Text-Sound-Art is a deep-listening platform for sound artists to respond to poets.

The first project entitled ‘Then Before’, featured the work of three poets – Shamshad Khan, Jack Underwood, and Alice Kemp.

The project involved the cross-pollination of concepts and techniques drawn from all of the creative practices involved including poetry and spoken word, music, and sound design (including music, found-sound, foley, and spatialised composition). Pieces are produced in accordance with six ket principles, namely:

1. A text-sound-art project should be an intermedium between three creative disciplines: (accepting there are debates on definitions within practices, and for the sake of simplicity) ‘text’ meaning poetry, ‘sound’ meaning music and/or foley, and ‘art’ meaning spatial design and diffusion.

2. Primary focus should be given to the text/voice, with music, sound design, and spatialisation acting in a supporting role.

3. Each piece should exploit the ‘significance-carrying’ elements of language and should be a collaboration between the sound artist and the performer (preferably the poet themselves) at the point of recording the voice.

4. Component elements of any music composition need to be spatially designated.

5. Pieces should ideally be presented in a 8-speaker configuration (a circle is most convenient although a cube is most spatially effective). Binaural/stereo presentations are acceptable as long as the 8 point configuration is used as a blueprint.

6. Spatial movement (of both the voice and the music/sound) should be generally understated and deployed subtly, but exaggerated if and when the text (moreso the piece) demands it.