Hebdomadal sound project: March 2016


Week 13
A48, Cardiff
March 30th, 4.25pm


I know that John Cage had some good things to say about the sound of road traffic, but I struggle to find the musicality in it while out walking. Indeed, when hearing it live it can be stressful, but there is something about a sound recording of it – yanked from its context – that is quite pleasing and settling. The following is a recording of traffic on the A48 in northern Cardiff, from a footbridge that leads to the University Hospital of Wales.

(5:54)


Setup: 2 DPA 4060 lavalier mics in stereo position to Sound Devices 702



Week 12
St Fagans National History Museum, Cardiff
March 23rd, 3.20pm


St Fagans National History Museum, part of the National Museum Wales, is an open-air museum consisting of historic Welsh buildings. The buildings originate from across Wales, and have been painstakingly re-built on land adjacent to St Fagans Castle to the west of Cardiff. The following is an edited compilation of a few recordings made in the restored Italian Garden surrounding the Castle.

(4:11)




Setup: 2 DPA 4060 lavalier mics in stereo position to Sound Devices 702



Week 11
Bristol And Bath Railway path
March 16th, 2.30pm

Groups of rowers pass under a footbridge along the Bristol And Bath Railway path near Kelston Lock.

(3:09)


Setup: 2 DPA 4060 lavalier mics in stereo position to Sound Devices 702



Week 10
Avon Valley Railway, Bitton
March 6th, 12.15-1.40pm


On Mothering Sunday, I decided to take a trip to Bitton not far outside of Bristol, to record the sound of heritage trains at Avon Valley Railway. A small group of railway enthusiasts were commemorating 50 years since the last passenger trains ran along the line. 1960s rock ‘n’ roll was piped out onto the platform, and a 1940s diesel and 1920s steam train carried passengers the 3 miles of track that the Railway owns.
I managed to get some recordings onboard both trains by hanging my microphones out of a sliding window. The first is onboard a BR Class 31/1 No. 31101 diesel train built in 1945:

(4:45)



Second, is from onboard a GWR 4575 Class No.5521/L.150 steam train (built 1927), which apparently pulled the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express for a time in 2007.

(4:51)


Setup: 2 DPA 4060 lavalier mics in stereo position to Sound Devices 702
Mark