I was actually working with NS folklorist, Helen Creighton, recording
folksongs for both her and for The Weavers, a folk group that I was a
member of at the time (having replaced Pete Seeger). Had an old Ampex
601 recorder that took up much of the car's trunk space and managed to
get not only the miners singing on a few cuts, but also a small remote
group representing a few surviving offspring of America's Underground
Railroad -- the farthest north known enclave of slaves -- who were so
remote that they still spoke the African-English-American dialect
spoken by their slave ancestors, had no electricity or plumbing, no
radios or any other modern conveniences. Had to walk in a couple of km
on a dirt path from the road carrying not only the Ampex, audio tape
and mixing tech (which weighed many kilos and was transported in a
wooden wheel barrow requiring two of us to handle) but also the
requisite car batteries to run the damned Ampex. Oh for the good ol'
days when field recording was so simple. It's one of those places that
I've been that were so quiet absent human noise, that I dream of it,
still.
Bernie
On Jan 9, 2012, at 1:54 PM, Mark Brennan wrote:
> That's a little piece of heaven Bernie, up around Mabou and
> Inverness. Some
> of the recordings of Northern Coast came from a few Km from Glace
> Bay near
> a disused mine called Donkin and the huge sand bar at Port Morien,
> which is
> likely the same place you were. There was a Minke whale washed up on
> the
> beach there that Eagles/Gulls were feeding on. The recording of the
> miners
> you have I expect is something very unique. When the mines closed the
> Miners formed a choir called the 'men of the deeps', so I would say
> you
> likely have one of the first ever recordings of those men of the
> deep. They
> are still going strong today and pack concert halls. Fascinating
> stuff!
> Cape Breton for me is on par with Northern Scotland. A home away
> from home!
> thanks for sharing that Bernie.
>
> Mark
>
>
> On Mon, Jan 9, 2012 at 3:57 PM, Bernie Krause
> <>wrote:
>
>> **
>>
>>
>> Used to have a place (early 1960s) right on the coast a few km south
>> of Inverness, Mark. So I know the area well. Especially remember the
>> great fiddle music in and around the west coast of the cape. I recall
>> that the soundscape was lovely all over Cape Breton but it was a few
>> years before I had even considered that as a viable medium.
>>
>> I did manage to capture the coal miners singing as they plied their
>> craft in the shafts that were bored under the ocean off of Glace Bay.
>> Pretty remarkable story in itself.
>>
>> Bernie
>>
>>
>> On Jan 9, 2012, at 11:17 AM, Mark Brennan wrote:
>>
>>> Hello everyone, some very interesting items on here lately. I have
>>> been
>>> working on a new soundscape album, From Shore To Sanctuary which
>>> encompasses some of my favorite recordings from the last 2 years
>>> edited
>>> into three 22 minute long tracks. Each one is really an audio
>>> 'journey'
>>> through the soundscape of The Acadian Forest, Night (Sounds after
>>> dark) and
>>> the Northern Coastlines of Nova Scotia. You can find it here
>>> http://wildearthvoices.bandcamp.com/album/from-shore-to-sanctuary
>>>
>>> All the recordings come from Nova Scotia. This is free right now to
>>> those
>>> of you on nature recordists for a few days. In the 'art world' I
>>> often swap
>>> paintings with other artists!
>>>
>>> Cheers all.
>>>
>>> Mark
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> ------------------------------------
>>>
>>> "While a picture is worth a thousand words, a
>>> sound is worth a thousand pictures." R. Murray Schafer via Bernie
>>> Krause.
>>>
>>> Yahoo! Groups Links
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>> Wild Sanctuary
>> POB 536
>> Glen Ellen, CA 95442
>> 707-996-6677
>> http://www.wildsanctuary.com
>>
>> Google Earth zooms: http://earth.wildsanctuary.com
>> SKYPE: biophony
>>
>>
>>
>
>
>
> --
> *Mark A. Brennan
> *Canadian Landscape Painter - web <http://www.markbrennanfineart.ca/>
> Nature Sounds - web <http://www.wildearthvoices.org/>
> mp3 Nature Downloads - web <http://www.naturesound.ca/>
> *Follow me on:
> *twitter <http://twitter.com/wildearthvoices>
> facebook<http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wild-Earth-Voices-Mark-Brennan/139=
151306110233
> >
> soundcloud <http://soundcloud.com/wildearthvoices>
> bandcamp<http://wildearthvoices.bandcamp.com/>
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> "While a picture is worth a thousand words, a
> sound is worth a thousand pictures." R. Murray Schafer via Bernie
> Krause.
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
Wild Sanctuary
POB 536
Glen Ellen, CA 95442
707-996-6677
http://www.wildsanctuary.com
Google Earth zooms: http://earth.wildsanctuary.com
SKYPE: biophony
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