Quarantine Sound Packs and Beats: Mi Cocina es Tu Cocina

This Sound Pack is one of four in a series inspired by the sounds heard while being stuck at home during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sounds, artwork, and page created by Andrea Fernandez, Chapin scholar.

Mi Cocina Es Tu Cocina

by Andrea Fernandez

Since the purpose of this soundpack was to convey both sounds one hears in a kitchen and also emotions one feels in a kitchen, some of the objects I used to convey the latter were found in my bedroom. Once I recorded some of the sounds meant to convey emotions, I altered them on Soundtrap for a more dramatic feel. To create the sound, “Terrifying Solitude,” I shook a water bottle that I found in my kitchen. However, after adding Soundtrap effects like Stereo Delay, 3D, and Room (Church setting), I was able to amplify the sound so it had an eerie echo, which resulted in a sound that mimicked waves and an underwater experience. Because the Church Room reverb gave the effect of water in one’s ears, the sound gave the sense that someone was alone, lost, even drowning, and no one could hear them. This feeling of “terrifying solitude,” and thus the sound’s name, is meant to show the other side there is to a bustling kitchen. When I am alone in such a collaborative space, this is a feeling I’ve felt in the hollow of my kitchen, especially during quarantine where we have not seen our friends and loved ones in some time. 

When recording sounds that one hears in a kitchen, I chose to leave them untouched and unaltered. At times I might have changed the volume or changed the pitch so the tone was sharper, but the goal was that the sound was recognizable to one’s ears. For example, for the track called “2 Am Cheerio Run,” I poured Cheerios from a box onto a plate. The distinct sound of cereal tumbling onto a plate is a sound everyone is familiar with, especially during Quarantine when we spend more time hungry at home!