This is a Backlisted special, recorded at the Bodleian Library in Oxford to celebrate the publication of Treacle Walker the new novel by Alan Garner (Fourth Estate). The panel discussion features Erica Wagner, writer and critic and editor of First Light, an anthology of pieces about Alan Garner’s work; Dr Melanie Giles, archaeologist and the author of Bog Bodies, the definitive account of the phenomenon which plays a significant role in the book’s story; and Professor Bob Cywinski, physicist, whose conversations with Alan Garner about time, landscape and local legend provided the inspiration for the novel.

Treacle Walker by Alan Garner

Along Dark Paths (Per Opaca Viarum) was commissioned and premiered by the Koninklijk Harmonieorkest Vooruit Harelbeke, cond. Erik Desimpelaere

Along Dark Paths (excerpt) 1. Ambages (furore)

A-Lucifer

Full Tilt: Ireland to India with a Bicycle by the Irish travel writer Dervla Murphy was first published in 1965 and is the first of Dervla Murphy’s twenty-six books. It's a journal she kept on the 3,500 mile, six-month journey she made by bicycle from her home in Lismore, Ireland to Delhi in India in 1963, Ireland, traversing Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan on her trusty bike, Ros.  Joining us to discuss the book are Felicity Cloake, food writer and the award-winning author of the Guardian’s long-running ‘How to Make the Perfect’ series and Caroline Eden, author and journalist, whose latest book, Red Sands is a reimagining of traditional travel writing using food as the jumping-off point to explore Central Asia. 

This episode also features Andy reading from Craig Brown's new collected works,  Haywire, while John has been enjoying In Search of One Last Song: Britain’s disappearing birds and the people trying to save them by Patrick Galbraith.

Timings: (may differ due to variable advert length)
07:25 - Haywire by Craig Brown
14:41 - One Last Song by Patrick Galbraith.
20:48 - Full Tilt by Dervla Murphy

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Full Tilt by Dervla Murphy

Liminal ride

A long soundscape across Dawn in the Queets River Valley rainforest of the Olympic National Park. Starting in Astronomical Twilight, a small herd of Roosevelt Elk walks in from a distance, though a small forest glade, an away towards the Queets River bed.

Early Autumn rainfall and dropping Maple Leaves are the dominant sounds to begin, their pak-pak-spaks are a reminder that time passes, even in the still quiet of a moss-covered forest.

Highway 101 in less than 12 miles away, and distant traffic is funneled up the Valley, showing the difficulty of escaping human-generated sound. This has been mitigated somewhat with light processing, but close listening and inspection will make remnants evident. There are no other edits or processes committed.

I love the crisp cold air of the rainforests in the fall. Sounds, natural and human generated, carry into the distant. Tucked into my sleeping bag, I lay back in my small tent, listening to the forest awaken. Where once there was just the soft distant wash of the river, the elk are joined by the local birds. Steller's Jays shriek their song with grating-yet-amusing "CHA-CHA-CHA-CHAs". A Northern Saw-whet toots in the forest canopy. Young Varied Thrush practice their songs, not quite reaching the beautiful and haunting signature fluting of their predecessors, instead emitting a silly buzzer-bell-like noise. Pacific Wren singing at the end of their season and the occasional Kingfisher make an appearance as well. Noe of these complete with the sheer vibrance of the elk.

Roosevelt Elk or Roosevelt's Wapiti or Rainforest Elk are the largest remaining elk species in North America and thrive in shadowy silences of the Pacific Northwest's temperate rainforests. Bull's bugles and roars echo through the trees, becoming one of the signature sounds of the Olympic Mountains. The cows mew and squeal in return, listening for one another to not wander far astray.

The small herd is a tight-nit family group, a with one, maybe two, dominant bulls, five or six cows in their harem, and a handful of young. The dominant bull leads the group on a daily hike, down from the upper valley to the river and back again. Their bugles urge the group, both signaling the direction to go and scolding those that dawdle. As they pass through the glade, their heavy footfall on the vegetative floor thump-thump-thumps their presence as much as the vocalizations and the continued crushing of vegetation as they push by.

I can't get enough of their energy. They pull back frequently. No matter how many times I encounter them, Elk never cease to awe me.

Click through the comments below for some highlights!

Northwest Soundscapes

Queets River Valley Rainforest Dawn with Elk

Hope

Guillaume Dufay (1400-1474) Messe Se La Face Ay Pale
Arrangement by Marco Blaauw, for 6 trumpets and electronics

Recorded in March 2023, Cologne by Niklas Werani 
Edited and Mix, Niklas Werani and Marco Blaauw

Performed by The Monochrome Project

G. Dufay, Messe Se La Face Ay Pale for 6 trumpets and electronics

for six voices, flute, clarinet, harp, percussion, violoncello and double bass
Léo Warynski, Conductor

Ensemble Multilatérale
Matteo Cesari - flutes
Allain Billard - clarinets
Hélene Colombotti - percussions
Aurélie Saraf - harp
Pablo Tognan - violoncello
Nicolas Crosse - double bass

Les Métaboles
Anne - Clarie Baconnais
Aurélie Bougié 
Laura Muller
Steve Zheng 
René Ramos-Premier
Paul-Alexandre Dubois

16.07.2023
Friche la Belle de Mai, Marseille

<eludes> | Les Métaboles & Ensemble Multilatérale (2023)

Front Row

cillian murphy and enda walsh

30 June 2020

During an unattended nocturnal recording session in a patch of old-growth forest a rain and thunder weather passed over during late evening hours. Birds stopped singing except for a Common Chiffchaff which actually seemed triggered by the rain and thunder.

Vindeln commune, Northern Sweden (64.11 N, 19.44 E)

Primos, +6 dB, 150 Hz/6 dB low cut filter in post

Chiffchaff singing in rain and thunder

The literary podcast presented by John Mitchinson and Andy Miller. Brought to you by Unbound. Visit www.backlisted.fm

Treacle Walker by Alan Garner

Backlisted Podcast

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