Day 3. Sounds from the past cont'd - Brinkburn Priory and Holystone

:: Stunned Gold Crest at Brinkburn Priory ::

Thursday morning (30th) I was bitten by the recording bug - namely - the one that reminds you of just how fleeting your time is - in the area of the world you wish to record. I approach Chris in the morning and request we break our plans to spend the day in-studio - to hit the road and continue gathering sounds (along with lessons in history). Chris is out the door before I am.

"Great! Weather's good, let's go!"

I grab my pack and run to catch-up. No time to check I have everything - it's dark by 5 and daylight hours are burning. 

The first stop is at Brinkburn Priory. Luck is with us as we happen to be visiting on the last day before they close for Winter. Again - the weather is windy and a tad gloomy - perfect in that it keeps crowds of visitors away and creates a feeling of privacy and even intimacy between yourself and the environment. First recording is the wind amongst the Birch trees  - the most detailed yet. They quietly crack and whisper amongst themselves. En masse, they're louder than most to the point that I don't hear Chris when he calls for me to, 'come see!' The Priory's warden is standing at the bottom of the drive, holding a tiny bird in her hand. She's looking at it and it's looking straight back at her fearlessly - eye to eye. The bird was a, Gold Crest', the smallest bird in the UK and this little guy had flown into her reception window. She'd found him/her lying on the ground stunned - but alive. No wings were broken and after a few minutes - whereby he/she graced us with an impromptu photo shoot - he/she takes off into the trees. 

Chris points out the acoustics of the church - beautifully alive they enhance the qualities of sounds. I think of Noirlac - and ponder the question Chris poses, 'At such a time, when technology was so basic, how did they manage to design such buildings - that use highly sophisticated architecture to enhance the sounds through acoustics?' 

Good question..... No idea...... Wish I knew......

:: Trees at 'Lady's Well' ::

From Brinkburn we head North West - to Holystone and its, 'Lady's Well.' The journey from one to the other is filled with historical tales about the area - which like Lindefarne - has a lengthy and detailed past. From what I have read and what I have heard - there is a strong belief that the well was originally a pagan site and adopted by the Christian religion at a certain point in its history. On visiting the well there is an undeniable sense of 'communing with nature' that I don't associate with Christianity. The surrounding fir trees stand as pillars in a cathedral and silently command your reverence. While there are stone idols present, they were added in later centuries and consist of only two. The well as it originated - without these figures - would hold an as-sacred impression - one (even more) intrinsically connected to the nature as found there. 

I place a hydrophone pair into the well and an MS pair above ground at the head of the space, between two of the tree columns. Simultaneously they capture the world above and the world below the well's surface. Darkness falls quickly while we are there as does the volume of my voice. As I exit through the gate I am near whispering and find it hard to pull myself away. Who knows what occurs in such a space under the faceless guise of night.

This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body.

Day 2. The wind and the tide of Lindisfarne.

:: Walking path for the Monks to come and go from the island - marked by tall poles ::

Lindisfarne is a pretty interesting community (an understatement!). It has a recorded history dating back to the 6th century that includes tales of Viking attacks and nothing less than the birth of Christianity. Personally - what I find so intriguing about its nature is the fact that at certain times of the day, when the tide rises, the island is cut-off from the rest of civilisation. To live on the island is to live by the tide and in a rhythm with the elements you have no control over. People have done-so for well over a thousand years and I am sure they will continue to do-so in the years to come. 

The day of my visit (Wed 30th Oct) was windy and overcast - well suited to imagining the past lives that have sustained such a setting. We walked along the coastline - around the island and found one particularly striking place at which to record. 

:: Recording at Lindisfarne ::

The howl of the wind was the most voice-like I have ever heard. The halyards of the nearby boats banged against their masts - sounds ricocheted off the wall to my left. Chris's ears were noticeably quick at picking the spots where sounds were sweetest. Sometimes he would silently point and I would know where to move to listen. At times the wind would be too strong and we would stand to block its full gale, allowing the microphones a chance to absorb the sounds before wind distortion. 

In the late afternoon we headed to a hide that we had scouted earlier in the day. It was close-by, on the coastline and one that Chris had not recorded at before. While it was still light we positioned our microphones and ran the cable back to the hide. By nightfall - as the tide was moving in, so too was the bird wildlife and we began the recording. Over at least an hour, I listened as the sea crept closer and the bird's chatters grew louder. It is not a process you can rush - like the people of Lindisfarne -  we were also living by the tide - at the beck and call of it's own internal clock - a spectator to it as it passed us by. In the distance I could hear the trains passing through each half hour as per their timetable, adding to the pulse of the environment. As the darkness fell so too did the general humm of daily noise. The nocturnal cycle of sounds rose together as an unseen orchestra, hiding in the dark beyond the hide. We sat in a small circle of dim light - only able to listen and imagine what this world entails.

This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body.

Day 1. Open your ears, begin again: Recording under the expertise of Chris Watson

After over a year of planning I have finally begun the recording intensive in North East England under instruction from field recordist Chris Watson. My day of travel from London to the coastline was quite an ordeal. Nature decided to make it interesting by throwing a savage storm across my path. Sitting on a unmoving train for over 8 hours with a handful of strangers - while mild panic ensued and the discontent amassed - provided me with a somewhat surreal experience existing somewhere between 'Breakfast Club' and 'World War Z'. At midday, I did a run for supplies, leaving the quiet safety of our cabin to head into the growing mass of desperate bodies trying to leave the city.

I slipped through their numbers to quickly grab what I needed and headed back to the 'Safe zone'. On return I continued conversation with other strangers. Under the pressure of time they unfolded and told me of their relationships with family, friends, partners - more than once I heard the phrase, 'But I can't really talk about it with them.' I'd ask them why they could talk about it with me and generally, they would shrug. I became a confessional for the troubled individuals whose worrying thoughts had risen to the surface in this time of relentless waiting.

Very surreal...

Tuesday morning (29th) the work begins. I arrive at the Watson residence to find that the unconditional infatuation from their border collie (Jessie) has not waned overnight. While I know I'm not the only one (her attention is lavished on any lucky soul that walks through the front door), it does make me feel somewhat special and warrants interrupting my morning cup of tea discussion with Chris for a quick return of affection. We spend the morning pondering over maps of the areas Chris would like to visit for recordings. Each point on the map brings with it a tale of history - of its past and present inhabitants - of clans and cultures - of beasts and birds all who are connected to this physical origin. By the time the car is packed and we begin our way I am aware that tutoring has well begun.

Today we visit one of Chris's 'favourite places to record'. Heading North West we arrive at a small resting place within Kielder Forest. Visually, it is notably modest but the collections of sounds to be sourced here are diverse and like candy for the ear. An active stream borders the edge of the area, which is filled with both native and introduced trees, (pine and broad leaves, respectively). The wind has many different voices - each tuned by the leaves and trunks it wraps itself around. The coniferous trees - with their thin needled leaves create a constant steady hiss - not unlike white noise. The native Oak and Birch trees crackle in the force of the wind, their broader leaves clapping together like hands to near breaking point. 

I drop the two different hydrophones I have with me into the stream at various points. First I try deeper waters - where the current is strong moving but not so rough. The lower frequencies are more present and the general richness of the audio is a pleasure in itself. In comparison - the shallow stream appears to also shallow the frequencies of the sounds. Their lows disappear and the mid/highs become rougher and less enjoyable. Chris talks to me as I am monitoring and I jump at the direct sound of his voice. He reminds me that sounds travels faster in water than air. What I am hearing is his voice through the stream and it's immediacy is so noticeable that I feel I am hearing his voice microsecond's before his mouth forms the words.

:: Hydrophone recording. Kielder Forest ::

We pack up and leave just before dark. We must head to a nearby clearing and position our microphones for the night - running 100m cable back to the vehicle in wait for the nocturnal nightlife whose sounds we hope to capture. Time is of the essence. The setup (once positioned) must be left for at least a couple of hours before we begin recording, so as to allow the environment to settle again after our disruption. So little time, so much life and obsession to record it....

This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body.

Framework:seasonal ::: Autumn 2013

 

"The framework:seasonal series of fund-raising audio releases continues with issue #6, another superb compilation of previously unreleased sounds by artists working in the field recording community. this selection features new names as well as several you’ve certainly heard before, all of whom are new to framework editions‘ release series. petra kapš (OR poiesis), kim walker, mathieu ruhlmann, sawako, david velez, éric la casa, tessa elieff (tattered kaylor), chris whitehead, and artificial memory trace."

View complete track details HERE

The rather talented Patrick McGinley (AKA Framework Radio) has just released the 2013, Autumn edition (issue #6) for your listening pleasure. In the selection of sounds you will find my own composition, 'Booroomba to Borough', composed exclusively for Framework. For more details on the work please have a read of the track details. Copies of the release can be purchased via a €20 donation to the cause - and what a cause it is! 

Enjoy,

T

Sombre nay Sated: Review on Carnage News

Review by Riccardo Gorone for Carnage News

Sombre nay Sated: Review in De:Bug issue #176

'Sombre nay Sated', has a review in De:Bug #176. Translation in english below................

"Tessa Elieff's ambisonic work, her interests in sound and effects of perception of specific spaces and rooms of resonance have led her to travel half the world in the last couple of years, notwithstanding Austria, where her debut album has finally been released on the Moozak label.  Her music, with its multi-layered dimensionality of diffusion and (re)editing (processing) always runs the risk of having these elements reduced when released on a CD. This is sometimes the case in this almost half-hour collection of three commission works. The shadow-like granular waves composed for the Melbourne event, 'Akousmatikoi' (with Jacques Soddell) one suspects only finds completion in its radiant emittance at the very location. Engaging, involving and immersive however, are the two following pieces for the ORF Kunstradio, both using the recordings of sound installations of Austrian artists Uli Kuehn and Andreas Trobollowitsch.
The mysterious and threatening low rumblings and buzzing hums are made alive through very engaged field recording processes and especially the sounds of weather and insects in, 'Taken to Booroomba' lets one eagerly await the planned collaboration work with Chris Watson." 

Article on the British Libraries Sound and Vision blog

Recently I was approached by Cheryl Tipp - Curator of Natural Sounds at the British Library, and asked to write a blog entry for her series on guest field recordists and sound artists. I was very flattered to contribute and must say - it was a little confronting writing about my work in a rather candid way. I didn't expect to be quite so open but Cheryl has a knack of making you feel comfortable enough to do so.

The article titled, 'Tessa Elieff: Witness, documentarian and provocateur.' can be read HERE

I highly recommend having a read of the other contributing artists - such as John Kannenberg's unique twist with his works of sound recordings within museum's and Simon Elliot's life work on recording (and not disrupting) the voice of the wildlife. 

Lovely weekend reading and a way to escape for a little....