e22 westerkamp – slowing down through listening

We need toallow for time to pass without any action, without any solutions and to just experience it. I think that a slowdown is an absolute - if there is any chance to survive - that kind of slowing down through listening and meditation and through not doing so much. I think there's some hope in that.Hildegard Westerkamp, conscient podcast conversation with Claude Schryer, March 31, 2021, VancouverHildegard Westerkamp emigrated to Canada in 1968 from Germany and lives in Vancouver on the ancestral lands of the Coast Salish peoples - the Squamish (Sḵwx̱wú7mesh), Tsleil-Waututh (Stó:lō and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh), and Musqueam (xʷməθkʷəy̓əm) Nations.Like myself, after completing formal music studies, Hildi was drawn beyond music to the acoustic environment as a broader cultural context and a space for deep listening. Hildi and I have collaborated on many projects over the years, most notably, we were founding members of the World Forum for Acoustic Ecology in 1993 at the Banff Centre. Our conversation covered a lot of ground, including the art of soundwalking and how we can we better understand the climate emergency through listening. With Hildi's permission, I have added a few field recordings and soundscapes from my collection, as a well as some excerpts from e19 reality, to accompany our exchange. Launched on Hildi's 75th birthday (April 8, 2021) - happy birthday Hildi - I would like to warmly thank Hildi for taking the time to speak with me and for sharing her knowledge. For more information on Hildi's work, see https://www.hildegardwesterkamp.ca/ *END NOTES FOR ALL EPISODESNote : I'm currently 'pressing pause' and am not producing new content until further notice. Hey conscient listeners, I’ve been producing the conscient podcast as a learning and unlearning journey since May 2020. It’s my way to give back.This Indigenous Land Acknowledgement statement was developed by members of the Algonquin community for my former employer the Canada Council for the Arts. I have adapted slightly to make it my own.I acknowledge that my studio, located in Ottawa, is on the unceded, unsurrendered Territory of the Anishinaabe Algonquin Nation whose presence here reaches back to time immemorial.I recognize the Algonquins as the customary keepers and defenders of the Ottawa River Watershed and its tributaries. I honour their long history of welcoming many Nations to this beautiful territory and uphold and uplift the voice and values of our Host Nation.Further, I offer my respect and affirm the inherent and Treaty Rights of all Indigenous Peoples across this land and honour commitments to self-determination and sovereignty that have been made to Indigenous Nations and Peoples.I acknowledge the historical oppression of lands, cultures and the original Peoples in what we now know as Canada and fervently believe the Arts contribute to the healing and decolonizing journey we all share togetherIn parallel with the production of the conscient podcast and its francophone counterpart, balado conscient, I I publish a free ‘a calm presence' monthly Substack see https://acalmpresence.substack.com.  Your feedback is always welcome at claude [at] conscient [dot] ca and/or on social media: Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, Threads, BlueSky, Mastodon, Tik Tok, YouTube and Substack.Share what you like, etcI am grateful and accountable to the earth and the human labour that provided me with the privilege of producing this podcast, including the toxic materials and extractive processes behind the computers, recorders, transportation systems and infrastructure that made this production possible. Thanks for listening. Claude SchryerLatest update on March 21, 2026