I have finally updated the acoustic map with recordings made during my visit to Slovakia last year. The following are a selection of these recordings, as I wanted to present some with a little bit of contextual information not supplied on the map. As you will see, most of the recordings are along, over, and in, the Danube river, as I spent the majority of my time recording here for this project. As ever, headphones are recommended.
Passing boat and tide under Old Bridge (5:23)
Recorded directly underneath the Old Bridge (Starý Most) from the same location as the photo above. A few cyclists can be heard crossing wooden slats on the bridge overhead. Around 2.20, a cruise boat passes directly underneath the bridge, and the sound of the engine temporarily drops out as it glides by the huge concrete bridge pier.
Cicadas near the Old Bridge (4.48)
This is at the entrance to the bridge on the south bank. Competing with the sound of insects are a few cyclists and some passing cars near to the bank of the river.
Boat passing and water lapping on the south bank of the Danube (6:22)
This was recorded at about 7pm on a balmy evening just as the sun was going down and insects were getting quieter. A cruise boat very gradually makes its way into the passenger port (in the photo above) on the north bank of the river.
Contact microphones are a great way to record the sound of bridges (if you’re into that sort of thing). Here, the microphone is being held tightly between two sheets of steel metal on the pedestrian path of the bridge, which is suspended below where vehicles pass. Vibrations from the span of the bridge rattling and swaying are picked up, as well as the low, swooping sounds of passing vehicles. At a couple of points the voices of passing walkers can also be heard.
Kayaking on the Danube (hydrophone) (3:27)
I really wanted to get some hydrophonic recordings from the depths of the Danube, so what better way than from a kayak? Michal, my Slovakian host, and I went to a kayak centre located to the west of Bratislava, and hired a three person kayak. I left all the hard work of rowing to Michal and an instructor who came out with us, so that I could record. This is a hydrophonic recording at a depth of about three metres below the surface of the water, as we paddled out into the channel.
Kayaking on the Danube (2:13)
An above-water recording while kayaking.
Inside a tram toward Kamenné námestie (4:32)
As many field recordists seem to be, I am fascinated by the different sounds of public transport, and always try to record trains, buses, and trams wherever I am. Around the 50 second mark, you can hear as the tram enters a tunnel running underneath Bratislava castle.
Visit the acoustic map page (here) for more recordings from Bratislava.
