A Concert Underground

Going Underground! Cathal McConnell about to begin his performance at Marble Arch Caves. [c. Ronan McGrade Photography / Cuilcagh to Cleenish]

Going Underground! Cathal McConnell about to begin his performance at Marble Arch Caves. [c. Ronan McGrade Photography / Cuilcagh to Cleenish]

Two years and one pandemic ago I was approached to record a unique concert in County Fermanagh. Organised by the Cuilcagh to Cleenish heritage project to showcase the music and culture of these water-logged lands, Going Underground! took place in September 2019. The chosen venue was the atmospheric water-carved chambers of Marble Arch Caves, part of the wider UNESCO Global Geopark, our local nature gem here in Fermanagh and Cavan. The challenge involved recording several musical performances and spoken voice, at various locations along the cave system, with a free-moving audience, and a potentially flooded river - after all this is Ireland and rainfall is almost written in law.

Acoustically these natural halls are a delight, except for the one big elephant in the room, you might have guessed it: water. Masses and masses of water sink through the limestone from three different rivers into the cave system. When the flow is low, the noise of the water is akin to a trickle. When the flow is high however, it turns into white noise, our most pervasive enemy as sound recordists, as it covers the entire human audible range. And if the flow is very high some chambers flood and the caves close to the public.

The week of the concert we had copious amounts of rain, and there were talks of cancelling the concert. But we went ahead; after all, if it wasn’t for water none of this (none of us!) would be here. So we embraced it and what a night it was. My favourite aspect of the night, aside from the setting and the challenge it posed as a sound recordist, was to see so many community members, all gathered to enjoy a special evening listening to music; listening to their music.

There was also spoken word, tea, cake, and a wider sense of discovery as the audience moved in small groups around the different chambers, following the sounds. Here is Séamas McCanny setting the tone at the entrance gates:

After Séamas’ dark stories, the crowds were then lead inside the cave in small groups to listen to a talented roster of musicians spanning all generations, including: Cathal McConnell, Shauneen Maguire, The Tumbling Paddies, Ancient Music Ireland, Mullaghy Flute band, The Owens Sisters and Tommy Owens and Eugene Dolan.

Onto the geeky technical part.

In order to cover all the performances in the given time I used what I would decribe as a combination of field recording and live gig recording techniques. Each performer would play to a given group, and I had to hop between groups, usually arriving before a group settled and leaving after their departure so as to to reach the following ‘stage’ before the next group’s arrival. There were 5 audience groups and 7 performances inside the cave, plus an 8th one in the cave’s cafeteria. This meant I had to haul a portable rig to capture everything, as well as to find suitable pit stops where I pre-dropped mics and cables to plug into when necessary. Luckily one of the cave guide’s (sorry I cannot remember your name) helped me carry 2 sets of microphone stands along the way. This is the gear I used:

Portable kit

DIY Binaural head (named Aurora) with OKM Classic matched omnidirectional microphones recording onto a Sony PCM-D50 (see picture below).

2x Sennheiser 8040 Cardioid microphones, 1x DPA 4060 omnidorectional microphone, 2x lightweight microphone stands, recording onto Sound Devices 744t recorder though a Sound Devices 552 mixer.

Pre-rigged

Heavy duty microphone stands and Shure SM58s and SM57s. These were placed mid-way through the route, coinciding with the biggest group of performers (The Tumbling Paddies) for which I needed that extra number of channels. Their location was quite tricky as there was a lot of water dripping from the ceiling, which was not only a source of noise but also a risk to the gear. Luckily the Shure dynamic mics are well known for their sturdiness.

Despite the not ideal conditions, it was a one-of-a-kind experience and on the whole we all appreciated the results. You can listen to the full concert playlist here, hopefully you will get a feeling of what a great evening was had. Personally, I am grateful to have been given the chance to play a small part in preserving the local acoustic heritage, which is what Sound Ark is all about.

My thanks to Cuilcagh to Cleenish, the performers, the audience, and the Marble Arch Caves staff. Thank you for reading.

The Outer Hebrides and other Hydrophone News

Recording a close perspective on one of Julie Brook's Firestacks. (© 2017 Julie Brook)

Recording a close perspective on one of Julie Brook's Firestacks. (© 2017 Julie Brook)

Its been a year since our first trip to the Outer Hebrides in the Winter of 2017, where we recorded the sounds of Julie Brook's fascinating Firestacks. Six months later in the Summer of 2017, we were lucky enough to revisit this stunning corner of the world, on a follow-up assignment; this is a brief account of the experience.

Waiting for a boat ride to complete the last leg of travels to reach the work location.

Waiting for a boat ride to complete the last leg of travels to reach the work location.

The main focus of these field recording trips is to document the life-cycle of the Firestack; from building, to firing, to extinction, as well as its environment. An important perspective that Julie has always been keen on capturing is the underwater one - what does it sound like under the surface when the tidal waves engulf the Firestacks?

On the first trip we had the privilege to work with a pair of Ambient ASF-1 Hydrophones, which we absolutely loved. The second time round we used a H27S Stereo Hydophone from Monkey Sound - an artisan contact mics manufacturer based in Spain - as well as our old faithful JrF D-Series Hydrophones. The H27S caught our attention because it comes in one casing. Given the rough seas we faced the first time round, it seemed like a practical feature in terms of retrieving the mic planted in the Firestack after the tide has covered it (Firestacks are around 1.5 meters tall at their highest point). These clips give you an idea of the colour and stereo field of this neat, relatively new, hydro-mic on the market.

You can download longer versions of these recordings here (free to use under the Sound Ark License Agreement).

Here's a few more sights and sounds we recorded - hope you enjoy them on your device as much as we enjoyed them in the field.

These are cold long days in a remote bay on the Western-most part of Lewis, and that's what makes it so special. There is practically no shelter, the nature is bare and the exposure to the elements constant. There is virtually no noise pollution, very little chatting between the crew and so the day becomes mostly a long introspective moment. It's a positive experience - you are immersed in the surroundings, constantly active, albeit completely still a lot of the time. The hours fly and before you know it (plus a 40-minute hike) you are back at the bothy, lighting the fire and regaining your extrovert self with the help of a dram of Scotch whisky.

Without a doubt one of the most inspiring assignments we have had the pleasure to work on so far, looking forward to round 3!

What's the most inspirational recording or filming location you have worked in? We'd love to hear your stories, especially if the location was free from noise pollution or on the contrary extremely noisy - you can leave us a comment below.

Ambient ASF-1: first impressions

Next week I’ll be travelling to a remote location on the Outer Hebrides of Scotland to record the sounds of Julie Brook’s captivating ‘Firestacks’, above and underwater. A very exciting project in many ways, not least for the quality noise-pollution-free time I will be having but also because I get to use arguably the best underwater microphone in the market: Ambient Recording's ASF-1 a.k.a The Sound Fish.

Close up on the ASF-1 Stainless steel body (centre) and acoustic sensor with NBR membrane (right).

I received the microphone yesterday and went straight to the closest water feature to give it a test. I will say straight away that I was blown away by the quality. From feel to looks it is apparently clear this is a superior piece of kit. It ships with a default (thick) 10m long cable and I also got a 50m one as the location I'll be recording in is subject to high tides.

The Arney river from Arney bridge in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland.

ASF-1 (left) and JrF D-Series (right) going for a dip.

To a Field Recordist, the opportunity of hearing something you’ve never heard before or just hearing it like never before, is the ultimate reward. The ASF-1, with its low noise and wide frequency response, enables just that. My experience with underwater recording so far always left me with a feeling that something was missing. Frequencies mainly but also the sensation that water was an adverse and somehow inaccessible medium for sound. This hydrophone completely removes all those barriers. It gives, allow  me the pun, a fully immersive experience. Here's a few downloadable samples:

To sum up, in case it wasn’t clear enough: I’m completely sold. And if I had the money I’d get it straight away, times two. The total cost including underwater accessories would circle around £1500 per mic, so for the moment we’ll stick to renting it from these lovely people. 

PS - a short comparison A/B file with the JrF D-Series Hydrophones can be downloaded here - I'll let you draw your own conclusions.

Praises to the D50

The other day I heard a robin tweeting away on the studio's front patio and so I planted my Sony D50 recorder as gently as possible in an attempt to record it. Of course, i scared him (her?) straight off but I thought that if I left the recorder in place for a while he might come back. I shut the sliding door and carried on with the day...

Two days later, as we were gearing up to go on a family stroll to the local hills I remembered about poor old D50. There it was, still on the patio, unmoved, still waiting for the robin to come back. With my eyes closed I switched it on, fearing for the worst. When i re-opened them it turned out the memory was full and there was still one bar of battery (albeit blinking). Hurrah! She was still alive! I downloaded the files onto the computer but there was no time to check if the unit was working properly so I took some fresh batteries and left for our walk in the hills. 

I'm very (very!) happy to say that the Sony D50 worked perfectly. Here's a recording of a leaves rustling to a subtle breeze in the hills.

The D50 had survived two nights out there. Luckily it has been the one and only week in the year where we have had no rain, I'm not even exaggerating, but still Ireland's autumn nights are very damp. I've carried this recorder around the world for more than 5 years and it has always delivered. It has overcome tank pass by splashes in England's wet winters, a year of 100% humidity conditions in tropical Sri Lanka, sub-zero temperatures in the Swiss Alpes, scorching 45+ degrees in the Andalusian summer, sand storms in Xinjiang's Taklamakan desert and torrential downpours in smoggy Beijing. The batteries (4x AAs) always last more than you expect them to, and the quality of the recordings is far above decent. 

All my respects to this little recorder, probably the best of its class.

To finish off here's a recording of another group of patio visitors, taken that same day.


Do you have a piece of kit that has survived the odds? Let us know below. Have a great week!