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 ninth episode, we speak with roommates Emma and Tessel.
Emma has been living in De Pijp for four years now and has a real connection with the neighbourhood. Tessel has been living there for a year, but already feels completely at home thanks to certain sounds.
Emma sleeps on the street side and always has to laugh when she hears young seagulls. They don’t screech very well, and it sounds very funny. Hotel Flipper is further down the street and, with its unusual interior and interesting guests, seems to have come straight out of an Annie M.G. Schmidt story. The buzz of tourists can be heard from far away. Neighbours sometimes find it annoying, but Emma likes it. ‘You get to experience whole lives.’
Tessel’s bedroom adjoins the courtyard gardens, where there is also a school. She can tell what time it is by the children playing.
Compared to Oost, where she used to live, she now hears more residential sounds: voices in the courtyard garden of people doing DIY or having a drink. Cups clinking from the neighbours below.
Emma recognises that; the sounds of everyday life feel almost village-like. The sporadic sirens give her a sense of Amsterdam, that of the big city.
Sound memories of home
Tessel feels at home here because of one “mysterious” sound. She grew up in Oegstgeest, where she heard the church bells ring four times an hour. Attuned to the sound from her childhood, she regularly hears church bells here too. She doesn’t know which church they belong to, but it gives her a homely feeling.
Now that spring is coming, Tessel also hears bumblebees, which buzz annoyingly. But it also makes her happy. Just like the sound of the wooden oars of rowers through the water. And the coxswain rhythmically shouting instructions.
Summer sounds
Emma hears the martial arts school on the corner. When the weather is nice, they open their doors and you can hear the sticks hitting the pads, accompanied by shouts. She also remembers the summer when a former motorcycle club member passed away. Every evening for a week, a barbecue was organised on the street. This brought pleasant summer sounds of people talking and motorcycles revving, late into the night.
Listen with Emma and Tessel is part of the Listen with… section of Urban Sound Lab, where local residents, sound artists and architects listen to the city together. Together, they explore how to create a better-sounding city and how this contributes to the personal well-being of city dwellers. You can find the other episodes here.
