Blog post: Thoughts on classifying field recordings
Recently an email arrived from Eric Leonardson of the World Listening Project, the motivating force behind World Listening Day, which is due to be marked again on July the 18th this year.
New radio actuality: Godfrey the Bagpipe King 1936
Where: Possibly recorded at Broadcasting House. Description: A street musician plays a bellows-driven bagpipe while keeping up a stream of patter. Recordings: 1.
New recording: Mutton Brook Norrice Lea
Where: Norrice Lea near junction with Lyttleton Road, East Finchley. Description: Loud traffic from Lyttleton Road, faint birdsong and trickling of the Mutton Brook, occasional sounds of a gardener at work outside a nearby house. Recordist: IM Rawes. Duration: 1:00.
New recording: Mutton Brook Lyttleton Playing Fields
Where: On a footbridge by the Lyttleton Playing Fields, East Finchley. Description: The Mutton Brook passes noisily over a rubble-filled stream bed, traffic on Lyttleton Road, a car horn beeps. Recordist: IM Rawes. Duration: 1:00.
New recording: Mutton Brook Hampstead Garden Suburb
Where: Northway Gardens, Hampsteasd Garden Suburb. Description: The Mutton Brook flows through and over a narrowing in the stream, birdsong, distant traffic. Recordist: IM Rawes. Duration: 1:00.
New recording: St Mary-le-Bow peal
Where: St Mary-le-Bow, Cheapside. Description: Peal attempt by the Southwark Cathedral Guild on the bells of St Mary-le-Bow. Recordist: IM Rawes. Duration: 1:00.
Blog post: Building a field recording system 3 - recorder accessories
The previous post in the field recording system series looked at the Sony PCM M10 recorder and introduced a few technical concepts which are good to know about.
New recording: River Rom Collier Row
Where: Collier Row recreation ground. Description: The Rom flows over a small weir, a woodpigeon coos, traffic passing along Collier Row Road immediately to the south, birdsong. Recordist: IM Rawes. Duration: 1:00.
New recording: River Rom Footpath No 19
Where: Footpath number 19 off White Hart Lane, Collier Row. Description: Weak trickling of the Rom beneath a footbridge, the wind blows briskly above, faint traffic in distance. Recordist: IM Rawes. Duration: 1:00.
New recording: River Rom North Street
Where: Car park off North Street, Romford. Description: Constant traffic passing along North Street and St Edwards Way, an emergency service siren draws closer. Recordist: IM Rawes. Duration: 1:00.
New recording: River Beam Roneo Corner
Where: A concrete passage beneath Roneo Corner, Romford. Description: Echoing noise of water splashing from a storm pipe into a concrete channel containing the Beam, water rushing further away, a dog barks outside. Recordist: IM Rawes. Duration: 1:00.
New recording: River Beam The Chase
Where: By the Chase, Eastbrookend Country Park. Description: Trickling of the River Beam close by, a strong wind stirs trees in the park, faint voices. Recordist: IM Rawes. Duration: 1:00.
Blog post: Building a field recording system 2: the compact recorder.
The compact digital recorder is a device small enough to stuff into a trouser or jacket pocket. It’s a minor miracle of convenience and versatility compared to bulkier analogue ancestors like the Sony Professional Walkman.
New recording: Thames shore Putney
Where: Thames shore at Putney, near Barn Elms, southwest London. Description: Wash from passing boats curls onto the shore then subsides, a boat crew row past while their coach shouts encouragement from an accompanying motor boat, faint voices of walkers on the towpath above and behind. Recordist: IM Rawes. Duration: 2:00.
New recording: The Wandle Bell Lane Creek
Where: Bell Lane Creek, Wandsworth, southwest London. Description: Constant rush of water over the weir at Bell Lane Creek, a crane at work in the waste depot on the east side of the creek, a train heads towards Putney. Recordist: IM Rawes. Duration: 1:00.
New recording: Beverley Brook Barn Elms
Where: Thames Path at Barn Elms, southwest London. Description: Water from a pipe splashes down into Beverley Brook, voices and footsteps as walkers cross an iron footbridge. Recordist: IM Rawes. Duration: 1:00.
Blog post: Building a field recording system: introduction
This is the first in a short series of blog posts in which I’ll present some thoughts on how to build a system of field recording equipment.
Blog post: Where Londoners come from
Here's another recording from the Waterways sound map made last Friday by the river Lea. The Lea remains London’s most industrialised minor river, even though most of the valley’s factories and paper mills have now disappeared
New recording: River Lea Enfield Lock
Where: Enfield Lock, north London. Description: Loud rushing of water pouring through a gap in the lock gates, thumping noises as two cars in succession drive over a metal plate in the road, cooing of pigeons. Recordist: IM Rawes. Duration: 1:00.
New recording: River Lea Brimsdown
Where: Facing the Ponders End industrial estate, Brimsdown, north London. Description: A constant hum from a factory, birdsong, occasional calls of coots, distant banging noises. Recordist: IM Rawes. Duration: 1:00.
New recording: River Lea Picketts Lock North
Where: Immediately north of Picketts Lock, Lower Edmonton, north London. Description: Loud, constant rushing of water flowing from the Lea into a box-like concrete structure before disappearing underground. Recordist: IM Rawes. Duration: 1:00.
New recording: River Lea Picketts Lock South
Where: Immediately south of Picketts Lock, Lower Edmonton, north London. Description: Water bubbles out of a buried pipe into the Lea close by, faint electronic beeping sounds from an industrial estate. Recordist: IM Rawes. Duration: 1:00.
New recording: River Lea Lee Valley Park
Where: By Lee Valley Park, facing the refuse plant off Ash Wharf, north London. Description: Cawing of crows in nearby trees, loud metallic banging sounds from a refuse plant, other industrial noises. Recordist: IM Rawes. Duration: 1:00.
New recording: Pymme's Brook Tanners End
Where: Tanners End Lane, Edmonton, north London. Description: Loud rushing of Pymme's Brook as it passes beneath Tanners End Lane, passing traffic on Silver Street, faint birdsong. Recordist: IM Rawes. Duration: 1:00.
Blog post: Nice to meet you, London Historians
THE BAD WEATHER had stopped me finishing off the London Sound Survey’s Waterways soundmap. Instead, the week I’d booked off work was starting to feel more like living la vida doley.
New recording: River Roding Roding Valley
Where: Near the Bancroft rugby club ground, Roding Valley. Description: Water from a pipe splashes onto a concrete ledge before flowing into the Roding, distant traffic, raindrops. Recordist: IM Rawes. Duration: 1:00.
New recording: River Roding Woodford
Where: Between Roding Valley Park and Chigwell Road, Woodford. Description: Loud constant traffic noise from the south, birdsong, faint trickling of the Roding as it passes below. Recordist: IM Rawes. Duration: 1:00.
New recording: River Roding Charlie Browns Roundabout
Where: By Charlie Brown's roundabout, south Woodford. Description: Loud traffic passing through and by the roundabout, intermittent thumps as vehicles pass over a join in the road surface, faint trickle of the Roding. Recordist: IM Rawes. Duration: 1:00.
New recording: River Roding Redbridge
Where: Off Roding Lane South, Redbridge. Description: Loud constant traffic on Eastern Avenue and the North Circular, water dribbles from a pipe into the Roding, fait birdsong. Recordist: IM Rawes. Duration: 1:00.
New radio actuality: Children's singing games Millwall 1938
Where: Millwall, east London. Description: Young children explain and play three singing games: The Muffin Man, Dusty Bluebells and Lucy Locket. Recordings: 3.
New recording: New River West Reservoir
Where: Manor House, north London. Description: Cries of gulls and ducks on the West Reservoir, distant traffic, faint airplane drone, the wind stirs nearby foliage. Recordist: IM Rawes. Duration: 1:00.
New recording: River Lea Bow Locks
Where: Bromley-by-Bow, east London. Description: Churning and bubbling of water in one of the Bow Locks, constant traffic, faint bird calls. Recordist: IM Rawes. Duration: 1:00.
New recording: Pymme's Brook Brunswick Park
Where: Middle of Brunswick Park, north London. Description: Faint sound of Pymme's Brook, birdsong, a crow caws, a man's voice in the mid-distance, distant traffic, airplane drone. Recordist: IM Rawes. Duration: 1:00.
New recording: Pymme's Brook Oak Hill Park
Where: By a footbridge in Oak Hill Park, north London. Description: Reverberent noise of Pymme's Brook as it flows over a ledge beneath a footbridge, faint birdsong in background. Recordist: IM Rawes. Duration: 1:00.
New recording: Pymme's Brook Cockfosters
Where: By Monken Hadley Common, Cockfosters. Description: Loud trickling from Pymme's Brook, a train passes in the distance, a woodpigeon coos, faint traffic. Recordist: IM Rawes. Duration: 1:00.
Blog post: Thanks, Londonist
During the second half of this year the London Sound Survey has been getting between eight and nine thousand different visitors a month.
Blog post: James Greenwood's 'The Wilds of London' from 1874
In more prudish times, books setting out to titillate often justify themselves with a solemn preface.
Blog post: Our synthetic sound environment
In 1962 the American anarchist thinker Murray Bookchin wrote an ecological critique of contemporary urban life titled Our Synthetic Environment.
Blog post: Making engine noises with a jam jar
While reading up on jet engine noise I came across a reference to a Make Magazine article on building your own pulse jet from a jam jar.
Blog post: Spam attack!
Hordes of spammers have been trying to post comments telling you all about cheap Ugg boots and erection pills.
