The road to East Beach in Charlestown may truly be the roughest road in Rhode Island - which is really saying something. Tucked in next to the BLue Shutters Town Beach in Charlestown, East Beach provides a stunning vista straight toward Block Island, which on a clear day seems to sit just out of reach.

 

Sonically, I found that the unbroken expanse of coastline and relative lack of people (perhaps deterred by the grueling drive in) provided something of a reprieve from the multifaceted, sometimes chaotic soundscapes of the other beaches I visited.

 

Consequently, East Beach functions as a natural interlude in the context of this project. A pure ocean soundscape in between so many distinct sets of soundmarks takes on a meditative quality that I hope will serve as something of a palette cleanser. This part of the coast also seemed to have the clearest water, sat beneath the bluest skies, and - despite a very windy day - imbued me with a sense of deep peace. I’m hoping that, for the listener, it will provide an opportunity for reflection. 

Compared to the ever-occupied coastlines I’ve otherwise explored, whether by people, birds, or machinery in the background, East Beach lacks the distinctive soundmarks charcterizing the others. Still: the relative absence of soundmarks becomes a soundmark in itself. With no discernible human sonic footprint, East Beach allows the ear to drift directly to the sounds of the ocean, which become the true focal point of this soundscape. Given that most of the soundscapes surrounding this one focus on distinctive keynote sounds, it's somehwat poetic that here we're drawn directly to the ocean - a reminder that the sea is truly the iconic soundmark of them all, the common thread among this whole series of soundscapes.