It's my birthday, and I'll make like a cowboy if I want to

I'm back in Spain again, on the hunt for more classic Spanish sounds. It's also my birthday! I normally spend it with family, getting gifts and breakfast in bed and general congratulations- but not today. Today I awoke alone in a sleepy Spanish village, spent the morning recording atmospheres in nearby rocky terrain, and the afternoon with some cowboy-types and a load of bulls. I've massively enjoyed it! And obviously had beans for lunch to fit in with the theme. 

Hope you've all had a great start to the week. Here's a few pics from my day...

Thanks to Mr. Teodoro Adell and his son Jose Antonio for their hospitality

Spain

I just got back from a recording trip to Spain. It was great to be home (though that's a confusing word these days...)- Spain has so much to offer in terms of sound. From blaring, emotion-brewing traditional trumpets, to street sellers, to the hubbub of it's bars and cafes- which I think sound like nowhere else in the world. There is something about a particularly "Spanish" atmosphere that draws you in and makes you want to sit with friends for hours and drink wine. 

I didn't have time to do that myself, but I did get to record lots of other people doing it- almost as good! I also hit up some of the big sounds you'd expect from a Spanish trip; bull fights, southern music, and even a bit of controversial Gibraltar. (She was interesting to say the least!)

Here's a few photos from my trip. With sound to follow once I've unpacked my bags...

Toro!

Las Ventas, Madrid

Strait of Gibraltar

Hope it's been a good week for everyone. This morning I'm listening to crisp, newly brown, Irish leaves breezing over my garden. The quiet of rural Ireland is such a contrast to hectic Madrid. I love them both.

Crispy

Here's some web stuff to check out...

Farewell Don King

We’re busy recording everything we can lay our ears on this week, over in Spain. It’s pretty scorchio! Hope everyone’s had a great week and has something exciting planned for the weekend. I can’t wait to write about everything I’ve heard here when I get home to NI. Spain, I’ve missed you!

Photo credit to my friend Chabeli

In other news, have you seen the new Super-Softie Windshields from Rycote? I’m planning on trying them out as soon as I can lay my hands on some. I think it’s going to be the end of microphone aesthetics as we know it. The new stuff looks much slicker, but it’d be sad to say goodbye to the fluffy exteriors synonymous with sound for decades now…

My wife thinks most of them look like boxing promoter Don King

But it’s about time for an update. Will try and do a product review on them soon. Has anyone else started using them yet? What do you think?

Super Slick Rick

Super Slick Rick

Hope it’s a great weekend for everyone. Here’s some cool stuff to hit up…

Recording Locally

Whispy Mountain

We all dream of working in far off exotic places. There's no denying travel is enriching, but what about all the stuff that's in your own back garden? Have you ever really looked around you? Or more importantly, stopped and listened? Wherever you live, there is someone else in the world who sees your home as exciting and worthy of discovery. Even if you live in Wolverhampton.

This week I've been focusing on what I can hear around me, both from an enriching point of view, and a practical library-growing angle.

So without further ado, I give to you, My Back Garden... (or a few miles radius from my house)

I wanted to encompass some varied atmospheres, as well as finer sounds to be edited and stashed in the library. When I arrive to a location I like to start with atmospheres and then record more specific sounds afterward. Because, I can guarantee that only by sitting in silence for quite a while will you hear the most noteworthy. For example, maybe on arrival to a beach location you plan on recording lapping waves, seagulls and the sound of water hitting the rocks from varying distances. But if you take time out first of all, you might instead notice the patter of a tiny crab across the sand,  or how the grass between the dunes sounds from different locations, or the dull thud of distant footprints when you lie on the ground. 

This doesn't only apply to mystical empty beaches, or rural locations like my own. In a factory there will also be less obvious sounds that are worthy of recording, it only takes a little patience to find them, and then isolate them so they can be preserved as best you can manage given your circumstances and equipment. You can also make a note of these details and recreate them in the studio later.

The examples given in this post are all country-side based, but I implore you to apply the same mindful method wherever you are- there's always something hidden!

 

Anyone else have any local finds to share? Would love to hear other hidden spots you've found in Ireland, the UK or beyond.

Hope everyone has a great weekend! And here's a couple of links to some sound related further listening...

Outside

I recently took a trip to China. I travelled down the Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan borders, with the intention of collecting enough to compile a sound package and add to my library. That I did, and trust me if ever you get the chance- go there. It is an amazing part of the world, one full of colour and with a wealth of unusual sounds. The people are fantastic and the landscape so varied that it was a humbling experience for me and my Sennheisers. I came home with a reaffirmation of what motivates me, a remembrance of why I fell in love with sound, and a new resolution to make time to get out of the studio and record.

Trying to carry that feeling back home, I've vowed to get out at least once a month in the field. With minimal equipment, I want to get to places and record purely because they interest me; not just because I've been commissioned or need it for a film.  I've since sought out some great things to record locally, and I really recommend making the effort to get away from the screen that so many of us audio professionals and enthusiasts are often glued to. There's no greater contrast than being in front of a computer, and sitting in a field with your mic. Get out there!

Here's a few sights and sounds that inspired me...

A family happy to pose in Tashkurgan

Weavers

Wheels

Market seller

Recording the racket coming from a school window

Nuff said...

Thanks China! You were amazing! 

What's the best field recording trip you've done? Are there any really inspiring places you've found? Would love to hear about them... 

PS- if you haven't already, check these out.