My memory is of reeds in a slowly seeping tide; thick clay, barely a morning (or anything). A thousand-year grey air pushed through tall stems, until the water sank down to the mud roots.

•

‘Mud Roots’ was realised in the Electroacoustic Music Studios at the University of Birmingham between July and September 2019, with support from the Midlands4Cities Doctoral Training Partnership (AHRC).

No AI software of any kind was used to compose ‘Mud Roots’. All ideas, sounds, audio processes and written notes are the unique creative output of the recordist/composer.

Piece notes revised and updated October 2025.

Image credit:
Weaver, John E.  [Public Domain], Wikimedia Commons

Mud Roots

This recording comprises tracks 30, 31, 32 and 33 of CD2.

Track 30 and 32: Voice of Mel Gooding. 

Track 31 and 33: Michael Craig-Martin interviewed by Melanie Roberts, Artists' Lives, 1998-2002, catalogue reference C466/109. © British Library Board.

"Connecting Lines: Artists Talk About Drawing" features recorded extracts edited from an oral history collection, 'Artists' Lives'. The CD was published in 2010 in celebration of 20 years of 'Artist's Lives', funded by the Rootstein Hopkins Foundation.

'Artist's Lives' was initiated in 1990 by National Life Stories, the oral history fieldwork charity based at the British Library. As of 2025 more than 460 life story interviews with artists and art professionals have been recorded for the collection.

Connecting Lines: Michael Craig-Martin (2)

This recording comprises tracks 34 and 35 of CD2.

Track 34: Voice of Mel Gooding. 

Track 35: Ian Tyson interviewed by Cathy Courtney, Artists' Lives, 1997-2007, catalogue reference C466/63. © British Library Board.

"Connecting Lines: Artists Talk About Drawing" features recorded extracts edited from an oral history collection, 'Artists' Lives'. The CD was published in 2010 in celebration of 20 years of 'Artist's Lives', funded by the Rootstein Hopkins Foundation.

'Artist's Lives' was initiated in 1990 by National Life Stories, the oral history fieldwork charity based at the British Library. As of 2025 more than 460 life story interviews with artists and art professionals have been recorded for the collection.

Connecting Lines: Ian Tyson (2)

This recording comprises tracks 36 and 37 of CD2.

Track 36: Voice of Mel Gooding.

Track 37: Harold Cohen interviewed by Cathy Courtney, Artists' Lives, 2008-11, catalogue reference C466/289. © British Library Board.

"Connecting Lines: Artists Talk About Drawing" features recorded extracts edited from an oral history collection, 'Artists' Lives'. The CD was published in 2010 in celebration of 20 years of 'Artist's Lives', funded by the Rootstein Hopkins Foundation.

'Artist's Lives' was initiated in 1990 by National Life Stories, the oral history fieldwork charity based at the British Library. As of 2025 more than 460 life story interviews with artists and art professionals have been recorded for the collection.

Connecting Lines: Harold Cohen (3)

This recording comprises tracks 38 and 39 of CD2.

Track 38: Voice of Mel Gooding. 

Track 39: Harold Cohen interviewed by Cathy Courtney, Artists' Lives, 2008-11, catalogue reference C466/289. © British Library Board.

"Connecting Lines: Artists Talk About Drawing" features recorded extracts edited from an oral history collection, 'Artists' Lives'. The CD was published in 2010 in celebration of 20 years of 'Artist's Lives', funded by the Rootstein Hopkins Foundation.

'Artist's Lives' was initiated in 1990 by National Life Stories, the oral history fieldwork charity based at the British Library. As of 2025 more than 460 life story interviews with artists and art professionals have been recorded for the collection.

Connecting Lines: Harold Cohen (4)

This recording comprises tracks 40 and 41 of CD2.

Track 40: Voice of Mel Gooding. 

Track 41: Maggi Hambling interviewed by Mel Gooding, Artists' Lives, 1995-96, catalogue reference C466/48. © British Library Board.

"Connecting Lines: Artists Talk About Drawing" features recorded extracts edited from an oral history collection, 'Artists' Lives'. The CD was published in 2010 in celebration of 20 years of 'Artist's Lives', funded by the Rootstein Hopkins Foundation.

'Artist's Lives' was initiated in 1990 by National Life Stories, the oral history fieldwork charity based at the British Library. As of 2025 more than 460 life story interviews with artists and art professionals have been recorded for the collection.

Connecting Lines: Maggi Hambling (3)

Scaly-breasted Wren,  Microcerculus marginatus, née Southern Nightingale-wren, more likely heard than seen, this tiny bird spends its time on the floors of humid rainforests, hopping quietly, but singing brightly. Its loud, cheerful song consists of bright, clear, pure tones with seemingly random pitch, volume, rhythm, and length variation. Alternately slow-and-steady and fast-paced-and-frenetic, it never ceases to surprise.

Early in the morning of August 20, 2025, this particular fellow decided my microphones would be the chosen audience for this out-of-the-blue yet clear and beautiful song.

As usual, an isolated version is included for detail, but this time AFTER the source recording itself.

For the technique curious, this was hour 23 of a 48 hour recording in the mid-elevation transition zone Amazon Rainforest at Manu BioStation in the Andes Mountain Foothills.
For the technically curious, this was recorded with a Zoom F3 with Oaka Verdi (copper version) microphones.

"scaly-breasted wren, southern nightingale-wren" by Adam Jackson is marked with CC0 1.0. To view the terms, visit http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/?ref=openverse.

Learn more about Scaly-breasted Wrens at eBird: https://ebird.org/species/scbwre1

Like my recordings? To hear more or license bird sounds for your project, feel free to message me directly in SoundCloud or click on one of my too-many social media buttons. If you feel like fueling my activities, feel free to buy me a Ko-Fi, at https://ko-fi.com/northwestsoundscapes Happy Listening!

This recording also appears:
iNaturalist https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/312773406
Macaulay Library/ eBird https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/641624556
Xeno-Canto https://xeno-canto.org/1037518

Scaly-breasted Wren,  Microcerculus marginatus

occasional wanting

31/Atlas

fragile

Mark Ferguson is a wildlife sound recordist. His work draws attention to the sonic nuances of animal behaviour and the fascinating audible relationships between humans, wild species and their shared environments. He is currently based in Northern Ireland, where he spends most of his time documenting the habitats and hidden stories of his native Ulster countryside.

Mud Roots

Mark Ferguson

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