Audio Library of the West collections reflect the humans, animals, and objects that populate the West—those with us now and the memories of those that have left us.
ALoW, founded by sound artist John Wilhelm, is a community-centered library for field recording and a hub for experimental sound art. We are building a collection of sounds of the West to be used by creative and curious minds.
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WORK Vol. 1 is a found sound album of labor in the American West.
Sounds were collected across Wyoming from 2024 to 2026. The strongest efforts were made to retain authenticity to the source material.
Volume 1 asks:
What is WORK?
What gets to count as work?
When we work, who are we working for?
Is the value we feel measured by the effort we put in?
WORK is the first in a four-part series that examines the unique sonic characteristics of the West through thematic sound collections. The forthcoming collections, to be released in 2026, will be PLAY, STILLNESS, and MOVEMENT.