary alongside musician and film producer JD Samson and guitarist Michael O’Neill on Sept. 20.
Before entering the stage, attendees were given a pair of headphones to wear, the type handed out to wear at a silent disco. All attendees were seated directly on the Hancher stage, where a massive projector screen directed them to adjust the headphones to a comfortable volume.
“The headphones made you be in your own world, and really, really immersed in it,” attendee Molly Towne said. “It made me think about all the ways that in my life, I’m walking past amazing sound experiences and not noticing them.”
The lights were dimmed as Green, Samson, and O’Neill walked onto the stage, where three tables had been set up with soundboards, microphones, and various electronics. Green introduced the documentary and his companions before the first sound.
Called “the sound of the womb” by Green, it consisted of rhythmic thumps and gurgling sounds and was inspired by Aggie Murch, a former midwife and the wife of filmmaker Walter Murch.
The peaceful, rhythmic noises of the womb were replaced by a siren’s tone, gradually increasing in pitch before descending into peaceful sounds. Over the comforting sounds of a piano playing, Green dove into the history of sound, beginning with Thomas Edison’s phonograph. The documentary played on the projector screen, displaying old photos and recordings of the contraption.
Green’s journey through sound took the listeners to the British Library Sound Archive, where a staff member played her favorite sound: the lonely mating call of the last remaining male Kauaʻi ʻōʻō, moho braccatus, bird. This bird family has now gone extinct.
As a somber mood descended over the audience, Samson broke the tension with a whoopee cushion, a move that had the audience laughing. From there, Green continued with the history of sound, even breaking down the science behind hearing, including the inventor of the computer, Charles Babbage.
Sounds of revving engines and honking geese preceded Green’s next history lesson: a performance in October 1968 called “Piano Burning” by Annea Lockwood. Lockwood, an American composer, was featured prominently in Green’s documentary.
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In an interview in 2020, she invited Green to listen to a body of water with a hydrophone, noting the rhythms that lurked beneath the surface. In addition to “Piano Burning,” Lockwood was also known for her “Glass Concert,” a two-hour concert where she broke glass.
Green did not just feature sound artists and composers in his documentary, he also highlighted Nehanda Abiodun, an African American activist who had been living in exile in Cuba, as an example of how music can carry memories. Abiodun passed away in 2019, three years before the documentary’s release.
Toward the end of the performance, Green invited the audience to feel the subwoofers on the stage, the speakers responsible for pulsing the sounds and music through the floor. For five minutes, Samson acted as a DJ, blasting reggae, hip-hop, and other genres of music that had people dancing along.
“Sound in some ways makes us a lot more human and helps us realize our commonality,” attendee Todd Wiblin said.
Perhaps the most uncanny sound of the evening was the voice of 11-year-old Edgar Choueiri, a current-day physicist and professor at Princeton University, advising his older self, hoping that he would end up working in electromagnetics and similar physics fields.
Attendee Karen Kuntz was captivated by the young child speaking to his future self.
“I [took away] the idea of paying attention, because I think we take for granted how much sound impacts our life and how we see things,” Kuntz said.
The final sound of the performance was the quiet, peaceful sound of insects chirping in the evening, focusing on Lockwood as she sat on her front steps and listened to the world.
University of Iowa School of Music graduate Dana Telsrow was drawn to the artistry of the performance. As an artist and musician themselves, he noted the importance of sound.
“A lot of times you feel like you have to justify what you’re doing or the message or purpose,” Telsrow said. “Sometimes making music or sound is just about experiencing a feeling of being alive.”