Sound Concept & Guidelines

@lisette what an amazing offering! I am sure Nubicuculia will gladly take this incredible sound system, if she is on offer. Please feel free to pm me with energy requirements and specs of the system if possible (output, size, etc.). do we need to get amplifiers etc. , we have already begun talks looking into a system but are rather budget constrained by the amount we fund raise. She would be in the best hands with a limiter on the main ;)

Link was wrong for some reason. I updated the link now.

We have now defined 3 levels of sound within our guidelines : Loud, moderate, and quiet.

The exact definition of 'Loud' and 'Moderate' will be happening onsite while soundchecking the 4 sound stages together with Freiland.

I would like to bring to this round the topic of how do we define the 'Quiet' sound level.

This sound level is very important and is impacting every Kiezes. All Kiez that are not in the loud zones must be 'quiet' all time. Also sound stage must be 'quiet' outside of their dedicated time.

So how do we want to define this level? With a maximum dB? WIth a maximum wattage of the speakers? Or just with common sense, mutual understanding and respect?

Think of some ambient music going along a yoga session, a drum circle, a small jam at the piano, a singing circle/choir, where is the limit?

It would be really good to have a kind of list of examples of stuff that are ok and stuff that are not ok in order to stay 'quiet'. Also some gears should just not be brought in order to make sure we stay within reasonable limits (eg: stuff like Soundboks or big JBL are clearly a risk of not staying 'quiet' for any camp who has them)

I personally believe that a list of examples Do/Don't combine with a common sense approach would work the best.

What do you think?

This is a good start to get an idea on how to brief Rangers @Quentin. But we will also need a more definitive protocol (most probably using dB readings on site) to trigger certain executive actions for the Site and Rangers Leads.

95% of the time, common sense and human decency applies and is highly effective, but that 5% of failure occurs with the use of substances, early in the morning, with unreasonable participants. We have to have a pre-agreed upon cut-off point and protocol for that unfortunate 5%. (I will post a draft example protocol here shortly)

As for your request for suggestions: The Fire Space must be held on sandy ground for fire safety reasons, and considering Underworld is full of an art project, that leaves only the Promethean (Zerzura) area plausible.

We have been operating from the sound guidelines that we could play with a Bluetooth speaker, for which we have a TAWireless 2, which would operate each night during the quiet period. Based on my experience as Site Lead last year, and of course on the fact that Freiland used that exact location as their main stage in their event last weekend, leaves me to believe that this is a perfectly adequate compromise of Sound and Fire safety. The sound is not loud enough to make a dancefloor, but loud enough for the artists to perform. Also, only 2 camps would be affected by this sound (Prometheans and the 'Basic Witches' location)

I am more than happy to test this set-up with Freiland on site. At Spark I did a test and put the speaker on maximum volume (placed at Künst Kunts) and could barely hear it from the rear entrance, and that was in total silence.

dropping a list of questions that I raised in a private chat, which should probably be transparently answered here:

1. Who would buy/provide the sound meters?

2. How would the Rangers/Site Lead contact the responsible sound person for a camp at any time?

3. Additionally, I would like to know exactly what is the protocol if we receive a noise complaint from a neighbor or the police?

4. What should we do if we are unable to contact a sound camps responsible sound person?

5. Assuming that the protocol following a complaint entails reducing sound… for how long, how much, how is it measured, and what do we do if there are additional complaints and/or non-compliance?

6. Additionally, what are the clear db limits to be communicated to camps? As far as I know, the only known db limits that we have are from the amt, which apply to roughly “at the nearest neighbors house”…. surely we do not expect each camp to setup remote monitoring db meters at various neighbor’s houses, so how do we expect camps to measure their sound limits and comply with the limits?

7. Who is doing the sound check? When is it being done? How is it being done? Does Freiland know about this and has it already been arranged and scheduled with them? Who from Freiland is involved in that?

Here is a copy of the draft on-site sound protocols which contain at least some potential solutions to these questions.

I invite everyone to attend and comment please. We need to finalize these by Friday and they will be communicated to all camps.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kvVgFxWOkMD5RlbrruMd1muzvd5TEAL7dgyOGACvCMY/edit?usp=sharing

How does this sound as final definition of 'quiet'

"During quiet time, no music is to be played with an average/peak volume of 75dB at 10m from the sound source. And the sound source must be directed at a large body of land to restrict any further travel"

@Roko @Quentin @Annette

That's the dB of a toilet flushing, and I've just been doing some tests with my phone (inaccurate I know), but it's quieter than the cars going past me here, or my Bluetooth speaker at mid volume (which is lively-living room).

We need some objective way to resolve the inevitable disputes that occur during the quiet time. Common sense is primary, but it will fail when we need it most.

We need a consistent final rule that gives space for workshops and jams and singing and other volumous activities during quiet time, and empowers the rangers/site lead to make a final call on what is 'quiet'.

@Jessie @CJ Yetman

This info (along with the sound protocol above) can be shared in a newsletter and iterated at gate. As well as sent to all camps through site lead and kieze lead.

@Erin Jeavons-Fellows @Cairn (Clément)

The board needs to decide on this and implement it into the on-site protocols by Monday latest

Yes you can use that definition. Yet singing circles or jams are not allowed during quiet times. We agreed upon that, right @Quentin @Annette @Jan-Christian Kaspareit ?

After the definition I would give examples: Examples like the toilet flushing are needed to clarify it for anyone executing the rules aka rangers, site liason.

I would include: 75 db equals the volume of a toilet flushing or a basic bluetooth speaker (e.g. jbl charge 4) at max. volume.

Everything louder is not allowed during quiet time. No drums, no singing circle, no big boom box, no private PA, no scream release workshop.

no big soundbox allowed for prometheans. cannot googlefind tawirless 2, but i got this result.things like this are like a pa.

Interesting, because my speaker fits into the underneath definition, without any clever sound-reduction techniques.

Well this would effectively cancel the fire space at kieze burn.

I had understood PA's as 'Powered Amplifier', meaning mains power.

Oh well....