Which sounds in the city build a sense of comfort, and which generate tension and fatigue?
The task was carried out in the project "From sound to recipient – development of digital and artistic competences in the activity of a music producer" under the scholarship of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (investment A2.5.1).
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This is a sound project about Katowice. The compositions interpret the sound environment of selected areas of the city. Each location has an assigned composition that you can listen to by clicking on a dot on the map.
This is a sound project about Katowice. The compositions interpret the sound environment of selected areas of the city. Each location has an assigned composition that you can listen to by clicking on a dot on the map.
This is a sound project about Katowice. The compositions interpret the sound environment of selected areas of the city. Each location has an assigned composition that you can listen to by clicking on a dot on the map.
is a sound project combining field recordings from Katowice - where I live and create - with their reinterpretation in the form of ambient, electronic sounds. The recording planning process simultaneously became a compositional process: the city map served as a creative tool, indicating key places and directions for sound walks.
The goal of the recording activities was to reveal the soundscape (paysage sonore) of Katowice by capturing three sonically characteristic sound environments that often interpenetrate or contrast with each other:
nature — rustling leaves, birdsong, forest atmosphere,
people and society — footsteps, conversations, spontaneous interactions, daily rhythm of the city, sounds of clothes and objects,
machines — trams, city signals, highway, viaduct


PHOTOS – ZUZANNA POLEWSKA
The recording took place in the form of an uninterrupted walk, which made it possible to capture the natural atmosphere of individual and changing locations. The captured sound environments became the basis for later work in the studio where sonic structures were built using electronic instruments and computers.
As a result, three compositions were created that place the listener in specific spaces and moments of the city. They enable the perception of Katowice both in their real dimension and in the form of a sound impression based on sound synthesis, layering and processing of field material.

Description will be added. There will be about three to four short sentences here. About this length, maybe slightly longer.

Description will be added. There will be about three to four short sentences here. About this length, maybe slightly longer.

Description will be added. There will be about three to four short sentences here. About this length, maybe slightly longer.
The project draws attention to an important, though often overlooked aspect of urban reality – the sound environment. The way we perceive everyday sounds changes when we start listening to them with mindfulness and a certain celebration, characteristic of contact with art. This perspective also reveals the acousmatic dimension of the environment – sounds whose sources we don't see or identify, but which nonetheless co-create our experience of space - co-create us..

Attention to the sounds around us triggers an avalanche of questions about the quality of the acoustic environment in which we function daily. How present is highway noise in places we consider green and "quiet"? Which sounds build a sense of comfort, and which generate tension and fatigue?
Conscious shaping of the soundscape is becoming a key task for urban planners, architects, councilors and residents – all those who really influence the directions of urban development. At the center of this reflection is also the question of whether in the process of planning acoustic space we give appropriate weight to natural and human sound elements, as well as how building materials used and new investments affect the acoustics of the environment.
Are we really able to preserve the quiet birdsong and sounds naturally generated by nature in the face of building a new highway cutting the city in half?



KTW SOUNDSCAPE was created as part of the activities carried out under the scholarship "From sound to recipient – development of digital and artistic competences in the activity of a music producer", financed from the National Recovery Plan. The scholarship program assumed the development of digital, ecological and artistic skills through participation in courses on music post-production (mix and mastering), Meta online advertising, and digital branding and graphic design.
Its integral element was the creation of a cycle of three compositions based on field recordings and their promotion. The sound materials were recorded in the Katowice space, and then post-produced using equipment and software purchased under the KPO 2025 Scholarship. The website you are on serves as documentation and presentation of final results.
The project is aimed at people interested in field recording, experimental and ambient music – both in Poland and in Europe – as well as residents of Katowice, for whom KTW SOUNDSCAPE is an everyday life context.
The sound materials were recorded in the Katowice space, and then post-produced using equipment and software purchased under the KPO 2025 Scholarship. The website you are on serves as documentation and presentation of final results.