A return to the Lady Bay reef and one particular set of tidal pools and seagrass meadows that were documented in January 2021. The three environments presented here reveal the diverse soundscapes contained within a wide, shallow meadow of seagrass and two tidal pools containing a variety grasses, kelp and seaweed. There is still much research to be done regarding the constituent sounds of these environments, since - at this present time - it is difficult to distinguish plant/reef sound from fish, crustacean and other organisms.

FKISM: Seagrass meadow, Lady Bay reef (southern region) - April 2022

FKISM: Seagrass meadow, Lady Bay reef (southern region)- April 2022

FKISM - Seagrass meadow, Lady Bay reef (southern region) - April 2022

On this second recording, we hear the soundscape of shoreline substrate rendered spatially in stereo by the two deployed hydrophones, separated several metres apart from each other. Similar to recordings made at Hog’s Bay in Kangaroo Island (October 2020), the recordings reveal the complexity of wave activity - crashing, swirling and roiling continuously at varying degrees. Amidst this, particles of sand, rock and shell are at once collected, spun and dispersed across the audible field.

FKISM: Sellicks Beach, substrate recording - March 2022

Dobra voda is a small bay on the island of Silba. A remote beach is situated an hours walking distance from the only village on the island.

This mystical and completely secluded place was once a summer commune, gathering creative minds from Yugoslavia but also from all over Europe. A versatile art scene emerged, the one that preceded Ljubljana's alternative theatre scene, Rijeka's new wave and some of the most influential ex-Yu alternative bands; "[...] The music was coming from every single bush: violins, cellos, saxophones, trumpets, and, of course, mostly guitars [...]."

One of my dearest friends, Natasha Kadin, curator and cultural manager of SEA Silba Environment Art organised a wonderful exhibition in 2018 with found archive photos made by Marijan Blažina, one of the artists from the commune. Croatian multi-disciplinary artist and author Boris Greiner wrote more about this exhibition: www.silba-environment-art.hr/en/blog/boris-greiner-slikovne-poruke-s-dobre-vode/

I visited Dobre vode on a few occasions, but this particular time I wanted to record a sonic palimpsest, built from water memories and other environmental simulacra of this magical little bay. I recorded with hydrophones from various angles, listened to the interplay between water and salt and different geological formations. The movement of the pebbles from the sea bed, water sliding down the rocks and crevices, burying my "ears" under the sea bed but also inside the enormous piles of dry Posidonia oceanica, commonly known as Neptune grass or Mediterranean tapeweed, a seagrass species that is endemic to the Mediterranean Sea. It forms large underwater meadows that are an important part of the ecosystem. The Posidonia has a very high carbon absorption capacity, being able to soak up 15 times more carbon dioxide every year than a similar-sized piece of the Amazon rainforest.

Dobra voda bay is positioned to accumulate dry Posidonia once it is washed ashore. It is absolutely impossible to be still in those clouds of dry seaweed and be completely silent. Even so, I tried.

The sound piece is a mix of 16 chosen recordings placed in a dronesque metaphor of passing time. 

released August 25, 2022

All sounds recorded, edited and composed by Manja Ristić
Recorded during SEA Silba Environment Art Residence 2021
www.silba-environment-art.hr
Hydrophone built by Jez riley French
jezrileyfrench.co.uk
Mastering La Plant Studio Belgrade
laplantstudio.com

Dobra voda

August 25th, 2022

Bandcamp

Humpback whale and its calve - Golfo Dulce, Costa Rica

On the evening of September 1, 2022, J-Pod made their way north in Haro Strait after a several week absence. They had a lot say - take a listen to this short clip from the Lime Kiln hydrophone!

J-Pod on September 1, 2022

A clip of very talkative J-Pod whales as they came south near Lime Kiln on the afternoon of September 6, 2022.

J-Pod on September 6, 2022

This is what is sounds like when an empty rain water pillar gets filled with fresh rain water. 
Recorded with a hydrophone inside the pillar

Post Nubila Jubila (joy after rain)

On Sunday 9.11.2022 I went out to do a little recording. I decided to try to drop my Aqua Beat Hydrophone in the little harbour in Heljsminde close to where I live. The recording was done very close to a canal connecting an inlet/lake with fresh water to the ocean. I saw several mussels attached to the pier, and I believe they are responsible for the majority of sounds...
I dumped the hydrophone on the bottom, and about one minute in, you can hear someone examining the microphone up close - probably a beach crab.
Recorded onto a Sony PCM M10 - photo by iPhone 13 mini

Hydrophone Recording From Heljsminde Harbour 9.11.2022

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).

Working in mixed media...fieldrecordings, analog soundgenerators homemade "tossekasser" creating soundscapes, a,bi & non tonal pieces with or without instruments. Graduated with a degree in (electric) guitar from the Carl Nielsen Institute in Odense, Denmark in 2000.
Masters degree in Electronic Music Composition from DIEM, Aarhus Denmark
Work among others with Acustic Laptoist Tore Honore Boe - saxophonist Peter Brem, soprano Ge-Suk Yeo, poet Richard J. Rizzi, Thomas Jakobsen, drums






Field recordings, sounds and soundscapes
Many of my recordings are nature recordings made in Zeeland, the coastal area where I live.

New tracks tagged #hydrophone