Very happy with my new set of hydrophones – thank you, Jez R. French! Although the Danube was really quiet, I’ve made some nice recordings! 
While sipping a “domestic” coffee in my favorite cafe on the Danube in Belgrade I read this beautiful essay by Brandon LaBelle, “Sonic Site-Specifities,” from the huge book Sound Art, edited by Peter Weibel. Brandon’s text deals with the political, social, and ethical benefits of sound art; IMO, it is a must-read for anyone interested in this art form. Simultaneously, I was listening to this beautiful underwater recording by Sharon Stewart, which connects so very well to Brandon’s message.
https://soundcloud.com/sharonrstewart/under-the-algae-marsh-serenade
A recent interview about the Garenmarkt project in Leiden – I’ve formulated some recommendations for a sonic design of this urban space.
In September 2018 I have published a Report (in Dutch) commissioned by the city government of Leiden (NL) on the sonic redesigning of a public space (the Garenmarkt) in Leiden (co-authors Cilia Erens and Irene van Kamp). The report is based on a short research project, Cilia, Irene and I carried out between May and September 2018.
Photo: Cilia Erens
This text is a slightly reworked version of a keynote speech I gave in Aveiro (Portugal) during the PERFORMA 2015 Conference on Musical Performance, organized by the University of Aveiro, the Institute of Ethnomusicology (INET-MD), and the Brazilian Association of Musical Performance (ABRAPEM).
I was asked to contribute an essay to the 50th issue of the Serbian journal New Sound. And also because my wife is Serbian I decided to write a sonic postcard from Belgrade in which (Serbian) sounds, sound art, and musics converge. See: http://www.newsound.org.rs/pdf/en/ns50/21.M.Cobussen.pdf
Find below a link to a short text, an audiofile with interviews with Edwin van der Heide and me, and lots of photos made during the opening ceremony of “Fluisterende Wind”
http://sleutelstad.nl/2017/12/01/auditief-kunstwerk-nieuwe-passage-leidse-hortus/
Whispering Wind (Fluisterende wind) is situated in the new passage that cuts right under the recently renovated P.J. Veth building of Leiden University. With this passage a new pathway between the Leiden Observatory and the Hortus Botanicus has been created. The artwork consists of a wall relief of 12.5 by 2.5 meters and an 8-channel generative sound composition. The composition creates a continuum between noise and human voice which results in moments when wind seems to be whispering.
Whispering Wind was established at the initiative of Marcel Cobussen, professor of Auditory Culture at the Academy of Creative and Performing Arts. Cobussen is also the founder of Phonotonie, a center that wants to draw particular attention to improving the auditory environment in urban areas.
The official opening will be performed by Robert Strijk, alderman of Economic Affairs, Accessibility, Culture and City Center of Leiden, on Wednesday, November 29, 2017 from 4:00 pm.
Thinking Sounds 