Paths of dependence: welcoming the unwelcome

In recent years, simultaneous to the rise and proliferation of smartphone technology and portable broadcast equipment, there has been an explosion of artists working with technologically mediated soundwalks. Geolocated sound maps accessed through smartphone apps, online sound archives mediated through virtual movement and portable broadcast and recording equipment are all tools which feature in contemporary approaches to walking-based art. As interesting as many of these projects are, the process of making the work often remains inaccessible to the public, from the moment of the work's commencement to its presentation. Evidence of the act of making and composing with audio is commonly disconnected from, or aesthetically neglected in the context of public presentation or performance; sound recordist or artist and recording technology are made invisible to the audience. In contrast to artistic approaches that conceal the act of making, the soundwalks presented in this chapter explore methods for engaging publics in the practical activity and particular material qualities of field recording and listening practices. Drawing on three of my own soundwalks: Ambulation, Net Walk and The Rose Walks, I will share my experience of composing for and conducting live, situated performances which work with technology, sound and movement. These technologically mediated soundwalks contribute to the concept of field recording and soundwalking as a live, procedural practice moving away from the movement of documentary material from one place to another or the playback of fixed audio files. I will argue how this way of working can contribute to contemporary notions of technologically mediated soundwalking whereby improvisation and indeterminacy are welcomed as integral parts of the work. Discussion of these themes contributes to ideas relating to anti-solutionist approaches to technology, liveness within soundwalking practices, situated improvisation and embracing the uncertainty of technological systems. Technologically mediated soundwalks became increasingly common during the early part of the twenty-first century. This chapter explores a way of engaging audiences in a technological process in a public setting in collaboration with a museum and music festival. It presents the walks highlighting this issue and offering an aesthetic and technical repositioning to technologically mediated, walking-based art. The chapter also presents a method for conducting technologically med