Transmissions
Field Recordings: The Sound of 2023
Eleanor McDowall (UK 2023)
Eleanor McDowall (UK 2023)
57 min
A slow weave of some of the past year’s Field Recordings, from a church in Vilnius to a floating choir in Copenhagen. As 2024 begins what do we remember of the past year? Let these sounds lull you into the new year away from the noise.
Orthodox Christmas service, Catholic Church of St. Johns, Vilnius, Lithuania on 7th January 2023 – by Vaida Pilibaitytė
Whistling wind rattling the windows, inside the library, London, UK in January 2023 – by Siddharth Khajuria
Summer dusk with birds near Vedia, Buenos Aires province, Argentina in January 2023 – by Joaquín Conde
The bells at St Michael’s Golden-Domed Monastery, Kyiv, Ukraine on Sunday 13th February 2022 at 4.43pm – by Barny Smith
Sounding stairs, Kaunas, Lithuania on 19th January 2023 – by Marta Medvešek
Goose night, Eskdalemuir, Scotland, UK on 24th January 2023 – by Geoff McQueen
Crows, Vancouver, Canada on 27th January 2023 at 4pm– by Martin Zaltz Austwick
Thawing ice, Tammisalo canal, Helsinki, Finland on 4th February 2023 by Miia Laine
Department of Education, Westminster, London, UK on 15th February 2023– by Tash Walker
Walking in the snow, Vancouver, Canada on 25th February 2023 at 11.30pm – by Martin Zaltz Austwick
Underwater, Førdefjord, north of Bergen, Norway in February 2023 – by Jay Richardson
Woodpeckers in Wandle Park, London, UK on 3rd April – by Andrew Strangeway
Pigeon in the cinema, London, UK on 15th April 2023 – by Sam Clements and Louise Owen
Argentino Lake shores in front of Spegazzini Glacier, Santa Cruz, Argentina in April 2023 – by Joaquín Conde
Emergency alert system test, Oxford Circus, London, UK, around 2.58pm on 23rd April 2023– by Anthony Ing
Jack in the Green procession, Hastings, UK on 1st May 2023– by Jorge Stride
A rickshaw journey through Bengaluru, India, at dusk, as heavy rain begins to fall on 1st May 2023 – by Siddharth Khajuria
Musical cacophony pouring through the open windows of practice rooms, London, UK on 18th May 2023 – by Eleanor McDowall
Whistling wind, Reykjavík, Iceland on 20th May 2023 – by Agnieszka Czyżewska Jacquemet
Eider ducks in the glacier river lagoon (Jökulsárlón) as rain falls, Vatnajökull National Park, south coast of Iceland on Friday 26th May 2023 – by Eleanor McDowall
Outside the Black Lion in Plaistow, London, UK, at 7.45pm on Thursday 8th June 2023, for the passing of the open top bus following West Ham’s victory in the Europa Conference League Final – by Alan Hall
Spanish Point (Rinn na Spáinneach), County Clare, (Contae an Chláir), Ireland on 8th June 2023– by Kalli Anderson
Chair lift to the Wolzenalp, Switzerland, on Saturday 10th June 2023 – by This Wachter
Thunderstorm, Abney Park Cemetery, London, UK on 12th June 2023 – by Joe Harvey-Whyte
Royal Courts of Justice, London, UK on Saturday 17th June 2023 at 1.30pm
Mountain goats, Kefalonia, Greece, in June 2023– by Tash Walker
Carillon, Sint Janskerk, Gouda, Netherlands in June 2023 – by Paul Ridout
Frogs of Lac Labelle at 1am, Saint-Adolphe-d’Howard, Quebec, Canada on 4th July 2023 – by Mira Burt-Wintonick
Competing fireworks, Hamilton Heights, Harlem, New York City, USA on 4th July 2023 – by Jon Moskowitz
Loons of Lac Forbes at Sunset, Mont-Tremblant National Park, Québec, Canada on 19th July 2023 - by Mira Burt-Wintonick
Demonstration at the Italian Embassy, London, UK on 2nd August 2023- by Lisa Hack
Delta del Tigre, Argentina on 4th August 2023 by Eva Moeraert
Tywardreath ringing the bells of St Barts, Lostwithiel, UK on 9th August 2023 – by Celia Robbins
Electrical storm, East London, UK on 18th September 2023 at 1am – by Joe Harvey-Whyte
Gaggles of geese, River Thame, England, UK on 23rd September 2023– by Paul Ridout
Midnight Soundscape, Sedona, Arizona, USA on 5th October 2023 – by Joe Harvey-Whyte
Palestinian Solidarity March, London, UK on 11th November 2023
Chimes outside the monastery, Stanstead Mill Stream, after dark on Sunday 10th December 2023- by Eleanor McDowall
Edith purring, Glasgow, Scotland in December 2023 – by Steve Urquhart
Santa Lucia kayak parade, Copenhagen, Denmark on 13th December 2023 – by Kara Oehler
Produced by Eleanor McDowall
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The Colour of chalk: Both Sides of the Valley with Razia Aziz
Sonic Boom Audio + Alinah Azadeh. (UK 2022)
Alinah Azadeh / Sonic Boom (UK 2022)
47 min
"The Colour of Chalk" podcast is part of "We See You Now", a project dedicated to exploring diverse voices and connections to the South Downs National Park. The project is being led by writer and artist Alinah Azadeh, who has been commissioned by the South Downs National Park Authority as the first Writer-in-Residence for Seven Sisters Country Park and the wider Sussex Heritage coast in company with the skylarks, Alinah takes us on a Summer’s walk along the meanders of Cuckmere Valley to the sea, at the heart of Seven Sisters Country Park, with fellow writer Razia Aziz - to share her work and explore the landscape of family, honouring mothers, writing outdoors, seeing life from all sides and nature’s role in healing trauma. ‘Nature doesn’t see the divisions we see’
Hosted by Alinah Azadeh
Audio Production by Sonic Boom Audio
Supported by funding from Arts Council England as well as the South Downs National Park Authority.
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Field Recordings: The Sound of 2022
Eleanor McDowall (UK 2022)
Eleanor McDowall (UK 2022)
57 min
A slow weave of some of the past year’s Field Recordings, from a clock repair shop in January to snow falling in December. As 2022 comes to a close, what do we remember? Let these sounds lull you into the new year away from the noise.
Clock repair shop, London, UK on Saturday 22nd January 2022 at 11am – by Andrew Strangeway
Trumpeter Swans, Sauvie Island Wildlife Area Portland, Oregon, USA on 28th January 2022 – by Jason Hovatter
Transmission Tower, Portland, Oregon, USA on 8th February 2022 – by Jason Hovatter
The bells at St Michael’s Golden-Domed Monastery, Kyiv, Ukraine on Sunday 13th February 2022 at 4.43pm – by Barny Smith
Ironbark Gorge, Victoria, Australia in the early morning on Sunday 20th February 2022 – by Anouk and Camilla Hannan
Woodpeckers by the water, Buckinghamshire, England, in March 2022 – by Paul Ridout
Night train, Vedia, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina in April 2022 – by Joaquín Conde
In the gloaming, Eskdalemuir, Scotland on 19th April 2022 – by Geoff McQueen
Creaky trees at Rannoch Moor, Scottish Highlands, Scotland on 23rd April 2022 – by Steve Urquhart
Stream in a forest glade, Ambleside, Cumbria, UK in April 2022 – by Geoff Marsh
Rain on the sea, Camber Sands, East Sussex, UK on 23rd May 2022 – by Sam Clements and Louise Owen
Parsley frogs at night, Lérouville, Lorraine, France on 5th June 2022 – by Colin Hunter
Lake swim at sunrise, the morning after midsummer, Groß Köris, Germany in June 2022 – by Eleanor McDowall
Fort Greene Park, Brooklyn, NY, USA in June 2022 – by James T. Green
Bells on sheep, east of Rome around 7pm on 26th June – by Cosmin Sandu
Pondweed bubbles, Raglan Castle moat, Wales, UK in the afternoon on 16th July 2022 – by Paul Ridout
Sitting in the dark, by the fan, reading and writing emails, London, UK on 19th July 2022 – by Siddharth Khajuria
8pm, rural village garden, Suffolk, UK on 19th July 2022 – by Melissa Harrison
Takapou Bay, South Island, New Zealand in August 2022 – by Martin Zaltz Austwick
Katydids in the moonlight, Bearsville, New York, USA on 20th August 2022 – by Joe Dobkin
Cow chorus in the middle of the road, near Te Kao, New Zealand on 30th August 2022 – by Helen Zaltzman
Thunderstorm through skylight, London, UK at 11.20pm on 5th September 2022 – by Eleanor McDowall
Muffled Bells, Cuddington, Buckinghamshire, UK on 19th September 2022 – by Paul Ridout
Binaural bells, St Pauls Cathedral, London, UK on 19th September 2022 – by Joe Harvey-Whyte
Enough is Enough National Day of Action, Outside Kings Cross Station, London, UK on 1st October 2022
Dusk chorus, Ewingar, New South Wales, Australia on 16th October 2022 – by Jaye Kranz
Heavy rain, North West London, UK in October 2022 – by Alex Micu
Winter Bees, Flitwick, Bedfordshire, UK in November 2022 – by Julian Higgs
Westminster Bridge, London, UK on 5th November 2022
Woman, life, freedom, Iran solidarity protest in Trafalgar Square, London, UK on 26th November 2022
Inside the bell tower, All Hallows, Twickenham on the morning of 16th November 2022 – by Alan Hall
Koliada singers rehearsing for the Christmas season, Le Plateau-Mont-Royal, Montreal, Québec, Canada on 30th November 2022 – by Mira Burt-Wintonick
Bells (church and cow) in the hills of Flüeli-Ranft, Switzerland in the evening of 6th December 2022 – by Charlie Shackleton
Crackling fire and chimes, London, UK on 9th December 2022 – by Eleanor McDowall
Snow falling on the canal, London, UK, near midnight on Sunday 11th December 2022 – by Eleanor McDowall
Produced by Eleanor McDowall
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Las Voces Del Bosuwe Madidi
Iga Vandenhove (FR 2021)
Iga Vandenhove (FR 2022)
24 min
Emerse yourself in the Madid National Park in Bolivia where the sounds of the forest blend with the rounds of the rangers. Between howler monkeys, drones, vocal frogs, motorised canoes, burning, imitation caimans and birds, human, plant and animal worlds merge. The sound piece is an artistic exploration of an inhabited nature where it is more than a simple landscape, it becomes a subject. The forest rangers are the mediators.
Produced by Diane Barbé
Winner of the Phonurgia Nova Field Recording Prize 2022
On a Green Hill
Diane Barbé (DE 2021)
Diane Barbé (DE 2021)
8 min
An exploration of a multi-species environment, an informal and fallow animal refuge in the Black Forest, built by an old peasant who asks nothing of the animals that haunt him. This piece pays homage to this liminal space, shifting listening perspectives and slowly entering the intimacy of these animals that surround us, with the smells of warm fur and fresh hay.
Produced by Diane Barbé
Winner of the Phonurgia Nova Pierre Schaeffer Discovery Prize
The Root Of The Matter: Woodland
Mae-Li Evens for Reduced Listening (UK 2022)
Mae-Li Evans for Reduced Listening (UK 2022)
32min Episode 4 of 5
Our lives are intrinsically entangled with the plant world: through the food we eat, the medicines we use, and the spaces we inhabit. In this five-part series, writer and maker JC Niala explores what the plant world has to teach us about being human. Join JC in conversation with growers, scientists, writers and activists on a journey through five different landscapes, from the familiarity of the garden to the seemingly hostile wasteland. We’ll take a closer look at the entanglements and stories underpinning the plant world to understand how plants can provide a lens on human health, history and belonging.
We think of forests and woodlands as wild spaces where we can lose ourselves in nature. They also provide us with a wealth of resources such as food, building materials and medicines. But they are also globally under threat of destruction. In this episode, JC Niala delves into the contradictions in our relationship with woodlands, and explores different ways we can think about them, if we are to use and protect them more wisely.
Lead Producer Alannah Chance
Produced by Mae-Li Evans
Music and sound design by Alice Boyd
The Root of the Matter’ is a Reduced Listening production for Wellcome Collection.
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In The Dark - Penguin Dive
Hanna Brühwiler (DE 2021)
Hanna Brühwiler (DE 2021)
5 min
What is life like for a penguin?
Put on your headphones and lose yourself as this composition takes you underwater to answer that question.
Composed by Hanna Brühwiler using recordings from The Berlin Museum of Science’s Data Portal.
The piece was made as part of the competition “Music Hackathon: Your Ocean Sound”.
Selected as part of a new producers listening event be In The Dark
The Stubborn Light of Things: Ep16 Identity
Melissa Harrison and Peter Rogers (UK 2020)
Produced by Melissa Harrison and Peter Rogers (UK 2020)
25 min / Episode 16 of 28
Nature writer and novelist Melissa Harrison goes out for walks in the Suffolk countryside with her dog Scout. We join her in nature as she muses about the local landscape, the shape of birds eggs and why the birds aren’t singing. She invites Richard Carter to broadcast the sounds of bats from North Yorkshire.