Originally published in 2006, Background Noise quickly established itself as an essential text on the topic of sound art, and since that time it has become an important reference in the emerging field of sound studies.
This second expanded edition includes a new chapter by the author on the non-human and subnatural tendencies in sound art, as well as a new preface. At its centre the book poses an intrinsic relation between sound and its location, galvanising acoustics, sound phenomena, and the environmental with the tensions inherent in what LaBelle identifies as sound’s relational dynamic.
For him, this is embedded within sound’s tendency to be public expressed in its ability to travel distances, foster diverse cultural expressions, and define spaces while being radically flexible. Intersecting material analysis with theoretical frameworks spanning art and architectural theory, performance studies and media theory, Background Noise makes the case that sound and sound art are central to understandings of contemporary culture.