The sound of someone breathing reminds you you’re alive.

As a voiceover (and an asthmatic), I think a lot about breath.

Most of the time when I’m recording I’m trying not to breathe; I’m trying to to talk for as long as possible without interrupting the flow of a script.

When I’m editing voiceover audio, I cut out breaths.

Not enough to sound like an automaton but enough to shave a second or two off the final edit.

There’s something extraordinary about listening to a person’s breath. When you hear them doing nothing but breathe.

The sound of someone breathing reminds you you’re alive.

During the pandemic, breathing was the focus of our way of life. Should we wear masks? How close should we stand to someone? Close enough to hear them breathing? Feel them breathing?

I’m using the sound of my friend Taff breathing as the basis for a piece of spectralist sound art. The production process has been fascinating and has made me think about the sound of being alive in a whole new way.

You can hear me talking about this piece in a bite-size podcast over on my Substack. There’s a longer article there too.

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