Acoustic engineer and University of Salford professor Trevor Cox knows noise. He worked for years to eliminate aural no-no’s such as unwanted echoes and dead spots in concert halls and other man-made spaces. Along the way, however, he developed a deep appreciation for sounds of all sorts, a passion he shares with readers in The Sound Book (review, left). Cox spoke with Discover’s Gemma Tarlach from his home in Manchester, England, about his mission to make sound tourism the next big thing.
Q: Where should someone interested in sound tourism begin?
A: There’s real merit in taking your iPod off now and then and just listening to what’s around you, the snippets of gossip, the bustle of trams passing by, birdsong, the sound of children playing nearby.
Q:Your map at sonicwonders.org is a fascinating sampler of unusual sounds. What are some of your favorites?
A: Probably the booming sand dunes ...
