Duet No.3 for Synthesizer and The Singing Ringing Tree

This video is the third document from my five day recording session and performance series at the Singing Ringing Tree (SRT) in Burnley, UK. The SRT is a wind activated musical panopticon in Northern England. The sculpture was designed by architects Tonkin Liu and completed in December 2006. I performed accompaniment for the SRT binaural recordings simultaneously using a Novation Bass Station II connected to a USB battery. I also ran the Bass Station II through a Moog Minifooger Delay.

NOTE: This is a binaural recording combined with a monophonic synthesizer track. Although it sounds great through speakers, circumaural headphones must be used to experience the binaural effect.

Day Two Before Teardown Due to Persistent Rain

The second duet in the series was posted as audio while I was still on location. Duet No. 3 was recorded during my second day on the project. The birds were particularly loud adding another layer in the soundscape with which to interact. I was also feeling more in tune with the surroundings, but a persistent rain cut the day short.

Day Two Persistent Rain

One quick technical note: I used a subtle high-pass filter in post to reduce the wind noise while leaving in most of the lows. In production I tried various wind screens, but everything muffled the sound too much for the binaural effect to come through. The best solution turned out to be a thin cotton t-shirt that I used on one of the very windy days. Although, it still muffled the sound too much for my ears. Sheltering the mic opposite the wind helped the most. My goal was to replicate the sonic experience of the site as closely as possible, so letting the wind have some effect on the mic turned out to be the best way to achieve that.

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