This three-CD collection occupies another niche in my collection (perhaps adjacent to the binaural recordings one that featured yesterday): acoustic ecology. Other occupants include Peter Cusack and Christophe Charles and maybe Peter Wright. So not a big collection, but I've been following some acoustic ecology email lists for fifteen years or more. It was via one of them, SoundscapeUK that I came across Sounds of Harris & Lewis, when Greg Wagstaff posted about it.
We all have Romantic feelings about the Scottish islands, don't we? In my case, they stem from various visits to the isles of Coll, Mull and Iona, plus I Know Where I'm Going and the work of Alastair McIntosh. Anyway, I thought the sounds of these remote places might make an interesting listen.
Disc 1 certainly delivers on that promise. You can tell from the track names: Mistle Thrush (Meavag, Harris, 27/5/00), Sheep Herding / Whistle (Adabroc, Ness, Lewis, 3/4/01), Generator Start (Distant), Vibrating Strap And Bolt On Old Trailer (Barvas, Lewis, 21/5/99), Traditional Wooden Hand Loom (Joan MacLennan) (Drinishader Harris, 2/7/99), Lapping Lochan (Loch Steisevat, Leverburgh, Harris, 12/4/99), Scraping Crotal (?). Nothing definite yet, as it's only in very early planning stages, but I might be helping curate a (ahem) chill out space at this year's Uncivilisation festival, and if it comes off, then this will be on the playlist, along with John Cage's diary.
Disc 2 mixes in the sounds of the social environment with the physical, and includes some great poetry and haikus, written and read by kids from one of the primary schools. This is no misty-eyed nostalgia, though, and the editor is happy to include the sound of Nintendos and X-boxes.
Disc 3 has the "sound walks". These are OK, but they work so well as stand-alone aural experiences: you have to keep an eye on the (very nice) booklet that comes with the CDs. They function more like radio documentaries, and I can't see myself listening to them more than a couple of times.
Sadly the operation that put all this together, earminded.org, doesn't seem to be around any more. Gregg Wagstaff hasn't posted to SoundscapeUk since 2006, and though the recordings are part of the British Library's sound archive, it's the usual story of public money being used to restrict access to a minority of the public. In the absence of any other information on the open web, here are a few of the reviews in the original promotional mailing:
"This three-disc set sets a new standard for community based sound projects." Jim Cummings - Earth Ear
"A multi-faceted introduction to the sonic life of a Hebridean community through soundscape research… I highly recommend this set of CDs." Andra McCartney - Concordia University
"It's a wonderful project, and beautifully documented." Barry Truax – Simon Fraser University
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Discogs entry for this album Wikipedia entry for Machair |
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