Sound As Sight: Paralytic Transit - The Sounds Of The CTA Blue Line

by Andy Slater

	/

Streaming + Download

Purchasable with gift card

Paralytic Transit 04:27

download

about

“Paralytic Transit” is a non-fictional sound piece that explores the nuance of Chicago’s most historical sonic landscapes.

Some of Chicago’s most recognizable sounds are that of the CTA subway and elevated trains. These sounds symbolize a passage home, a public space for cultural coexistence, and the daily routine. As a blind passenger the sheer loudness of the trains overcomes my sense of hearing and can freeze me where I stand. Being caught under the tEl racks as a train passes overhead can be a traumatic experience for any blind person, but when the trains aren’t being intimidating the sounds they make can be beautiful, mysterious, and just plain weird.

This piece is composed from over 3 hours of recorded Blue Line travel. The roaring cars bellowing throughout the underground tunnels, the din created by the hums and rattles of motors and vents, the breath and thuds of the opening and closing doors, and the grinding of the exit gate of the California stop lead the listener through this rich sonic narrative.

“Paralytic Transit” is part of the Sound As Sight field recording project for the blind. Sound As Sight has been funded by a grant from The Cliff Dwellers Club and is supported by High Concept Labs and the Society Of Visually Impaired Sound Artists. Some of the content appears in the multichannel sound installation, “A Space For the Overactive Ear” created during Slater’s 3Arts/Bodies Of Work fellowship at UIC and funded by a grant from the National Endowment For The Arts.

credits

released April 11, 2018

Sounds Andy Slater
Photo Jennifer Justice
Photo of a CTA elevated train approaching a a platform. Rooftops of townhouses run parallel with the elevated track.

license

some rights reserved

about

Andy Slater Chicago, Illinois

SoundCloud

contact / help

Contact Andy Slater

Streaming and
Download help

Report this album or account

If you like Andy Slater, you may also like:

SAD GODS presents "Singing for Survival - a Compilation for Project Onward"
by Various Artists

A stellar compilation featuring shoegaze and indie favorites like Drowse, Midwife, and Mount Eerie benefitting Project Onward in Chicago. Bandcamp New & Notable May 11, 2023
go to album
Cataclysmic System Binding Loss
by Carbon In Prose

Shards of static & distortion crash against disarmingly beautiful piano & synth melodies on this riveting new record from Carbon and Prose. Bandcamp New & Notable Oct 30, 2022
go to album
Darkness Visible - EP
by Stephen Roddy

An experimental composer from Ireland, Stephen Roddy proves equally adept at crushing soundscapes as he does mysterious melodies. Bandcamp New & Notable Mar 13, 2022
go to album
[UDG 0.11] "01112012"
by Richard Francés

Official debut of French solo artist Richard Francés. Sci-fi influenced synth work, recalling pioneers like Tangerine Dream and Terry Riley. Bandcamp New & Notable Feb 7, 2017
go to album
Site Seeing
by Economy of Meaning

These two sprawling 20-minute electronic pieces offer both crackling, otherworldly textures and moments of surprising beauty. Bandcamp New & Notable Jan 15, 2023
go to album
Symphony No 1 - Winter
by Douglas Schmidt and John Oliver

Improvised in a single stunning take, the compositions on “Symphony No 1: Winter” are hypnotic and enveloping sheets of sound. Bandcamp New & Notable Jan 9, 2023
go to album
Tao 20 Tree Temple
by John Oliver

Stark ambient music with an environmental message, “Tao 20 Tree Temple” is mysterious & alluring. Bandcamp New & Notable Oct 25, 2021
go to album