Monday, January 3, 2011

Britain Audio, Part 1

In 1985, my wife Jeanette and I visited Great Britain for the first time. We left our camera at home, and instead brought only a sketchbook and an audio tape recorder. We traveled by bus and train, recording interviews and sound effects.

  02 England Track 1 by James Gurney
 This is the first of three audio installments, which you can listen to by clicking on this Soundcloud player widget. It may take a few seconds to get started.


The drawing above is by a seven-year-old Welsh boy named John Lewis. He copied the sketch I did in a museum in Cambridge a few days earlier. You'll hear his sisters in the recording. Their family ran a B&B on the Tyddyn Perthi farm in Gwynned near Caernarfon.

If this technology works, and you like it, I’ll launch the other two installments tomorrow and the next day. 
------
You can go directly to the track at Soundcloud at this link.
at

8 comments:

  1. MicahJanuary 3, 2011 at 9:30 PM

    Awesome! I love the concept. I sat back and could envision the countryside and the people there. Keep it up!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Tyler JJanuary 4, 2011 at 12:46 AM

    I really enjoyed it. There is something more intimate about it to me, not sure exactly why. It also reminds me of listening to The Firesign Theatre when I was a kid. An entire world experienced only through sound. Very vivid.

    Thanks for sharing it.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Erik BongersJanuary 4, 2011 at 6:27 AM

    Very nice. How was this recorded in stereo? ...Or was it edited in stereo?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Christian SchlierkampJanuary 4, 2011 at 6:30 AM

    Like it very much! A great way to go on this Gurney-Journey! I love the drawing. Would be interesting to see wether the boy stuck with drawing (and what he's doing today)! Please keep it up!

    ReplyDelete
  5. David GlennJanuary 4, 2011 at 8:17 AM

    You're in England? Cool! So many good places to see.

    ReplyDelete
  6. UnknownJanuary 4, 2011 at 9:31 AM

    Thank you for posting this! I can't wait for the next two. Hearing everyone's voices and the various sounds really made the country come alive.

    ReplyDelete
  7. SeanJanuary 4, 2011 at 10:04 AM

    As Tyler J said above, it is amazing how vivid sound can be. Great montage, please continue! I especially liked hearing the kids' voices and the sounds of the farm.

    ReplyDelete
  8. James GurneyJanuary 4, 2011 at 10:30 AM

    Glad you all like it. And you've got good ears, Erik. When I was an art student, I splurged on a Sony professional Walkman, which recorded in stereo, and I also got an analog line mixer, which made the mix possible. So this edit was done a long time ago.

    More to come!

    ReplyDelete

Due to a high level of spam we must moderate comments. Please identify yourself by name or social media handle so we know you're not a 'bot.'