Artist: Ross Chambless
Can recording sounds be art? With a minidisk recorder in one hand and a microphone in the other, Ross Chambless thinks it is.
Like many musicians, Ross is keen to the ways voices, sounds and music function well together. But he's also concerned with social justice, caring for the environment, and reporting on issues important to all of us. As a freelance producer for public radio and Internet Podcasts, Ross is often exploring creative ways to educate people about important issues. In 2003, Ross's documentary on drought in southern Utah was awarded "Best Series," by the Utah Society of Professional Journalists. The piece juxtaposed the impassioned voices of small-town Utahns struggling with nature, and the serenading tunes of Miles Davis and Gustavo Santaolalla.
As someone constantly looking for new ways to write words around other people's voices, Ross sees himself as a citizen-journalist and an artist. Sometimes his taped interactions with people become stories good enough for public radio. And sometimes they simply remain documented moments between human beings, yet no less significant.
Ross is 28 years old, and has been producing radio stories for over 6 years now. Originally from Salt Lake City, Utah, he graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a journalism degree. Producing has yet to pay all the bills so freelance work is currently a part-time passion. Ross currently lives in Japan, teaches English, and is trying his hand at freelancing from abroad.
To hear more of Ross's work and read more about his current Sister City oral history project, check out matsumotojournal.typepad.com.
Sound Samples
- 9.11.02 (2:14 min) - An audio collage of sounds and impressions in Salt Lake City one year after September 11th.
- Drought (2:14 min) - Voices wrapped around Miles Davis. Excerpt from the series 'Drought in Southern Utah, prt 2.'
- Wind Power (0:58 min) - Talking with a wind-power fanatic. Excerpt from the series 'Wind Power in Utah.'