Water Over the Dam

Posted on May 31, 2009 by John C.S. Keston

dam The sound of the water going over this section of the Coon Rapids dam across the Mississippi river about fifteen miles North of Minneapolis, was deafening. Virtually all other sound within the environment was drowned (no pun intended) out by the fierce white water noise. I made a recording that is about a minute and a half long. Here’s about thirty seconds of it, but my questions is what would one use this sort of sound for, other than water over a dam sound effects?

Water Over the Coonrapids Dam

Post Heliotrope Bells

Posted on May 30, 2009 by John C.S. Keston

After checking out a few bands during the Heliotrope festival at the Ritz Theater in Northeast Minneapolis, I starting riding home as a light rain began to fall. It was about 1:07am. Halfway home I heard church bells. Loud, cacophonous, church bells. Not what you’d expect to hear at that time. I dug my recorder out of my bag and started cycling quickly toward the sound. There are churches (plural) on almost every block in my neighborhood, but it didn’t take long to find the one making all the racket. I stopped in the middle of the street and recorded the ringing for more than six minutes. There’s a lot more to this story, but for now, here’s one minute and sixteen seconds of what I captured.

Post Heliotrope Bells

Foot Falls Breaking Sticks in Wooded Area

Posted on May 25, 2009 by John C.S. Keston

Here’s a set of crunchy footsteps recorded in a wooded area. There’s a bit of wind noise, but it otherwise represents the sound of trailblazing through a thick, young forest.

Foot Falls in Woods

Breezy Cottonwood Ambiance

Posted on May 23, 2009 by John C.S. Keston

Cottonwood Leaves Plains cottonwood (Populus sargentii) grows near water, and tends to mimic water in several ways. Visually their leaves ripple in the wind like water rippling on a fairly still pond. The sound of the wind through their leaves also mimics water flowing in a stream. I recorded a gentle wind passing through a small grove of cottonwoods near a swamp full of cattails, birds, insects and amphibians. My wind sock for the PCM-D50 didn’t provide all the wind noise protection I would have liked, but I got a good few seconds out of it anyway.