Yesterday, I went out to Spectacle Island in Boston harbour to experience Teri Rueb’s “Core Sample”, an interactive GPS sound walk.

I spent so much longer than planned exploring the island and the sounds, a good indication of how much I loved the piece. I’m taking away a sunburned face as well as some magic moments and daydreams.

Soundwalks always seem to bring some magic moments. In this case I had the first one already before I arrived on the Island, when the most famous German tall ship, “Gorch Fock” sailed past the ferry taking me out.

Soundwalks engage all your senses, play with your attention, not only to sounds but to the entire environment; they change how you move through space. Suddenly I heard the gravel crunching under my feet, at times I slowed down and stood still, only to realise it was the sound making me do so. I could see planes taking off and landing, but as the wind was blowing towards the airport, I couldn’t hear them – and I only realised this when the noise of landing planes featured in the sound walk.

I was so absorbed by the walk that I lost my jacket and had to walk back quite a bit to find it…

Core Sample requires quite a lot of effort, you have to catch a ferry to the island, and you have to walk quite a bit. But it is well worth the effort, and you get to explore this weird place, trying to be all nature and eco-friendly on top of a dump, offering spectacular views of the Boston skyline and its wastewater treatment plant, full of butterflies and history.

There are more pictures of the experience here