North American Sound Diaries

Based around a recent trip to the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System in California, this diary includes the drive up to the facility and sounds recorded by the perimeter fence.

Ivanpah generates electricity with 1000’s of computer controlled mirrors programmed to move with the sun and reflect sunlight onto three huge water towers, the heat converts the water to steam, this moves turbines generating electricity. Ivanpah opened in February 2014 and powers 140,000 homes.

When I walked up to the mirrors I found that they made some really interesting sounds. An electronic tone signals each movement of the mirrors, this is followed by the actual mechanical movement of the mirrors which sounds like creaking floorboards.

It would be interesting to have gone closer and recorded the steam powered turbines but the facility was closed off so I couldn’t go further than the perimeter fence.

* In the diary I say there are millions of mirrors, the actual figure is 170,000 mirrors. My response came from the sheer awe of the site. 

More information on Ivanpah can be found here: http://ivanpahsolar.com/

Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System -  Sound Diary

This recording features several short extracts taken from a longer sound walk and field recording session taken on the shores of Lake Ontario. 

The piece features the sounds of me walking along Lee Avenue - the street where I am currently staying, within view of the lake. 

The sounds of the Kew Beach boardwalk where I sat recording the early morning runners and dog walkers. 

Walking from the boardwalk to the shore of the lake, where I lean down to pick up stones and skim them over the calm surface of the lake.

The sound of the lake - waves gently breaking onto the shore and the calls of a small flock of Canada Geese. 

The recordings were taken between 5am and 6am on 17/06/14. I found it really interesting listening to how the sounds developed over that time. 
I was the only person when I first arrived at the lake shore, over time runners started to appear along the boardwalk, alter followed by dog walkers and a lakeside yoga class. The sounds of traffic also developed over this period - you can hear the sound of a horn at around 40 seconds into the piece. The constant sounds of birdsong and the waves coming from the lake tie all these sounds together creating a beautiful sonic environment.

Lake Ontario Soundwalk

Part of my sound diaries project involves making electroacoustic compositions out of the recordings I take. I’ve made a number of set form compositions but lately I’ve been exploring the idea of developing a live performance set up - where I can mix between sounds and locations while having precise control over playback start/end points, looping and effects. Ultimately this will result in some sort of system where a variety of definitions for each sound are embedded via metadata - the sounds can then be performed and manipulated in very specific ways relating to place and memory.

This is a recent experiment/jam I performed using a piece of software I developed several years ago. The initial purpose of the software was to use a form of weighted randomness to play back drum samples, the patch also grabs individual grains of each soundfile playing these back at a random intervals and speeds.

Although designed for percussive material the patch also has a performative quality allowing the user to create layers of sound controlling volume, playback and sample trigger speeds as well as fine tuning the grains to specific areas of audio. This is still very far removed from the usability I envision for a performance environment but it can produce some nice effects.

Image credit: Robert Taylor

Toronto Sounds Jam

Sequoia National Park , Tokopah Falls - California

Field recording/sound piece recorded by Tokopah Falls in Sequoia National Park, California.
Part of the North American Sound Diaries Project: http://northamericansounddiaries.tumblr.com/post/102250557435/sequoia-national-park-tokopah-falls-california

Excerpt from blog posting April 25th, 2014:
”a journey to Tokopah falls. This was a 4 mile round trip over relatively flat but rocky terrain. There was a lot of wildlife along the way we saw; a marmot - initially we thought it was a beaver, some friendly black tailed deer and narrowly missed a bear and its cub according to some Scandinavian walkers ahead of us. The payoff of the walk is the waterfall a 1200 ft high cascade over jagged rock formations. I spent time by the falls to eat my lunch, record and reflect on the power of the water before working back the way I came. ”

The piece begins with the sound of the waterfall, moving into recordings taken slightly lower down stream - first with binaural mics and then with a hydrophone. The hydrophone recording has been processed in parts to create emphasized movement within the stream.




Tokopah Falls

Sherbrooke --> Jean-Drapeau, Montreal - Quebec

The recording begins with my walk to the subway, the sound of my footsteps, the trickling of a water feature as I walk through a small park. As I enter the subway (4.02) you can hear the audible change in pressure as I am blasted by a wave of warm air. The subway reveals new sounds: an accordion player whose music reverberates through the tunnels, the sound of conversation between passengers, as well as the very distinctive train noises. The amplified audio idents (8.55) sound reminiscent of Close Encounters of the Third Kind and the trains are transported by wheels instead of electrified tracks. 

Over the course of the recording you hear a number of different sound spaces within the Montreal subway system: the quiet meditative sounds of the outdoors, a dynamic interior world of tonality from buskers and conversation to the roar of the trains. You can hear small snatches of conversation giving little insights in the day-to-day lives of the passengers. The piece finishes on words of parting encouragement between two swimmers who had only recently met on transit. Both were competing in the world masters championships, held in the Olympic Park (20.30). 

Full blog post here: http://northamericansounddiaries.tumblr.com/post/102330978990/sherbrooke-to-jean-drapeau-station-montreal

Montreal, Subway Soundwalk

Tea Brewing

St Clair West, Toronto, Ontario - Canada

I've recently got fairly into tea. Not just tea bags but using loose teas and making my own blends.  Its a pretty relaxing hobby and something that reminds me of home in England. I find that there some really nice sonic elements to the process; heating the kettle, filling the tea ball, pouring the water. 

This recording looks at the process of my morning cup of tea, using a number of contact microphones attached to the kettle, the cup and submerged in the tea. I also use a lapel mic to capture the general room ambience and acoustic qualities of the sound.  

Full blog post: http://northamericansounddiaries.tumblr.com/post/102417759860/tea-brewing-st-clair-west-toronto-ontario

Tea Brewing

This is an excerpt from a longer recording I took of a camp fire, looking specifically at what being in very close proximity to a fires embers sounds like.
The result is a very clear recording where you can hear high frequency crackles and pops as well as low frequency rumbling (best heard on headphones). The proximity also resulted in some of my windshields fibres fusing together from the heat - getting recording equipment close to blazing heat is probably not something I recommend doing at home.  

You can read the full blog post here: http://northamericansounddiaries.tumblr.com/post/102495556945/fire-on-east-moore-lake-ontario-a-short-offering

Fire On East Moore Lake

Anaheim Hills, Orange County - California

North American Sound Diaries catalogs my journey around the North American continent through sound. This is largely made up of field recording and text based work. It also spans a number of other areas including song. I wrote this song whilst staying in Anahaim Hills, Orange County. I wanted to capture the sound coming from outside - wind chimes in the breeze, the sound of the pools filtration system, I'm recording about 10ft from where I perform the song so as to pick up all this external sound. About half way through my hosts dog decided to join me, and I'm not too sure he's so thrilled about the song.

Lyrics:
i packed my bags
got on a plane and flew away
to America
across the country to LA

and i am in the air 
high above the ground
over the icy seas of Nova Scotia and Greenland

i see you now
with no more distance in my heart
with joyful eyes
and joyful arms and joyful hands

is this the start of life
and now beyond England
with doubt and possibility
shaking in my hands

i'm driving on
driving onwards in the night
towards excess
and i am blinded by the light

I pray that all my dreams 
won't crumble into sand
forgotten traveller
not a boy and not a man
oh my tired feet so far from England

Turning away from the light
before i see what i've done to this sight
i was insane but now i'm free
from the pain that was holding me

i packed my bags
got on a plane and flew away
to America
across the country to LA

and i am in the air 
high above the ground
over the icy seas of Nova Scotia and Greenland

North American Sound Diaries

Dan Tapper Magnetic Audio