The beginnings of a new section of recordings made along the Kent and Essex sides of the Thames estuary, capturing the sounds of industry, marshland, and towns from Dartford to Canvey Island and beyond.
LONDON'S MAIN AXIS runs from west to east with the Thames and the prevailing winds. The river matures as it leaves the confines of London, filling out and growing scruffier and more independent.
Both the Kent and Essex sides of the estuary have been among my favourite places to visit for the last fifteen years or so. Here are some recordings of this different place via the map panels above, as well as a few snapshots taken between 2002 and now.
TWO YEARS BEFORE Bill Fontana's well-publicised River Soundings show at Somerset House was Soundings from the Estuary, a more intimate depiction of the Kent side by sound artist Dave Lawrence, writer Germander Speedwell and photographer Frank Watson. You can hear four of Dave's compositions inspired by the Isle of Grain on his website here.
The southern shores of the estuary also star in the 1952 British film noir The Long Memory, set in Gravesend and the marshes to its east. John Mills plays an ex-con trying to lead a quiet life with a draughty old barge as his home. But the past won't leave him alone. Someone's put the film up in episodes on YouTube.
Julien Temple's recent documentary Oil City Confidential is about the Canvey Island pub rock band Dr Feelgood. The charismatic Wilko Johnson makes a strong impression, but many Canvey Islanders probably won't mind how their home patch is depicted either.
File name: Allhallows Marshes
Grid square: Canvey Island, Southend, Thurrock, Hoo
Duration: 3:00
Recorded by: IM Rawes
Recording date: 16 April 2011
Time of day: 12.30pm
Location: Allhallows Marshes, Hoo Peninsula
Description: Cries of gulls and waterfowl, skylarks hovering the Marshes, buzzing of flies, a distant humming sound, probably industrial in origin.
Technical guff: X-Y stereo. Audio Technica BP4025 and Fostex FR-2LE recorder.
Additional notes: None.