Field Recordings (non Fleurieu Sound Map) - 2010 to present

From the second floor of Hababusch hostel (Geleitstrasse 4, Weimar, Germany)  Recorded on an Sony MD MZ-NH700 with a Sony stereo condenser microphone.  Lots of passing conversations, cars idling, bicycles and the chiming of distant bells.  The hostel is in one of the areas of Weimar where the sound field is immediate and dense with human activity and reverberations.

Sounds from a window in Weimar, Germany - 1pm; 20 September 2008

Luxmore Hut is located about 15km south-west from Te Anau on the South Island of New Zealand.  It is the first hut along the Kepler Track (a 60km tramping track circuit) in the Fiordland National Park.  The hut is roughly 1400km above sea level and is the highest point of the track.  There are incredible views from the hut of the surrounding mountains and Lake Te Anau.  At the time of our arrival there had been an unseasonable late snow drop which covered the whole mountain plain in thick (deep) snow with the very likely chance of avalanches, had we decided to tramp further (we didn't.)  This recording documents the seemingly ferocious winds that surrounded the hut in the early hours of the morning.  I couldn't sleep very well - I was pretty spooked by the jolts of wind, the creaks of the hut and the occasional short whistle.  Even more disconcerting was the silence as the wind suddenly dropped for a few seconds before starting up again.  Recorded on an Edirol HD-09 hard disk recorder with mic gain and limiter activated.


Winds pass through Luxmore Hut, New Zealand - 3am; 8 October 2010

On a beautiful sunny afternoon in Te Anau, Lauren and I took a casual stroll along the banks of Lake Te Anau.  I discovered a couple of service shafts that had some attractive sounds that one could make out from a distance amongst the ambiance of lapping water, distant cars, twittering birds and chattering insects.  I recorded both of these shafts by positioning the recorder 'belly up' on each of the metal doors.  I placed my jumper over the recorder on both occasions as to isolate the sound of rattling pipes and subtle resonances coming from each of the shafts.  You'll hear distinct differences between the shafts - in terms of texture, dynamic, resonance and overall loudness. The respective recordings have been normalized and EQ'd (very slightly) in an attempt to faithfully restore these recordings to a semblance what I heard at the time.  As a result of this process there is a little noise on both of these recordings.  If only I'd had a couple of transducer mics on hand! Recorded on an Edirol HR-09 stereo HHD.

Two shafts by Lake Te Anau, New Zealand - 2pm; 11 October 2010

On our way back down from Luxmore Hut, where we had spent the previous night we arrived at Brod Bay shortly after lunchtime.   Brod Bay greets you at the base of the track after a couple of hours of downward tramping.  It was dreary and misty when we left the hut and this trend had continued by the time we arrived at Brod Bay.  This recording was made by placing the Edirol on a branch facing the Lake Te Anau (conveniently sheltered from drizzle by a branch above.)  A bit of wind buffets the stereo image occasionally and low band filtering crossed my mind but decided to remain faithful to the atmosphere instead.


Back at Brod Bay (Kepler Track), New Zealand - 2pm; 10 Oct 2010

Now this is most definitely a Kea.  This recording was made around 6am as I wandered about the Fox Glacier township on a bright sunny morning.  This fellow was perched on the roof of a cafe and it was the first time I heard the Kea's call - which is very similar to its related parrot genus, especially the sharp and complex harmonics. 

Kea, Fox Glacier Township, New Zealand - 6am; 4th October 2010

Here's excerpts of some unique recordings I made with a pair of Aquarian hydrophones. I was walking along the Onkaparinga River close to a fence line boundary when I passed what sounded like a pure wave. I realised this was coming from a fence post resonating from the vibration of fixed wires. I pressed my ear to listen closer. It sounded amazing! 

I didn't have any clamps to fix contact mics to the wire, so I decided to bury a pair of hydrophones at the base of two fenceposts. I positioned them so that they were flush and lightly making contact with the base of the post. Both resonances had fundamental frequencies of approx. 360 Hz, with a partial occuring at approx. 420 Hz when the wind picked up and articulated the wires.

I then decided to explore this further by examining the surrounding fenceposts. Excerpt 2 is one of the initial fenceposts with another fencepost that presented a more complex resonance (423 Hz, 637 Hz, 720 Hz).

Excerpt 3 is another set of fenceposts which were far more subtle in resonance, but prone to perculiar artefacts, which (at this stage) I'm attributing to the wind and movement of sand around the base of the posts.

Excerpt 4 was at a point where the posts produced very complex resonances, and it became apparent that these were not so immediate, but rather, derived from activity occuring 50-100 metres along the wires. (the soft tapping you can hear is raindrops hitting the post, wires and sand.)

Any feedback/insight into these recordings would be greatly appreciated! Thanks, TLR.

Fenceposts and wires resonating, Port Noarlunga - Oct 2018

Tristan Louth-Robins is a South Australian artist working principally in the medium of sound art and field recording. Ideas of sound and its signification are key elements in Louth-Robins' practice, traversing the space between the visual and aural his work is realised through the mediums of recordings, installation, visual art and performance. He is interested in sound and its associative implications - including its relationship to objects, technology, urban space, memory and the natural world. 


Since 2005, Louth-Robins has presented work in Australia and internationally as a solo artist, whilst also collaborating with artists, writers, researchers, musicians and performers. 

Working across a vast array of activities encompassing composition, sound design, installation art, field recording and workshops, his work has been featured in events such as the Adelaide Festival of Arts (2006), The National Regional Arts Festival (2012), Mildura-Wentworth Arts Festival (2013), Fairfax Festival (2013) and Adelaide Fringe Festival (2014); and selected works exhibited at galleries including The Australian Experimental Art Foundation (2009), SASA Gallery (2012, 2015), Light Square Gallery (2012) and FELT Space (2015). His audio works have been broadcast on radio including Radio National, Classic FM, The BBC (UK), Acoustic Frontiers (USA) and RBB (Germany).