Field Recordings Part 2: Lawrence English

Today’s episode brings us into conversation with Lawrence English — Australian composer, sound artist, and the founder of Room40, one of the most important record labels dedicated to experimental music, sound art, and contemporary compositional practices. Over the years, Room40 has become not just a label, but a carefully curated ecosystem — a space where listening itself is treated as a critical act.

Lawrence’s own work moves fluidly between composition, installation, and field recording, often focusing on duration, environment, and the physical presence of sound. His practice asks us to slow down, to pay attention, and to reconsider how sound shapes our perception of space, memory, and time. Whether through minimal electronic gestures or immersive environmental recordings, his work consistently explores what it means to truly listen.

This interview was recorded over a video call — one of those moments where geography gently reminds you it still exists. At the time of recording, it was 11 AM in Bucharest and 7 PM in Brisbane, Australia. The audio quality occasionally leans toward that familiar, almost nostalgic phone-call texture — not quite studio-perfect, but clear enough to catch every idea, every pause, every thought. Maybe that slight fragility in the sound is just the price we pay for being able to connect across continents in real time — a small reminder that even imperfect signals can still carry meaningful conversations.