From the forests of Finland to the South Korean capital, these soundscapes are redefining our connection to places across the world
1) The world-first official national soundscape
What does a country sound like? Finland set out to answer this question by becoming the first nation in the world to create an official national soundscape. Released last year, Ääniä features 15 compositions – 60 minutes of music – by composer and musician Lauri Porra (pictured below). Having performed in more than 50 countries, Porra often found himself stuck on airplanes and in hotel rooms, missing his native country. “The more I travelled, the deeper my love and longing for home grew,” he says.
“That’s why I started making music for myself, initially to listen to on a plane when my heart was aching and I couldn’t get back to Finland, to the woods or to row on the lake.”
The composition features cello, violin, flute, kantele [a traditional zither that is Finland’s national instrument], guitar and percussion, as well as sounds recorded in nature. “This is understated, minimalist music that’s not meant to be listened to as much as used to create an atmosphere,” says Porra. “What’s being depicted is space. There’s space to think, feel and live in Finland – not only in nature, but also in the Finnish way of life.”
2) Five years of ‘putting the outside on’
Radio Lento turns five in March, and the podcast that streams ‘captured quiet from natural places’ recently hit some big milestones. It has now recorded in 26 UK counties, from 105 locations, and has hit half a million downloads, managing to keep going without ads, talking or music to detract from the sound experience. In 2024 Radio Lento added new episodes from Cornwall, Northumberland, Norfolk and Somerset, sharing unique quiet from each place.
It’s run by Hugh Huddy and Madeleine Sugden. Huddy’s highlight in 2024 was a trip to the Kielder Forest in Northumberland “where the sound of the trees was intense. We spent five magical days capturing the evocative sound of the wind in the fir trees. It was beautiful.”
The beaches of north Somerset were a highlight for Sugden. “We were there in October after reading about the Quantocks in an old walking book. We recorded on the beach with no one around. Listen to episode 244 for the sound of gentle waves on the rocks.”
3) Uninhabited island in Seoul becomes soundscape experience
UK-based design and architecture studio Heatherwick Studio has won a competition to transform an uninhabited island on the Han River in the centre of Seoul into a public park. The project, called Soundscape, will feature a trail of spaces on multiple levels that can host musical performances and artistic interventions in a “beautiful, biodiverse landscape”. The design draws inspiration from Seoul’s mountainous terrain and the patterns created by soundwaves.
“A landscape that bends and folds like soundwaves will combine with a new nature-rich waterfront and offer people a place to discover and express the culture of Seoul,” said Thomas Heatherwick, the founder and design director of Heatherwick Studio.
Main Image: Pallas-Ylläs National Park by Charles Hill / Visit Finland
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