During a recent lecture with Louise Marshall the concept of canons was brought up, and we talked about various biases that exist – who writes history? Who determines who is noteworthy or deserving of a spot in this list of greats? We tend to gravitate towards Western influences – Pierre Schaeffer, John Cage, Stockhausen, perhaps even the radiophonic workshop or Eno. But it’s important to get an international grasp on the matter because at the end of the day we create our own canons, that we then become part of, and thus we are able to define what future sound artists view as important or influential through our own works.

I hadn’t thought that a canon is something defined by each individual separately, and instead assumed that it was an almost definite list of high achievers in any given field. However, with this fresh perspective I aim to sculpt a wide-ranging canon of my own, drawing from lots of influences. My knowledge of classical sound arts canon is limited at best, and so I feel that it is my duty as a more or less blank slate to impress upon myself a culturally diverse range of artists to further develop my work in new and interesting ways.