Christmas 1964

I was born in Germany while my father was studying and working there between 1954 to 1966.  My older sister was also born in Germany.
Probably in December 1964 my father recorded me and my sister singing the traditional song “O Tannenbaum”.
My mother’s voice is there also while she helps us through the text.
Later one I sing a short solo in my “southern German” I have completely lost today.
The text was composed by Ernst Anschütz, 1824

O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum,
wie treu sind deine Blätter!
Du grünst nicht nur
zur Sommerzeit,
Nein auch im Winter, wenn es schneit.
O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum,
wie treu sind deine Blätter!
O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum!
Du kannst mir sehr gefallen!
Wie oft hat nicht zur Weihnachtszeit
Ein Baum von dir mich hoch erfreut!
O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum!
Du kannst mir sehr gefallen!
O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum!
Dein Kleid will mich
was lehren:
Die Hoffnung und Beständigkeit
Gibt Trost und Kraft
zu jeder Zeit.
O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum!
Das soll dein Kleid
mich lehren.

Download mp3 file (192kbps / 2,2Mb)
See more and listen at: www.fieldrecording.net

Recorder: unknown open reel deck.
Transferred from Revox B77 MkII to Sound devices 744
Mic. Unkown
Pics: Syster and brother (Bergþóra & Magnús, picture taken at Christmas 1964)

Krosslaug pool at Barðastönd.

In Iceland it is possible to find many hot springs all over the country. Many of them have optimal temperature for bath and to relax. For centurys people have piled stones and turf around some of this known natural hot springs.
In the beginning of last centuries many of this natural hot springs were used to teach people to swim. Soon, many communities all over the country built real swimming pools of concrete near these springs.
One of these places can be found at Krossholt at Barðastönd, Southwest Iceland. There is Krosslaug, a 12 meters long swiming pool, built in 1948. There is also newly built natural hot tub, build on a hot spring in traditional style. It was the Youth Association of Barðaströnd County who piled this tub with stones, gravel and turf.
From the bottom through the ground of the tub comes the warm water with bobbles that gives relaxing sound while laying there with the ear below the surface. You can hear the bobbles moving upwards trough the gravel deep from the ground under the tub.
This recording was made with hydrophones at 15th of June 2012.
Another interesting recording from Krossholt, nearby place is: Opus for power line, bass, wind and birds.

(Download mp3 file (192kbps / 28,8Mb)
See more and listen at: www.fieldrecording.net

Recorder: Sound Devices 744
Mics: Aquarian H2a-XLR
Pics. Sony CyberShot DSC-P120 & Olympus 4040 & EOS 30D (see more pictures)

Walk through the city hall

Last spring was cold and windy and 26th of May was no exception when I cycle downtown Reykjavik with my recording gear. It was a accordion day and members of the Accordion club of Reykjavik was playing in the city hall. When I arrive it was overcrowded and the sound quality was poor from the amplified monitors. So I decided to stay outside and listen instead to the birds on the pound, close to the hall.
This recording contain my walk beside the pond, from the southeast side (as seen on the picture) trough the city hall to the northwest side, into very different atmosphere.

Download mp3 file (16Mb / 192kbps)

Recorder: Sound devices 744t
Mics: Sennheiser MKH8040 (ORTF setup) in Rycote Windshield
Pics: Canon EOS M

Nature reserve in Flói 2012. Part 5

Last autumn and winter I published some of my recordings from 25th of June 2012 in the nature reserve at Flói in the south of Iceland.
Day after, during the night and early morning at 26th I continued to record, but now I moved the microphones about 3-5 meter closer to nearby pond.
Something happened. There was a strange echo or reverb in some directions. It sounded strange because this area is very flat. But afterwards I thought it came from a ridge about 50cm high along the pond. This echo was sometimes very nice so it is worth to continue to put this recordings from Flói on the web, maybe in 2 to 4 parts.
I skip the first two hours of this night recording, mostly because of a high noise from the surf along the coast site, 3-4 km behind the microphones and some truck traffic 7 -14 km front of the microphones.
As usual this recording are made in virtually quiet environment. It starts around 1 am and lasts for 25 minutes. It is mostly very quiet, but in the end a choir of Red throated Diver gets very loud.

Download mp3 file (35Mb / 192kbps)

Recorder: Sound devices 744T
Mics: Rode NT1a (NOS)
Pics: Canon 30D (see more pictures)
Older post from nature reserve in Flói 2012

Stereo microphone comparison

Three stereo microphones noise and sensitivity comparison.
Shure VP88 – Rode NT4 – Audio Technica BP4025
This recordings include a spoken word from pocket radio at very low volume and ticking alarm clock in 1,6m distance. The volume settings on the radio was so low, the sound was hardly audible with bare ears. Noise from radiator pipeline is audible in the background. Miscellaneous bird life is outside and should be also clearly audible.
Keep in mind. This test is only noise and sensitivity comparison. High sensitivity and low noise is VERY important for nature recordings. This comparison does not give any information how this microphones sounds for music recording or how they withstand high pressure sound level.
See spectrogram and pictures

Quality headphones recommended while listen.

Shure VP88, Rode NT4 and Audio Technica BP4025 direct from recorder. All at same gain level at 55dB.

All three recordings are now independently level normalized up to 0dB.

Links to the products:
Shure VP88
Rode NT4
Audio Technica BP4025

Rumbling noise from Mordor

At 13th of May I cycled to the shore, west side of Reykjavik to make some microphones setup test in quiet environment. It was sunny and calm, but cold as it has been all this year’s spring.
This coastline is mostly unspoiled from humans works so there is miscellaneous birdlife. Along is a very popular walking and cycle path. Some places can be very quiet like the beach south of Skildinganes where I have recorded many times nature sounds…as far as it goes.
As usual where nature are close to humans automotive world there is a deep rumbling noise, a terrifying noise from burning fossil fuel. It does not only disturb my ears or recordings, it is a very clear warning about our stupid lifestyle that will sooner or later destroy our planet within a century.

Download mp3file (192kbps / 37,3Mb)
See more and listen at: www.fieldrecording.net

Recorder: Sound devices 788
Mics: Sennheiser MKH8040 (ORTF setup)
Pix: Canon EOS-M

Flatey in Breiðafjörður 2012. Part II

 

This is another ambience recording from the island Flatey in Breiðafjörður, a straight continue of part one.
Women, children as well as the elderly all gather for a boat is docking. Two men, with the day’s catch, step ashore.
When the catch has been divided, the whole throng returns to the village in a cacophony of conversations and drift homewards.
Somewhat nearer, in front of the microphone are a few Red-necked Phalaropes as well as Mallard ducks with ducklings. Other distinguishing birds like the loud Arctic tern and Whimbrel, as well as many other species of bird, can be heard.

Download mp3 file (192kbps / 34,6Mb)

Recorder: Sound devices 744T
Mic: Audio Technica BP4025
Pics: Canon 30D (See more pictures)

Arctic tern in Önundarfjörður 2012

During Icelandic independence day, 17. of June 2012, I was in Önundarfjörður fjord in the Westfjords, the north west peninsula of Iceland. This fjord lies deep between steep mountains with high cliffs. After midnight I entered an Arctic tern colony to record their sounds. The recording conditions was as good as it gets. The weather was calm, dry but cloudy, and the temperature was about 7 °C. Almost no traffic was in the fjord so most of the background noise was only coming from falling water in the mountains and sea waves at the shore.
This Arctic tern colony is big and has been there for decades, even centuries. This bird is very territorial and aggressive protecting the colony and many other bird more passive species feel safe to nest among the Arctic tern. So this recording includes sounds from many other bird spaces such as Whimbrel, Black-headed Gull, Black-tailed Godwit, Common Redshank, Oystercatcher, and Golden Plover… and many more
The recording contains also human and sheep voices from a nearby farm. Swans, Red-throat Diver, and common Eider at the shore side and a some sound from a Gull colony high in the cliffs all around the fjord.
During the recording the Arctic Terns attack many times the furry microphones. Sometimes you may hear their excrement fall to the ground around the microphones, but at this time they never hit or peck the Blimps.
The duration of the recording was almost 80 minutes. Following recording contains the last 36 minutes so my disturbing visit is not much audible. This is just a nice ordinary summer night in the north west of Iceland.

Download mp3 file (192kbps / 50,7Mb)

Recorder: Sound devices 744t
Mics: Rode NT1a
Pics: Canon D30

“Senur” first chapter.

In 10th of February 2013 I recorded a concert with Amateur symphony orchestra.
The program contained a wonderful melody “Senur” composed in four chapters by Sigurður Sævarsson. It was composed for string orchestra and obo. Both the orchestra and the soloist, Guðrún Másdóttir, played it flawless. Hereby is the first chapter of Senur without any post work.
I was pretty happy with the recording result, even though the concert hall (a church) sounded terrible for recording. It has a very harsh sound and difficult peaks in some resonance frequencies.
Over the orchestra I used a Jeclin disk with a double pair of mics, parallel MKH8020 and MKH20 in 45°+45° (as shown on the picture).
Close to the soloist there was a pair of MKH8040 and far behind in the hall was a pair of SE4400 with spaced Omni (70cm).
Past months I have got a few emails where people ask me for a sound sample with my Jecklin disk. So here are two samples, both almost the same, but one is recorded with MKH20 in 45°+45° and the other one with parallel MKH8020.

_____________________________________________

Recording with Sennheiser MKH20
Download mp3 file. (256kbps / 9Mb)

Recording with Sennheiser MKH8020
Download mp3 file. (256kbps / 9Mb)

Recorder: Sound Devices 788
Mics: Sennheiser MKH20, MKH8020, MKH8040 and SE4400
Picture of the Jecklin disk

Flatey í Breiðafirði 2012. part 1

 

Flatey is the biggest island in Breiðafjörður bay in the west of Iceland, but nevertheless a small island. It is a wonderful place. Rich, widely spiced bird life and no car traffic. Most houses are old and most of them are nicely rebuilt. No one lives there all year around but in spring, summer and autumn lot of people stays there. Sometimes the place is overcrowded with tourists but there is both a campsite and a hotel.
I spent few hours in Flatey in June 2012 with my family. We just walked around in this relaxing surroundings. The east part of the island was closed because of bird’s hatch and eyas. But the life in the “village” was also interesting.
Strong gust from vest made recording difficult but I found a quiet place beside a wall not far away from the “main street”. In front of me was a small marsh and it was overcrowded with all kinds of birds; snipe, gull, golden plover, white wagtail, oystercatcher, arctic tern, ducks and so on, but closest to the microphone is a red necked phalarope. In distance Kittiwake and other birds are audible.
I was very lucky this time, there were few tourists on the island so the recording contains relaxing conversations between neighbors in this wonderful ambience. In the beginning a child is drumming a box, but it last only for 5 minutes. After that it is possible to listen what people and birds have to say.


Download mp3 file (192kbps / 37,2Mb)
See more and listen at: www.fieldrecording.net

Recorder: Sound devices 744T
Mic: Audio Technica BP4025
Pics: Canon 30D (See more pictures)

Blackbird, Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin

 

In the beginning of February, Sonic Terrain blog introduce a funny and interesting BBC4 program. This program is inspired by the musician and Eco-philosopher David Rothenberg’s book “Why birds sing”. This documentary explores the intriguing, charming, complex and often conflicting theories on why birds sing like they do and why humans are so attracted to the sound.
After watching the program on Youtube in six pieces, I searched my recordings if some of them contained a birdsong I could be almost sure of that the bird was singing for pleasure, rather than making a territory call.
Lo and behold, I found one.
It was recorded in the evening 9th of June 2012 in my garden. This is a recording that I normally delete or do not publish because it is categorized as a “test file”.
I was testing Parabolic dish with Shure MX391/O capsules with strangely defective Sound Professionals PIP-Phantom power adapter.
But the recording does not only contains “hiss, snap and bad sound” it also contains a lovely birdsong.
Rock band was playing somewhere in the neighborhood. Suddenly a Common Blackbird with a nest in a nearby garden arrived and started to sing. First gently as he was shy but suddenly just before the band started to play Jimmy Hendrix and Janis Joplin the bird began to sing very loud a fabulous song, something I have never heard it sing before, but this bird has been around my house for some years now.
This is far from being a quality recording, but it is worth to listen.
Now the question is, what was this bird thinking when it sang this fabulous song? I am, sure it was just doing it for fun.

Download mp3 file (192kbps / 38,3Mb)
See more and listen at: www.fieldrecording.net
 
Recorder: Sound Devices 744T
Mics: Shure MX391 fit into 54cm parabolic disk, connected to SP-XLRM-MINI-2-PHANTOM
Pics. Nokia N82

Flags in the wind

Sometimes when I am going to record a specific sound I bring home something totally different.
That happened 4th of July 2012. It was a very nice weather, calm and dry, so I made a decision to cycle with my gear to the shore at Seltjarnarnes to record bird sounds and ambiance.
But shortly after I left home the wind started to blow and it got stronger with cold northern breeze . When I arrived to Seltjarnarnes the wind was too much for almost any wildlife recordings. So as usual with most cycle trips like this, I decided to go back.
But before the wind blow me back home again I found a shelter on wooden platform beside a golf clubhouse. And there was an interesting sound. Two golf course flags with poles were flapping and hammering two picnic tables. Their flaps were like an “audio indicator” for the wind waves.
Arctic Tern, Oystercatcher and other bird spices in combination with heavy sea waves at the shore made this all as a great concert.
I stayed there about one hour while I recorded and listened to the concert, watching a thick smoke coming from burning garage in Kopavogur district, seven kilometers away.
Following is twenty minutes of this session.

Download mp3 file (192kbps / 32,6Mb)
See more and listen at: www.fieldrecording.net

Recorder: Sound devices 744T
Mics: RodeNT1a (NOS 90°/30cm)
Pics: Nokia N82

Birds at Seltjarnarnes shore 25th of May 2000

It is not possible every day to record nature sounds in as nice weather condition that was early morning at Seltjarnarnes in 25th of May 2000. Weather was calm and dry. Birds as Black backed Gull, Eurasian Oystercatcher, Common Snipe, Golden Plover and Arctic Tern were everywhere along the shore side, busy with their daily life. Close by, a group of female Common Eider was teaching very young ducklings how to search food.
Just after few minutes, I finished to set up the microphones, the Eiders came so close to the rig it was possible to listen their conversation in smallest details for almost two hours.
The quality of this recording still surprises me. It is one of the latest recording I made with Sony TC-D5M cassette deck with a pair of ME 20 microphones. The key of the quality was the microphone cables. Instead of ordinary mic cables I used CAT6 data cables. It makes extraordinary difference for the high frequency signal. All small details in the recording were cleaner and much brighter.
This recording is part of my second CD release, published in limited edition later the year 2000

Download mp3 file (192kbps / 46Mb)
See more and listen at: www.fieldrecording.net

More Audio from this recording at Xeno-Canto and AudioBoo
Recorder: Sony TC-D5M (TDK MA-90mín).
Mic. Sennheiser K3U / ME20 (40cm/100° apart. Hi-Pass filter on level 1).
Pix: Canon 30D (pictures taken 2010).

Black legged Kittiwake at Arnarstapi

In middle of July my family went in a five days trip around Snæfellsnes peninsula. Of course my recorder follow me as a puppy and I recorded as much as I could days and nights. One of this recordings I made was above a cliff score near Arnarstapi.
The weather was very nice, sunny but a breeze from north-vest so it was calm in the cliffs south of Arnarstapi.
I expanded my boom over the cliff brink and located the microphone in a calm place.
And…. WOW! I got really beautiful ambiance. About 15-20 meters below, the sea wave smoothly stroke the cliffs. Whine black legged Kittiwake flew all around and the cliffs were full of the their tweedy baby’s.
During one hour recording I was totally raped on the cliff edge in this beautiful ambiance.
Close by in next score,  fishermens were working at the dock and some tourist walked by behind me.




Download mp3 file (192kbps / 45Mb)
See more and listen at: www.fieldrecording.net

Recorder: Sound devices 744
Mic: Audio Technica  BP4025
Pix: Canon 30D

Starling traffic

It has been my work passing weekends recording birds and other sounds in my garden. Sometimes I am just testing microphones, microphones’ setups, wind protections or batteries. Sometimes I am just hoping to get something unusual, car crash in the neighborhood, earthquake or just something nice and interesting.
This recordings could be many hours long. Then usually this recordings go through different audio software and spectrum analyzer. If nothing interesting is found then most of the files are deleted. Most of them are just traffic noises.
I am used to feed birds in my garden so they are an ideal sound source and the following recording is one of this feeding day in November.
After almost four hours recordings a very big group of Starlings visited my garden. They fly and walk around the microphones. A raven was not far away and frightened most of the starlings when he flew close by.
For many reasons this is a nice recording, but for one reason I was not satisfied with the result.
I will let the listeners to find out what it is and discuss it and response. I will give my answer before Xmas.

Download mp3 file (192kbps / 23,3Mb)
See more and listen at: www.fieldrecording.net

Recorder: Sound Devices 744t
Mics: Sennheiser MKH30/40 (MS setup)
Pix: Canon 30D

Reykjavik Marathon 2012

Reykjavik downtown was a peaceful place when annual marathon was held 18th of August 2012. The weather was calm and no painful traffic noise as usual. Many streets were closed for cars so there was plenty of space for almost fourteen thousand runners this day.
I placed my microphones in a bush about 500 meters from the starting point.
In the beginning of the recording most footsteps are coming from right to left when runners are on the way to the starting point.
Air plains pass by from left to right and land on Reykjavik Airport.
Runners continue to pass on the way to the starting point, some of them arriving too late.
Few seconds after the race starts, runners begin to pass the microphones from left to right. And there is a lot of runners. Thousands of footsteps in just five minutes….and another airplane passes by the same way, but on the way to the airport.
Then, everything gets normal agin.

Download mp3 file (192kbps / 28,2Mb)
See more and listen at: www.fieldrecording.net

Recorder: Sound Devices 744
Mics: Sennheiser MKH30/20 (MS setup)
Pics: Canon 30D (see more pictures)

Nature reserve in Flói 2012. Part 3

Recordings from Flói nature reserve continues. This two recordings were captured around 3:30 and 4:00 am, 25th of June.
The first recording contains mostly far distance sounds, a quiet relaxing midsummer sound scape. Birds are living their life, flying around and searching for food. Gusts sometimes disturb the recording with rumble sound .
The second recording was recorded around 4 am. It contains the first of many jet flights this morning from Europe to America. Morning sunbeams are now really going to heat the field so clouds of gnats are even thicker than before. A duck with youngsters are pushing their body through rushy field searching for food around the microphone.
Both this recordings are worth to played as a background sound at home or work.

3:30am
Download mp3 file (192kbps / 32Mb)

4:00am
Download mp3 file (192kbps / 31,2Mb)

Recorder: Sound devices 744
Mics: Rode NT1a (NOS setup)
Pix: Canon 30D (See more pictures)
Listen to other parts of  “nature reserve in Flói 2012“

See more and listen at: www.fieldrecording.net

State opening of parliament in September 2012

State opening of parliament was totally different this year than previous three years. Since the bank collapse 2008 people usually had ruction every autumn in the park front of the parliament building.
But 2011 the ruction went to far when one parliamentarian fell to the ground after egg hit his head. So at 2012 the government decided to make it very difficult for everyone to protest. In fact it was forbidden to protest and government took full control of the whole situation. With riot fence and police they make a big circle around the parliament building and nearby church. But that´s not all. The government used speakers to amplify a mass from the church to the crowd that could possibly gather to make a noisy ruction. But the funny thing was just a few protesters arrived. This day mostly armed police was spread all over the park and nearby streets. The few others was staff from media, some protesters, handicap people, curious tourists and drug addicts, so the situation was in fact very peaceful. This mass “cool down” all activism. Most people just pass by or sat down and listened.
This recording contains the last minutes of the mass and the ruction during the parliamentarians walk from the church to the parliament building. Notes the funny situation when some protester start to scream the mass get louder from speakers.
This time no eggs or other garbage was thrown from the protesters to parliamentarians.

Download mp3 file (192kbps / 24Mb)
See more and listen at: www.fieldrecording.net
 
Recorder: Sound Devises 744T
Mics: Sennheiser MKH30/20 (MS setup)
Pix: Sony CyberShot DSC-P120 (see more pictures)

Nature reserve in Flói 2012. Part2

This recording is almost a straight continue from “Nature reserve in Flói 2012 – Part 1” that was recorded inside the bird watching shelter. Now the microphones are in the wetland, about 300 meters from the shelter. This is close to a pond, early morning 25th of June, around 3am. Now and then the gust strokes the field, but later one it gets more quiet.
This was a busy time for all residents in the area so the recording contains a lot of their activity.
Birds searching for food in the pound or in the grass around the microphones, like Red- necked Phalarope, Arctic stern, Red throat Loon and some ducks. Birds pass by with wing flaps. There is also a lonely barking dog, bleating sheep and whinny horses somewhere far away.
When morning sunbeams warm the field and the wind goes calm, billions of gnats start to fly in thick clouds up and down with impressive noise. Many other bird species are audible in this recording like Common Snipe, Golden Ploer, Whimbrel, Gull, Rooster and many other birds I can not named like some young birds. Sometimes young Loon are crying, while other birds sounds like Tod (n.b. no Frogs live in Iceland).
This is a very quiet nature recording so you should not play it loud. You should play it like you think you will hear it trough open window, as a background sound. Best way to listen details and explore all bird species is using quality open headphones This recording contain also very loud session when all Loons in all ponds in the area “scream” a territory call.
Surprisingly it looks like only one or two motorist is audible in this recording, a truck about 20 km away So the soundscape is almost as nice as it gets on our planet.
There is still many hours left of this recording in Flói. It will be published in coming months.

Download mp3 file (192kbps / 40,3Mb)
See more and listen at: www.fieldrecording.net

Recorder: Sound Devices 744T
Mics: Rode NT1a (NOS setup)
Pix: Canon EOS30D (see more pictures)

Free Pussy Riot

At 17th of August 2012 about 100 protesters gathering together front of Russian embassy in Reykjavik call for free Pussy Riot.
The protest stay in one hour between 10 and 11am (Icelandic time). All the time people call “FREE PUSSY RIOT” so in the end when the lips and tongue get tired it start to sound like “Peoples right”.
Protest like this was held all over the world at same time.
Sadly during the protest three member of the Pussy Riot was doomed to stay in prison for two years.
For all those out of space who do not know Pussy Riot or human rights should search in Google for more information.
Please play this recording loud and share everywhere.  Now people all over world need to scream Pussy riot out of prison.

Download mp3 file (192kbps / 28,17Mb)

Recorder: Sound devices 744
Mics: MKH30/20 (MS setup)
Pix: Sony DSC-P120
Video: Punk prayer “Fuck off Putin“
Icelandic radioprogram about the Pussy Riot movment