ABSTRACT
This chapter lays the groundwork to establish David Lynch's sonic style in his films. It considers his work timeline, collaborators in sound design and music, and his earliest films. Although Lynch's sonic style has evolved over time, it has its roots in his earliest works and during his time as a visual artist. We can understand Lynch's early sonic style as a product of his interest in industrial and organic sounds and the construction of objects from unusual items, as many of these sound-making techniques and sonic profiles occur in his later feature films. In these films, there is a focus on sound mechanization and the use of natural and organic sounds. He emphasizes ambient and mechanical sounds that are often employed, amplified, and distorted such that sometimes the listener can misconstrue them as underscoring, often unaware that they are not until a certain point in the narrative is reached.
