Derive

I’ve selected Debord, Guy. "Theory of the Derive." I found many of the concepts covered in this article highly fascinating. I’ve always been an extremely curious and spontaneous; this article discusses the exploration of environments and the highly spontaneous and undetermined movements through which to do so. In this way, I was able to relate my own fascination with exploring the “new” and “unknown” through the theory and practices of the Derive.
The main points of this article stress that most people experience the environment in which they live in a very confined and limited way; we travel on a predetermined path from point A to B and repeat these paths daily. The Derive on the other hand wants people to break free from their inhibitions and routines in order to experience their environments in an entirely different way. The Derive invites people to immerse themselves in many different environments by simply wondering through them with no intended purpose or path. The idea is that one will find themselves entering various realms and uncovering hidden treasures they might have otherwise overlooked. Although the Derive stresses stripping yourself of preconceptions, desires, and borders, it is almost impossible for one to occur in its pure form. People are generally consciously or unconsciously led by their own subjectivity. Practices such as the “possible rendezvous” brings a participant into a new environment stripped of the obligations of an ordinary rendezvous. Thus, the participant is forced into a new environment non subjectively and is left to deeply observe his surroundings.
The practices of the Derive relate to concepts of sound walks and Drifts. By immersing myself in new environments, I am able to collect new and exciting sound material. Also, the ideas in this article emphasize the appreciation of deep observation of an environment. By applying these concepts to my work in the field, I’m able to appreciate seemingly insignificant sounds I might otherwise have overlooked. In freeing myself from the everyday routine, I am able to collect entirely unique material.