“What begins as undifferentiated space becomes place as we get to know it better and endow it with value” — Yi-Fu Tuan, Space and Place, 6.

The Broughton Archipelago is located between northern Vancouver Island and the BC mainland. Extensively logged and developed for fish aquaculture, only a handful of full-time residents remain. But what makes the Broughton a distinct place? And how is it possible to communicate this sense of place to others?

In May 2013, acoustic ecologist Jennifer Schine brought me to the region for a short visit to meet life-long resident, pioneer, and community elder, Billy Proctor. As the three of us talked, recorded, and experienced the rhythms of the area, I became convinced that place only exists as a relationship between individuals and their surroundings.

In this sense, this composition explores sense-of-place from three perspectives; a first-time visitor, a returning resident alternating between locations, and a life-long local. Rather than portray the Broughton objectively, the work explicitly adopts parallel subjective perspectives, musically refracting the relationship between person and place, recording and memory.

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when you’re looking for something, all you can find is yourself was awarded an Honorable Mention in the Soundscapes category of the Sonic Arts Award (Rome, Italy, 2014).

Premiere

• February 11, 2014, Music from the New Wilderness, The Cultch — Vancouver East Cultural Centre, Vancouver (British Columbia, Canada)

Awards

• Honorable Mention, Soundscapes, Sonic Arts Award 2014, Rome (Italy)