for folks with DPA, Sanken, Sennheiser etc lavaliers these fluffy wind protection bubbles look really interesting.

www.bubblebeeindustries.com

some test units have now arrived and i've been out testing them with the DPA4060's over the last couple of days. I intend to do further, longer tests in the coming weeks and will be posting some audio soon, but for now here are my initial findings:

. one drawback of other fluffy's for small lavaliers is that they have a habit of falling off, which can be an expensive issue if one spends lots of time out and about recording in different conditions and environments. The BBi's (bubblebee industries) have a much better way of overcoming this issue by having very tight elastic (?) and also with the inclusion of the small 'bubble' space inside. 

. BBi's come in a variety of sizes for different mics. With the DPA's (with metal screen on) its actually the 03 size that fits best. The 04 size fits well with the DPA's with the foam pop-shields on also.

. I ran most side by side tests with the DPA4060's in this manner:

  1) no fluffy's on

  2) rycote fluffy's on

  3) BBi's on - size 04 (with & without foams)

  4) BBi's on - size 03

  5) BBi's on - size 02

tests focused on voice, wooded environment with birds, empty church, piano in church.

. so far i've not detected any large (in relative terms) differences between the rycote and the BBi's in terms of sound quality / clarity. One possible area of difference was slightly noticeable in tests on the voice but further tests are needed to fully explore this. It's a very, very slight difference and those who know me will know that I'm able to listen extremely critically when needed so its unlikely to be an issue  for most purposes, even if there is a difference - which i'm not convinced of yet (could have been down to very slight distance between each of the mics or indeed the voice travel itself).

. depending on their price (UK price still to be announced) for now i'd say the advantage of having fluffy's that stay on & that sound very clear indeed means the BBi's are a serious addition to the market. I would think that eventually all fluffy's will have some better way of holding the mics in place or built-in air gap - perhaps like the Rode Lavalier fluffy's, where the mics click into place and are held in a very small air protection cage. Until then, it looks and sounds like BBi have provided a solution that is well worth looking at.

  

I'm now able to supply those great DPA mics to UK customers including the worlds best omni-directional mics:

SMK4060 kit with mounts, xlr adaptors etc.

SMK4060 Stereo Mic Kit w. 4060

The SMK4060 Stereo Microphone Kit is a cost-effective and flexible stereo recording solution aimed at project studios and for discreet mic setup on stage. 

The SMK4060 combines two DPA 4060s omnidirectional miniature microphones, Hi-Sens, with a variety of mounting accessories. These include the BLM6000 Boundary Layer Mount, which can be used in conjunction with a 4060 (or any of DPA’s miniature mics) to place the mic on a reflective boundary such as a floor, wall, ceiling, piano lid etc, enabling them to capture the ambient sound of the area. The sound captured from this “pressure zone” has higher sensitivity, clarity and intelligibility compared to the sound captured from the "free air" and serves as a kind of acoustical zoom. 

Also included in the kit is among others the DMM0007 soft rubber holder. This allows all kinds of instruments, from acoustic guitar through grand piano to drums, to be mounted in the best-sounding position, using special non-marking adhesive discs 

Also available as SMK4061 with a DPA4061 Miniature Omnidirectional Microphone, Lo-Sens.

What is in the boxThe DPA SMK4060 Stereo Microphone Kit contains:

2 x 4060 Omnidirectional Mic, Hi-Sens, Black, 3 meter cable, high boost and soft boost grids
2 x BLM6000-B Boundary Layer Mount, Black
2 x DAD6001-BC MicroDot to 3-pin XLR (P48) w. Belt Clip
1 x DMM0007 Universal Surface Mount, 5 pcs.
2 x DMM0011-B Magnet Mount, Black
1 x DUA0560 Windscreen, Black, 5 pcs.

PRICE: please email me for a quote

(the price will be very competitive)

to view the entire DPA range visit the DPA website here.

a selection of recordings made by various recordists using JrF contact microphones, hydrophones and coils:

new series on Channel 4 - sound by Chris Watson using JrF c-series contact mics to listen in on the internal sounds of various animal & insect eggs:




http://hydrophones.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/c-series-pro-contact-microphones-new.html

now available for free / donate download:

a quiet position - wired lab

this collection of pieces stems from a workshop delivered at the Wired Lab by Jez riley French in September 2012. Those who attended (+ a few other artists with connections to the site) were invited to submit tracks representing discoveries made. 

In addition, Jez created one of his ‘scores for listening’ for the Wired Lab and this is reproduced in the pdf artwork.

Chris Watson kindly also submitted a track capturing aspects of ‘rolling stock’, one of the projects that Sarah Last & Dave Burraston of The Wired Lab curate away from the main Wired Lab site.

recently i've been looking into a new backpack for carrying gear on longer walks & Martin Hogg sent the following pictures & info on the Tamrac Expedition 8 - which is large enough to take a blimp & lots of other gear + a laptop:

So here’s what you can cram into the main bit of the bag. The velcro compartments are totally customisable:
the rode blimp (NT4 inside)
Marantz PMD661
Headphones 
Edirol R-09
Rycote fluffy and pistol grip
DPA 4061 kit 
AT897 mic
(i’ve had a tiny tripod in here before too, at the same time)

The bag is meant to take enormous heavy camera lenses so is built like a tank but relatively light weight. I walked miles and miles around sweden with it full of this kit and although heavy when full it’s extremely comfy for long hikes. Very waterproof also.

zipped sections on the inside of the lid fit all contacts/hydros and spare cable etc.

two outside pockets have a number of small pouches which i keep all adapters, spare batteries, spare HD cards, notebook etc etc

There’s a space here for tripods/boompoles but the boom pole will NOT be allowed as hand luggage (i stashed mine in the other luggage with clothes for a trip and unpacked it on arrival).


Martin Hogg
www.acousticbaffle.co.uk 
Twitter is @acoustic_baffle

a new piece by Jez riley French is now available on Touch Radio 

http://www.touchradio.org.uk/

it features recordings made on a trip to Australia in 2012 for a residency at The Wired Lab, though these particular recordings are from the Blue Mountains region.

bower floor | dawn chorus with rain | canyon wires

music sits above and under the first impression.
when duration allows these things come into focus, increasingly.
in swifter moments a sense of quietude is possible.
still, finding pace with listening as a lens, moving

A quiet position: amidst the bright work
A one day workshop / field walk around Tottenham Marshes with Jez Riley French
Saturday 23rd March | 10am prompt start - 5pm finish | Tottenham Marshes
Meeting point: Tottenham Hale Station at 9:45am or SoundFjord gallery at 9:15am prompt
Free but reservation ticket is essential.

Listening and recording; above and under the waters.

All are welcome, though the day will be most fully explored by those with their own recording equipment. We’ll be listening in on the sounds of aquatic life through the use of hydrophones, the resonances of bridges and other structures along the way via contact microphones, using other techniques to listen in on hidden audible signals and of course taking in the sounds of birdlife in the area. 

Meeting outside Tottenham Hale train station at 10am, we will walk along the Lee navigational canal, stopping when and where the mood takes us. Listening, discussing and simply enjoying the local soundscapes of this oft overlooked part of London. Depending on the weather, we might decide to head back to the SoundFjord gallery for a warm up and further discussion later in the afternoon.
http://aquietposition.eventbrite.com/

Jez riley French - 'instamatic: czech republic'

eg042

6 pieces, recorded during 2 different trips to the czech republic, featuring conventional and contact microphones & listening glasses.

available as a digital download only - free or donate if you would like to contribute - profits will go towards future releases by other artists. thanks.

available from february 2013
(shipping around 18th Feb)

'In the Field - the art of field recording'

by Cathy Lane and Angus Carlyle.

240 page book, hand sewn with flaps.

conversations with Manuela Barile, Angus Carlyle, Budhaditya Chattopadhyay, Viv Corringham, Peter Cusack, Steven Feld, Felicity Ford, Jez riley French, Antye Greie, Christina Kubisch, Cathy Lane, Francisco López, Annea Lockwood, Andrea Polli, Ian Rawes, Lasse-Marc Riek, Hiroki Sasajima, Davide Tidoni, Hildegard Westerkamp and Jana Winderen. 

cover photo by my daughter (proud dad moment !) Pheobe riley Law

£12 + postage and packing

book + postage options

UK postage & packing £14.00 GBP Europe postage & packing £16.95 GBP Rest of world postage & packing £18.95 GBP

Patrick Franke has made available over 200 of his bird recordings from Kazakhstan on the xeno-canto website & they are well worth exploring + can also be downloaded in MP3 format.

species include: chukar partridge, marsh sandpiper, White-crowned Penduline Tit, Clamorous Reed Warbler, Rosy Starling, Common Rosefinch, Pine bunting etc. etc.  - 118 species in total !

http://www.xeno-canto.org/recordist.php?id=ZRYDJPPTFC&pg=1

new release: 

egcd043

movere (estonia)  |  jez riley french

a residency at Moks in rural Estonia during spring 2009 came at a time where my thoughts about improvising with field recordings and methods of composition where in flux. they always are of course, but it’s fair to say that during 2009 my work was moving in a series of different directions.

. the simplicity and clarity of placing unprocessed single recordings within durational frames 

. the continuing power of hidden sonic elements to create their own compositions 

. the energy of textural intuitive playing . the quietude of audible silence

 . the stillness of movement contained with photography, for scores and more

some recordings, like those in my ‘instamatic’ series, are immediate and work as documents of listening. others take time and drift in and out of ones view. it is some of these later recordings that form the basis of this new release. they have taken time to appear, time to ‘fit’ and time to be fully formed.

motet: from the latin movere, ("to move"), describing the movement of different voices against one another

movere (estonia) begins a new series of works, centered around the word ‘movere’, that focus on ways that field recordings, including those of in-situ responses, act as choral musics - voices of places, objects and actions working with and against one another towards a, still intuitive, compositional line.

movere (estonia) is released on february 11th as a limited edition taiyo yudon professional cd-r, mounted on A5 recycled card.

3 short extracts from the three 'motets' on the disc can be heard here:

extract from a longer interview by Sabine Verdely:

SV: I read your words about this release and new series of works and I hear in the pieces that they are not as subtle, in a normal meaning of the word, as I expected. There is more density and impact. Can you talk about this ?

JrF: yes, I understand what you mean. I'm working on some more 'movere' works that are very subtle - a step closer to quietude than, say, the 'audible silence' pieces. However the pieces on this release are a kind of cleansing, a way to say that something from the time of their origin was started and has a kind of trailing light that is still visible in the present.

SV: Is it music of a kind that you don't perform now ?

JrF: hmmm, well, live I always perform intuitively so its impossible really to say what is going to happen. I think though that some of the grain in these pieces, especially the third motet which is the earliest, represents an approach to intuitive composition that I was questioning and, in some ways, I have other questions now. 

SV: I think I am not alone when saying that I think of your work as always being quiet. I am not talking about volume with this. This release is more like the cd you made with Hankil Ryu, yes ?

JrF: well, both that cd (birdcage wallpaper) and the pieces on this one are quite close in terms of when they were recorded or begun, so yes, i'm sure there are some connections, though on the cd with Hankil I am actually playing very quiet sounds.

SV: I know when you are playing concerts you have used the salt a lot for a long time and also paper, but here you make with them a different type of sounds. 

JrF: yes, I think I agree with that. Oddly, I was in rural Estonia and it was very quiet and secluded there. It was unusual for louder sounds or approaches to appear when I was recording. On the second motet though there is a very quiet sound, of fingers, which whilst quite loud volume wise, is actually a very subtle sound. I had the microphones very close to my fingers and so this is perhaps one place where its possible to hear quietness even in something close to the ears so to speak.

SV: I am thinking a lot when I am listening to this cd. I find that some parts are a surprise to me. Did you aim for this ?

JrF: no, not at all. I simply make the music that I like or that seems to arrive. I left these particular recordings alone for a long time. I didn't even have them waiting for a possible release. In fact I was working on another set of pieces and then I decided to listen again to the work from Estonia and I found that the first and third motet now felt 'right' for a release. The second motet was not complete - its actually two recordings and for a long time I didn't know how to connect them. I often find that things find their place in ways that simply just arrive. 

all engraved glass and . point engraved digital download releases have been re-priced to £4.99 (for standard releases) or free / donate (for archive and a quiet position releases). This decision comes as a result of extensive research and seeking the opinions of folks worldwide - thanks for the input ! all profits go towards future releases....

http://engravedglass.bandcamp.com/

new series on channel 4 - starts 21st January and if you hear bees they'll be the ones I recorded for the show....

new book, published february 2013 - includes conversations with Conversations with myself, Manuela Barile, Angus Carlyle, Budhaditya Chattopadhyay, Viv Corringham, Peter Cusack, Steven Feld, Felicity Ford, Antye Greie, Christina Kubisch, Cathy Lane, Francisco López, Annea Lockwood, Andrea Polli, Ian Rawes, Lasse-Marc Riek, Hiroki Sasajima, Davide Tidoni, Hildegard Westerkamp and Jana Winderen. 

cover photograph by my daughter, Pheobe Law (proud dad moment here !)

every year, the 'in place' blog features lists of folk's '5 favourite sounds' heard in the last 12 months. These can be sounds heard whilst out recording, at home, on releases etc etc.

so, do email your list (to tempjez@hotmail.com) and it will posted on the blog. Here's a link to last years list:

http://jezrileyfrench-inplace.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/your-5-favourite-sounds-of-2011-every.html

here's my 5 sounds of 2012 to get things started:

1) as ever, the sound of my daughters voice has been a constant joy, for example, hearing her singing 'half gifts' whist doing her homework in the living room whilst I cook the tea in the kitchen.

2) fence at tighnabruaich - the 'sound' itself was ok - it was the listening to it that was special, as it was with my daughter whilst we were on holiday

3) periwinkles eating sea vegetation in a rock pool, bundeena, australia

4) dawn chorus at Ängskärsgården, sweden

5) dawn chorus from the mountain park tennis court, japan

____________________

from Tony Whitehead (recordist & curator of Very Quiet Recordings label):

1) The sound of a million starlings leaving their roost at RSPB's Ham Wall nature reserve in Somerset

2) Bittern booming at first light at Shapwick Heath, also in Somerset

3) Tadpoles grazing at Stover Park in Devon, heard via hydrophone

4) Black-tailed godwits chattering to one another on the Exe Estuary

5) The alternative, and rather melancholy piping song of wood warblers in Yarner Wood on Dartmoor (as opposed to their normal trilling song). 

That's quite a birdy list isn't it!

____________________

from David Valez, part of the Field Reporter website team:

1- Dust cropper plane flying in circles over Palomino, Guajira while birds were singing (featured on my release 'El pájaro que escucha')

2- Nine wine glasses shaking, sliding, falling and breaking by sound vibration on a table with a subwoofer inside as part of my Sculptural project 'Derive and catastrophe I'

3- Small creek at Chicaque National Park

4- Welding the aluminum structure of my project 'Derive and catastrophe II'

5- The loud sea waves of Palomino, Guajira (featured on my release 'El pájaro que escucha')

____________________

from Coryn Smethurst

Lift at an artists studio rattling and whining, rattling light fitting directly under air conditioning - bad design to create great sound

Tornado jet at airshow - the earth moved, car alarms went off - my fingers were in my ears - very rare when I'm recording

metal gangway to boat (didn't have any recording gear...)

skip collection outside work (too much background traffic to get the sound like a whale gone bad)

not very nature based this year - haven't had time to get out into the countryside too much this year - more's the pity.

____________________

from Yiorgis Sakellariou (mecha/orga):

- Croaking frogs in a lake in Klaipeda, Lithuania

- The soundscape of Maastunnel in Rotterdam, the Netherlands

- A very loud ventilation sound, somewhere in Riga, Latvia

- The soundscsape of Penteli mountain in Athens, Greece

- Crickets at night in Ambeliona village, Peloponesse, Greece

____________________

from Peter Toll, field recordist, musician and composer:

Geese flying overhead above my house in the morning (always brings a warm smile on my face!)

A song thrush singing on the Norfolk Broads

My 4 year old son laughing!

Rain and wind outside when I have returned with fire wood to warm the house!

Ice melting and cracking through JrF hydrophones, from the movement of birds and temperature rising on Felbrigg lake yesterday (recording coming soon!).

____________________

from Jaydea Lopez, field recordist, artist:

1. Rain on a tin roof - washing away the heat of the day, the sound is connected to a sense of relief. Whether it be soft or torrentially deafening sound this is always welcome.

2. Thunder - before the rain might come an hour of rumbling through the mountain valleys. Dramatic and a promise of what's to come.

3. Eastern Dwarf Tree Frogs - with such a tiny body the sound of a colony of these frogs communicating with each other is a joy to listen to in the depth of night.

4. Cicadas - their pulsating rhythms and textures can be hypnotic while walking through the Australian eucalyptus forests. For me they are the sound of summer.

5. Cane Toads - an introduced species that has created environmental havoc in Australia; nonetheless its gentle purr is a pleasant accompaniment to sleep during summer nights.

____________________

from Pablo Sanz, field recordist, artist:

- Muezzin calls to prayer in Jerusalem.
http://www.gruenrekorder.de/?page_id=7140

- Waves in the salt shoreline at the Dead Sea.
https://soundcloud.com/pablosanz/deadsea

- Snowfall at my balcony in Den Haag.
https://soundcloud.com/pablosanz/snowfall

- A variety of impressions heard in a tunnel for bikes and pedestrians 
in Den Haag during
the development of the project 'Transient Lapse'. The blending of our 
installation
with the existing sounds and the acoustics of the space at different 
hours of day and night.
http://pablosanz.info/transient-lapse

- Listening through the Novy Most bridge in Bratislava.
http://aporee.org/maps/?loc=16272&m=satellite

//////

thank you for the inspiration and shared listenings

this is going to be good ! 

very few places on this, so get your name down fast if you're interested

field recording week in Iceland with Chris Watson & Jez riley French

http://www.wildeye.co.uk/iceland.html

A unique opportunity to spend several days recording the sounds of spring in Iceland with Chris Watson, a leading figure in the world of wildlife sound recording, and field recordist and composer Jez riley French. Our base will beLysuholl in the west of Iceland on the south coast of theSnæfellsnes peninsula. As well as recording the wildlife we will also be visiting glaciers, caves, waterfalls, volcano craters, lava beaches, geysirs (Icelandic spelling!) etc.

We will have two large houses at our disposal for the duration, with a chef and two minibuses to allow us the greatest flexibility for recording trips. The range of spectuacular habitats will enable us to experiment with surround sound techniques, ambisonic microphones & software, hydrophones, contact mics, geophones, ultrasonic detectors, parabolic systems and a range of stereo and mono recordings. We will also have a surround sound system at our base for reviewing recordings and group discussions. It is expected that you will have some recording experience and your own equipment to bring (although we will have some extra gear with us that everyone is welcome to try).

article on Chris Watson in the December 2012 issue of Music Tech magazine, in which he mentions & shows uses for JrF contact mics & hydrophones (thanks Chris !)

http://www.frameworkradio.net/

the framework:seasonal series of fund-raising audio releases continues with a very special issue #3 – the great chris watson, who, we’re sure, needs no introduction amongst framework listeners, has donated a single-take, 2.5 hour field recording from the rainforests of borneo, recorded and published at its full length at higher-than-cd audio quality. this stunning recording has never before been released, and has been donated by the artist in support of framework radio. it is available only through framework, in exchange for your donation of €20 of more on the framework website.

each dvdr is slow burnt onto the highest quality taiyo yuden archival discs, and is hand-stamped with the custom-made image of a borneo-native mushroom, in keeping with the previous issues of the seasonal series. each is housed in an offset and folio printed sleeve from a local printing press, on paper from a local papermill, both here in the southeast estonian town of räpina. the insert as well is printed on additive-free paper from the räpina mill. these audio dvdr’s will play in any standard dvd player, or on any computer.

the details:
Sunrise in the Sukau rainforest
Recorded during October 2011 by the river Kinabatangen, Sabah, Borneo from 0430h
Sennheiser MKH 8040/30 middle and side array to a Nagra ARES Pll recorder at 48Khz 16 Bits .wav

The Sukau rainforest is a relatively narrow strip of primary forest either side of the banks of the river Kinabatangen in Sabah, Borneo. Access to the forest floor is very difficult as there are no trails, however at the back of the lodge where I was staying there was a narrow old and decaying boardwalk that led, snake like, through the dense undergrowth and out into what felt like another world. Each morning for over a week I left my lodge around 0400h and set off carefully along a zig zag pattern of soft and splintered planks into the velvet darkness. Either side of the red glow from my head torch fireflies and other unknown bioluminescent insects blinked and flashed their alien languages whilst dead ahead the small piercing red reflecting eyes of hunting bats streaked, missile like, directly towards me. On several mornings my GPS guided me to a favourite looping curve at the furthermost point of the 2Km trail where I could stop and fix my mikes in a tree whilst trying to bat off the myriad host of mosquitos that quickly find anything warm blooded that is stationary. I rigged and set away the recording before quietly moving off, my ears straining to hear the distant songs of gibbons, the shrieks of macaques and the low whistle of a pitta. Sunrise, such as it is 30m below the canopy, is also accompanied by the slow drip of  condensation percolating down through the grey green gloom from a canopy 30m above as the forest is slowly revealed. – Chris Watson