Kate Carr is an experimental sound artist based in Sydney. She has released work on Retinascan, 442 Music, New Weird Australia, Pertin-Nce and Standard Klik Music. She has an upcoming release on the German netlabel Resting Bell and is currently working on an environmental sound project called Listen to the Weather (www.listentotheweather.com) for the Ear to the Earth festival in New York.
Of the piece, Kate says: “Despite its status as one of Australia’s most polluted rivers, the 23 kilometre Cooks River is a beacon for the Inner West of Sydney and a haven for bird life in the city. It is a study in the adaptibility and vulnerability of eco-systems and a testament to the enthusiasm of residents determined to see this river, and its collection of concrete-banked tributries, thrive again. Pelicans, egrets and ibis are regularly seen along it, negotiating collections of plastic bottles and bags to feed, and as the water quality of the river continues to improve more and more birds are able to eke out a life on its banks. The Cooks is a vivid example of the artificial and the natural, the regenerated and the ruined. Part of its original course has been completed altered to make way for Sydney airport; at some points the river becomes merely a concrete canal, at others it is over 20 meters wide and lined with mangroves. It winds past industrial factories, hobby farms, a golf course and music venues as it makes its way to Botany Bay. This piece is based on a series of hydrophone recordings taken from sections of the river at Marrickville and Tempe where I used to live.”
