Stuart Hyatt

"I employ a vocabulary from art and design to describe melody and rhythm..."

"Representing a place through sound is my response to our image-saturated media."

"I think sound is still undervalued as a means to measure environmental health, regional identity, and personal narrative."

"[Regarding field recordings] I try not to edit or assign value to what I find...What I'm trying to do is get enough material so the artist and musician in me can develop some sort of beautiful response using those sounds."

"If we think about places sonically, I’d say the Midwest [of America] is more of a whisper than a shout... I suppose I need to hold the microphone a little closer, sit a little more quietly, and be a little more patient. This place—topographically, culturally, spiritually—does not just jump out at you; it takes time to reveal its wonder. It requires a lot of listening."

"The best art provides someone with something that they didn't know they needed, that touches them in a way they may not be able to verbalize."

"The [musical] thinking leans heavily on vocabulary and thoughts that one develops in design and architecture school...I think about space and structure and skin and texture. I think about color and movement, and all of these things that have no direct relation to quarter notes and half-notes and rests."

"I also want to encourage others to work in this field [of recording sounds] without having to spend a lot of money on gear. Putting a sock on your smartphone and laying it next to a bird’s nest can yield some pretty incredible recordings!"