Fascinating ... I've just posted about how recording quiet reveals as much =
about the process as the subject - I too find this interesting. Will have a=
listen to your recordings later - sounds fascinating (the url isn't quite =
right but it's findable)
Quiet places as a mirror is also an interesting line of thought. I've exper=
ienced times when near silence often feels strangely claustrophobic, but wi=
thout the unpleasantness. Very odd, but yes, I agree - very alluring. I've =
wondered what experiences of arid landscapes are like in terms of quiet ...=
I recall reading that the Grand Canyon has some of the quietest places on =
earth, but that doesn't feel right as such a tourist destination?
The quietest places I've experience near where I live are some of the remot=
er Dartmoor woods on still summer nights. And inside some of the older smal=
l and remote rural churches can also be pretty quiet due to the thickness o=
f the walls.
cheers
T
--- In 404 <> wrote:
>
> hi Tony (and Jez and Mark)
>
> I'm obsessed with quietness as well. To find a really silent space and ju=
st sit and listen never tires me. If I try to rationalise it, it probably h=
as to do with how quiet spaces throw you back on yourself. They function li=
ke mirrors, somehow. Because there's "nothing" to escape in or hide behind,=
you're left with yourself. Unlike, say, a piece of music, or bird song, or=
dawn chorus, there's simply "nothing" and as far as I'm concerned that's m=
assively overwhelming and powerful.
> I've been actively seeking out empty and quiet spaces. A search that took=
me all the way to the Australian outback and desert, where I experienced n=
ear silence. I put together an album with some of my recordings. If you're =
interested, it's here: http://surface-noise.bandcamp.com/album/stills-postc=
ards-from-the-centre.
> The last 4 tracks are recordings of these spaces. Now obviously, experien=
cing a quiet space is one thing, and recording it something else. It doesn'=
t take much before we hear the microphone rather than the space. But then a=
gain, I find that kind of "failure" artistically very interesting, but that=
's food for another thread.
>
> Peter
>
>
>
> On 04 Jun 2012, at 11:02, Mark wrote:
>
> > Hi Jez,
> >
> > I lived with a deaf family for several years during university. It's a =
common misbelief that the deaf cannot hear anything, but on average they ar=
e living a world of soft booms faint, clicks and muffled voices. While I wo=
uldn't wish deafness on my worst enemy, I feel that the lack of distraction=
helps in developing exceptional skills in listening and the intuition of s=
ubtle energies.
> >
> > just a few distracted thoughts ^__~
> >
> > Mark
> >
> > On Jun 4, 2012, at 6:24 AM, "Jez" <> wrote:
> >
> > > very quiet recordings (quietudes) have been something of an obsession=
of mine for many years. I spend a lot of time recording stillness in build=
ings for example. When there are just small sounds to hear we have to micro=
/macro listen & that draws you in, closer.
> > >
> > > --- In "soundings23" <tony.whitehea=
d2332@> wrote:
> > > >
> > > > Hi All, just for interest here are two very quiet recordings I uplo=
aded to Soundcloud this morning. Both are hydrophone recordings taken yeste=
rday near where I live.
> > > >
> > > > http://soundcloud.com/tonywhitehead/pond-at-chudleigh-knighton
> > > > http://soundcloud.com/tonywhitehead/fish-shoal-little-bradley
> > > >
> > > > I was in two minds whether to upload them, because they are so quie=
t. But, I was fascinated because they are so full of tiny detail, especiall=
y the pond at Chudleigh. I also found that I enjoyed listening to them with=
out excessively turning up the gain - which just seemed to increase the noi=
se of my Edirol's pre-amp.
> > > >
> > > > As I said on the soundcloud page, they make me think of sound work =
by the like's of Francisco Lopez, Radu Malfati and Bernhard Gunter .
> > > >
> > > > Ages ago there was a review of this sort of quietness in Ed Pinset'=
s Sound Projector magazine where, reviewing Lopez's "Untitled 74" he said
> > > >
> > > > "There's something going on there all right, but what is it? How is=
it possible to record and produce sounds so remote and tiny that you're on=
ly dimly aware of them? ... No point turning up the volume - that'll only c=
ause more damage - these are fugitive spirits, like fairies of the air whic=
h will vanish if you draw to near to them."
> > > >
> > > > I like that. And I like what the hydrophone reveals of these tiny s=
ound worlds.
> > > >
> > > > BTW, while writing this, I felt like I was reviewing my own recordi=
ngs - which would be odd and not a little arrogant - but I don't feel these=
are my recordings, I simply dropped the hydrophone in a pond, hit record, =
and listened - so I'm reviewing and sharing thoughts what I heard rather th=
an what I did with what I recorded.
> > > >
> > > > Be glad of any thoughts on very quiet sounds, or links to anything =
similar?
> > > >
> > > > Tony
> > > >
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
> >
>
>
>
>
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