In the column ‘Listen along with…’ Soundtrackcity interviews residents from De Pijp about the meaning of sound in their lives. What sounds do they hear and what sounds do they find appropriate in their living environment? For this seventh episode we speak to Michel Versteeg who can distinguish the different streetcars that pass through the neighborhood by their sound.
Throughout his student days, Michel lived in De Pijp. First 5 years on Van Hilligaertstraat and then 2 years on Cornelis Troostplein. He lived a stone’s throw away from each other in two very different places in terms of sound.
Birds and the A10
Van Hilligaertstraat is the road that connects De Pijp to the Stadion neighborhood, so you do hear the traffic well there. On the inside, where my bedroom was, I could often hear the birds whistling in the tree and lots of pigeons. I also regularly heard quarrels between the neighboring cats, but my own cats did not participate in those quarrels. If I opened my bedroom window and sat there, I could hear the A10 very well, despite the fact that it was quite a distance away. Somehow that sound, that buzzing rhythmic sound, reached my bedroom. It was very clearly recognizable car noise at a distance, even though it was very soft.
Up chattering sound
On the Cornelis Troostplein you could really hear the Ferdinand Bol.My bedroom was on the street and down there is a stone square. Every sound ketched up.I lived in the corner of the square where there were no trees, so there was no sound scattering either.There on that third floor, sound actually had free rein. I could witness entire arguments. On a certain day in the week, I could also always hear the glass container very loudly when it was emptied, at 7 am. All that glass breaking. And also the people who threw the glass in it daily, but I’m glad that that’s just allowed every day in the Netherlands.In Germany it’s not allowed on Sundays, for example.
I did get used to all the noise, but if I had slept with my friend for a while and then slept at home again, I had to get used to it over and over again.When I cycled through the neighborhood, the sounds came at me much more than when I walked.
Different kinds of trams
I love the sound of trams. Sometimes older trams would pass by in the square, and I can hear the difference in terms of trams. You have different kinds and they just sound different. And if I heard an old tram I always ran to the window to look. Really an old tram, a 2 or 3 axle one like that really sounds different, the wheels are just a little bigger, or seem a little bigger. The sound of the bell is still mechanical. The sound is very different. The new trams squeak more.
A break in the night
At night, lots of people passed through the square to other neighborhoods. And they would stop at the night store, which is around the corner. I would hear in the night the pause they took before continuing. The break in the trip home or to a party, was always there at the night store and there was a certain sound with that. Perhaps the braking of the bicycles or the soft chatter of the people going for a smoke.Sometimes I think I still live in De Pijp and then I want to put the key in the lock to go inside. It was a fun student time there.
This interview was conducted by Veere Snijders
Listen with Michel is part of the Listen with… of Urban Sound Lab, where local residents, sound artists, and architects listen to the city together.Together they explore how to achieve a better sounding city and how that contributes to the personal well-being of city dwellers. Find the other episodes here.
