Sonic Journal: Recent Episodes
Boutique Recording
Accounts of field recording trips, audio experiments and sonic adventures. UK based sound recordist / audio producer Mike Rucinski takes us on field trips, tests ideas and shares thoughts on the sonic world we live in and the many ways and means to capture this. From the bleak moors of the North Pennines to Welsh temperate rainforest and to the old orchards of rural Herefordshire, each episode will explore a different aspect of his sound related creative practice. For more info and text versions of this podcast head over to https://sonicjournal.tumblr.com/.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sonic Journal EP23: Bike Mic v2 - Hill Climb
This episode is a slightly augmented version of a squelchy hill climb which i captured while out on the trails in a muddy January earlier this year / 2023. I wanted to continue the experimentations i started back in Episode 8, focused on placing miniature microphones on a mountain bike in an unobtrusive way to enable sound capture of a reasonable quality. This time i introduced a stereo pair of mics mounted on the handlebars, in addition to the single mic placed behind the lower seat post. I'm quite happy with this test as it enabled my voice to be clearly captured, some spatial feel of what was around the bike, and the mechanics. Wind was there at points although manageable. Of course this isn’t the end of the Bike Mic journey, but certainly a step in a good direction. Enjoy!
For more info on the Sonic Journal Podcast including accompanying blog and location pics from each recording session head over to https://sonicjournal.tumblr.com/ or Tweet me https://twitter.com/Reefunit_ And Instagram: https://instagram.com/recordinguk/
— Sonic Journal is now featured in the top 25 Best Field Recording Podcasts list by Feedspot, take a look and listen: https://podcasts.feedspot.com/field_recording_podcasts/ —
Nice one:)
soundscape #BikeMic #MTB #fieldrecording #Mud
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sonic Journal EP22: West Iceland - Sketches in Spring (2022)
While on trip to Iceland in late May 2022 I didn’t plan on making many recordings but, as always, packed a little travel rig so managed to press record on a number of occasions in and around walking, driving and generally exploring the Snaefellsnes peninsula. There are many wild animal species to be seen and heard around this time of year in the west, including Whimbrel, Snipe, Arctic turn, White tail Eagle, Eider Duck and Artic Fox (which we did see once, briefly!). And of course, i was more than excited to record some geothermal action at a very remote natural hot spring while looking out over fields and snow topped mountains.
5 audio sketches, included in this continuous soundscape:
- Búðir coast, nr Búðakirkja church, a little after midnight;
- Arnastapi camp ground, mid morning;
- Öndverðarnes coast, early evening;
- Berserkjahraun lagoon, mid afternoon;
- Geothermal Springs a little north of Snaefellsnes, early afternoon.
Thanks for listening!
For more info on the Sonic Journal Podcast including accompanying blog and location pics from each recording session head over to https://sonicjournal.tumblr.com/ or Tweet me https://twitter.com/Reefunit_ or follow on Instagram: https://instagram.com/recordinguk/
— Sonic Journal is now also featured in the top 25 Best Field Recording Podcasts list by Feedspot, take a look: https://podcasts.feedspot.com/field_recording_podcasts/
Nice one:)
soundscape #nature #Iceland #Snaefellsnes #FieldRecording
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sonic Journal EP21: Seven days of hills mini project - extended commentary
During this episode i break down some of my thought processes in relation to the recent seven soundscape episodes [#14-#20] which focussed on different locations along the Malvern Hills. Including: The idea, kit used, locations, weather and more. This episode also Includes clips of the recordings along with a rambling commentary of sorts offering observations i made prior to and during the recording process.
As this is a Binaural recording - please wear headphones for the best spatial stereo listening experience
I hope you have enjoyed the locations and sonics that have been recorded during these soundscape podcast specials. It's been a busy week of sound collection and i look forward to bring more similar sound projects to Sonic Journal.
For more info on the Sonic Journal Podcast including accompanying blog and location pics from each recording session head over to https://sonicjournal.tumblr.com/ or Tweet me https://twitter.com/Reefunit_ And Instagram: https://instagram.com/recordinguk/
— Sonic Journal is now featured in the top 25 Best Field Recording Podcasts list by Feedspot, take a look and listen: https://podcasts.feedspot.com/field_recording_podcasts/ —
Nice one:)
soundscape #binaural #7daysofhIlls #malvernhills #fieldrecording
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sonic Journal EP20: Chase End Hill. Dark wet woodland, distant rumbles - Binaural Soundscape. Recorded on July 30th 2023 / 2215h
Day seven of 'Seven days of Hills' mini series exploring the soundscapes of the Malvern Hills area every day for one week.
As this is a Binaural recording - please wear headphones for the best spatial stereo listening experience
For the seventh and final day of this week of daily hill soundscapes we make our way down to Chase End Hill and as the most southernly point of the Malverns we are now in Gloucestershire. And for this day rather than early morning, it is a night recording we present from the final hill. It has been a very blustery day and evening with winds and rain coming and going. Now, after 10pm the rain has held up a touch but the trees are still holding a lot of water. This area, while quite remote in some ways is actually quite close as the crow flies to a large dual carriage way road, and with the strong South-westerly wind the sound from the road rumbles up the valley and woodlands and into my microphones, creating an extra rumbling layer to pair with the rumble of the moving winds. Well, who am I to deny some additional rumble on this dark wet final night of 7 days of hills recordings!
I hope you have enjoyed the locations and sonics that have been recorded during this week of daily Malvern Hill based soundscape podcast specials. It's been a busy week of sound collection!
For more info on the Sonic Journal Podcast including accompanying blog and location pics from each recording session head over to https://sonicjournal.tumblr.com/ or Tweet me @ReefUnit_
soundscape #binaural #7daysofhIlls #malvernhills
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sonic Journal EP19: Ragged Stone Hill. Oaks swaying in the summer breeze - Binaural Nature Soundscape. Recorded by Mike Rucinski on July 29th 2023 / 0753h
Day six of 'Seven days of Hills' mini series exploring the soundscapes of the Malvern Hills area every day for one week.
As this is a Binaural recording - please wear headphones for the best spatial stereo listening experience
On this, the sixth day of seven we are approaching the end (or should that be the beginning?) of the Malvern hills range, where the terrain narrows a little, but if anything things get more interesting. There are far less people around these parts, making for an interesting place to explore. Today the recording location is up and over Ragged Stone Hill, then steep down into a woodland made up of mostly Beech and Oak (at least where I was situated). Most noticeable is the height of these trees - so so tall, reaching up and swaying in the breeze as the sun cuts through, lighting up the leaf littered forest floor.
For more info on the Sonic Journal Podcast including accompanying blog and location pics from each recording session head over to https://sonicjournal.tumblr.com/ or Tweet me @ReefUnit_
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sonic Journal EP18: Gullet Quarry / Midsummer Hill. Deer barking / Angsty Robins - Binaural Nature Soundscape. Recorded on July 28th 2023 / 0536h
Day five of 'Seven days of Hills' mini series exploring the soundscapes of the Malvern Hills area every day for one week.
As this is a Binaural recording - please wear headphones for the best spatial stereo listening experience
Day five and around 2.5km further south along the hills and we reach Gullet Quarry, a beautiful space surrounded on two sides by woodland with one particularly impressive towering rock face. It is between here and Midsummer Hill that today's recording was made. I love this space for its acoustic and tall Ash trees, although there is a mix of trees throughout the valley including old moss covered Oaks and Sycamore. The recording location is a little off the beaten track and has an ancient feel about it. You can hear the distant low level stream running alongside the quarry all the way up here the valley, and impressive winds can really rip through this place in winter months. The soundscape heard today included a conversation between two Muntjac deer, Ravens passing by high over head and some angsty Robins!
For more info on the Sonic Journal Podcast including accompanying blog and location pics from each recording session head over to https://sonicjournal.tumblr.com/ or Tweet me @ReefUnit_
soundscape #binaural #7daysofhIlls #malvernhills
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sonic Journal EP17: British Camp / Herefordshire Beacon. Crickets in the dry Grasses / Woodland stream - Binaural Soundscape. Recorded on July 27th 2023 / 0827h
Day four of 'Seven days of Hills' mini series exploring the soundscapes of the Malvern Hills area every day for one week.
As this is a Binaural recording - please wear headphones for the best spatial stereo listening experience
We hop along a little further today, crossing over the A449 for the continuation of the hills at todays recording spot of British Camp. This area was once a fort and has also been radically re-shaped to look 'nicer' by the Victorians back in the day, giving the Herefordshire Beacon a very distinctive loaf-like appearance from afar. The terrain is mostly grassland and very open with a series of small connecting hills and valleys making up the first section near the beacon, but I was more interested in the lower lying section near the reservoir today, discovering some shelter from the wind and nearby road noise. My microphones were positioned for a wide sound picture from the low level crickets and insects, to distant Buzzards in the older surrounding wooded areas. Oh, and then moving around the corner and into the closest woodland to hear a lovely little stream running past an ancient Holly tree more than a meter in diameter!
For more info on the Sonic Journal Podcast including accompanying blog and location pics from each recording session head over to https://sonicjournal.tumblr.com/ or Tweet me @ReefUnit_
soundscape #binaural #7daysofhIlls #malvernhills
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sonic Journal EP16: Jubilee Hill Sycamore in the breeze - Binaural Soundscape. Recorded on July 26th 2023 / 0530h
Day three of 'Seven days of Hills' mini series exploring the soundscapes of the Malvern Hills area every day for one week.
As this is a Binaural recording - please wear headphones for best listening experience
Moving along and down from the Worcestershire Beacon high point, across the Wyche cutting and along Perseverance Hill, Jubilee Hill is today's location. As a relatively small bump of a hill, this Hill is interesting because it sits on a crossroad of walking paths as well as dropping off steeply on both the west and east sides into different kinds of wooded coverage. Owls and rooks can often be heard around this location, although no owls this morning, instead my ear was taken by the rattling of a medium sized Sycamore tree in full leaf... so I placed the microphones up among the branches to really try and get amongst the movement of the leaves in the morning breeze.
For more info on the Sonic Journal Podcast including accompanying blog and location pics from each recording session head over to https://sonicjournal.tumblr.com/ or Tweet me @ReefUnit_
soundscape #binaural #7daysofhIlls #malvernhills
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sonic Journal EP15: Sugarloaf Hill - Binaural Soundscape. Recorded on July 25th 2023 / 0550h
Day two of 'Seven days of Hills' mini series exploring the soundscapes of the Malvern Hills area every day for one week - A soundscape snapshot.
Sugarloaf Hill is today's location, which sits between North Hill and the beacon high point. To the east the hill drops down into a tree lined valley and eventually into the town, yet somehow it can be very quiet up here. Weather wise there was a proper clear sunrise and the wind speed was very low, so good conditions for recording up here. There was a little very light rain which quickly passed, and a little vehicle sound from nearby roads, although the bees in the fresh growth heather were certainly making themselves known while going about their busy busy chores!
For more info on the Sonic Journal Podcast including accompanying blog and location pics from each recording session head over to https://sonicjournal.tumblr.com/ or Tweet me @ReefUnit_
soundscape #binaural #7daysofhIlls #malvernhills
Sonic Journal EP14: North Hill Quarry Rain - Binaural Soundscape. Recorded on July 24th 2023 / 0615h
This is the fist episode of Sonic Journal 'Seven days of Hills'; a mini series exploring the soundscapes of a particular location over the space of seven days in July 2023 - A soundscape snapshot.
The area of focus is the Malvern Hills in the UK, which spans three counties (Worcestershire, Herefordshire, Gloucestershire) and is shaped a little like a narrow dragons back. To walk from the north to the south you will meet 13 hills and cover around 12 miles. This area is a local stomping ground of mine which I have been exploring and recording for quite a few years now, and while it is not a vastly large area one thing I have noticed is the variety in soundscape as you pass through when walking or biking the paths and trails from hill to hill.
The focus is on bringing a sample of the soundscape recorded from a selection of different locations along the hills over a seven day period, with recordings made around the same time each day, using the same equipment and settings, and the location being the alternating factor. Episode one will start in the north, and as the week progresses recordings will be made gradually moving south.
For more info on the Sonic Journal Podcast including accompanying blog and location pics from each recording session head over to https://sonicjournal.tumblr.com/ or Tweet me @ReefUnit_
soundscape #binaural #7daysofhIlls #malvernhills
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sonic Journal Blogcast #13 - A binaural spring water soundscape. 2021. Each week or so i look forward to visiting a local spring, where water flows out of an old pipe in the side of a hill, under a road, into a stone basin and out down into the fields...
Head over to https://sonicjournal.tumblr.com/post/713668508878241792/spring-water-collector to see more on this along with a photo or two captured during the process.
Sonic Journal Blogcast #12 - This is an audio version of the Sonic Journal Blog entry 'Early May Moorland Field Trip [Dryburn Moor Night sounds]'. A binaural account from a field trip in early May 2022, I bring thoughts and feelings from my time up on the open moors in the North Pennines / Northumberland. The nighttime soundscapes in May are stark and distinctive. Such a special place.
Head over to https://sonicjournal.tumblr.com/post/712336005488934912/early-may-moorland-night-sounds to see more on this along with photos captured during the process.
Sonic Journal Blogcast #11 - Binaural recording - please wear headphones for best listening experience
Today we are marking the Balinese new year and day of Nyepi with an appreciation of going back to nature and a binaural dawn chorus recording from an English woodland on the borders of Herefordshire. Enjoy this soundscape recording, but if you can take the time to be outside and amongst nature without being tethered to technology, then do that too :)
dayofsilence #soundscape #binaural
https://sonicjournal.tumblr.com/
Sonic Journal Blogcast #10 - This is an account of a summer solstice woodland recording session with a good friend and nature connection expert, Alex Hampson. The actual interview is for a project, which I hope to share at a later date, so in this episode i share some of my thoughts from the day on the location, surroundings and recording process.
Head over to https://sonicjournal.tumblr.com to see more blog entries and photos from experiments and trips out in the field.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sonic Journal Blogcast #9 - This is an audio version of the Sonic Journal Blog entry 'Listening, Really Listening' [Original post: July 12th, 2021]. When I meet people for the first time when out working (as in, recording) and they take an interest in what i am doing, the first question they tend to ask is about the kit I am using; what mics, which DAW i use for mixing, etc. This is fine as I love a good gear chat, but the equipment is only a tool, what I am really doing is listening. The listening always comes first...
Head over to https://sonicjournal.tumblr.com/post/682822222542520320/listening-really-listening to see more on this along with photos captured during the process.
Sonic Journal Blogcast #8 - This is an audio version of the Sonic Journal Blog entry 'Bike Mic' [Original post: July 12th, 2021]. To bring new and interesting sonic worlds into my practice is an ongoing journey, and with the concept of binaural and spatial audio in mind and the ability to put the listener at the centre of a sonic stage to experience a soundscape from within rather than as a forward observer, my thoughts led me to a favourite activity of mine, cycling...
Head over to https://sonicjournal.tumblr.com/post/682821697332707328/bike-mic to see more on this along with photos captured during the process.
Sonic Journal Blogcast #7 - This is an audio version of the Sonic Journal Blog entry 'Creating for Space' [Original post: August 18th, 2021]. Thoughts on Immersive audio and music production have lead me to explore more widely Ideas for creating Immersive soundscapes constructed from recording out in the field, but why create the entire sound experience? Why not create for a desired location, leaving space for nature's own soundscape?
Head over to https://sonicjournal.tumblr.com/post/682821817544671232/creating-for-space to see more on this along with images captured during the process.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sonic Journal Blogcast #6 - This is an audio version of the Sonic Journal Blog entry 'Isolated Sound vs Ambience' [Original post: July 16th, 2021]. Thoughts on capturing sounds both close up and in distant fields, to bring a natural feeling of a space while combining multiple mic techniques.
Head over to https://www.tumblr.com/sonicjournal/682822197165932544/isolated-sound-vs-ambience to see more on this along with photos captured during the process.
Sonic Journal Blogcast #5 - This is an audio version of the Sonic Journal Blog entry 'August Swifts' [Original post: August 25th, 2021]. Summer 2021 as a sound memory for me will be evening walks and the immersive sound of Swifts all around as the light dips down towards night. A unique time of year which I always look forward to.
Head over to https://www.tumblr.com/sonicjournal/682821730538029056/evening-swifts to see more on this along with photos captured during the process.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sonic Journal Blogcast #4 - This is an audio version of the Sonic Journal Blog entry 'Being Freelance: How I Do It' [Original post: October 9th, 2021]. Some thoughts and notes on how I approach managing life, creativity and business in order to progress and achieve a balance.
Head over to https://sonicjournal.tumblr.com/post/668836246887579648/being-freelance to see more on this along with photos captured during the process.
Sonic Journal Blogcast #3 - This is an audio version of the Sonic Journal Blog entry 'Recording Rain' [Original post: November 25th, 2021]. Thoughts for this blog were inspired by a discussion with an audio friend on creativity vs use of time in relation to music and audio production projects. In particular, how to know a creative mix or production, project etc is actually finished, and most importantly when to stop.
Head over to https://www.tumblr.com/sonicjournal/668834047693324288/against-the-wind to see more on this along with photos captured during the process.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sonic Journal Blogcast #2 - This is an audio version of the Sonic Journal Blog entry 'Recording Rain' [Original post: October 18th 2021]. I explore some of the challenges of recording rain, methods and techniques and thoughts on future watery experiments.
Head over to https://sonicjournal.tumblr.com to see more on this along with photos captured during the process.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sonic Journal Podcast #1 - This is an audio version of the Sonic Journal Blog entry 'Contact Mics' [Original blog post: November 3rd 2021]. I explore the first time build of and experimentation with Contact Mics for use in capturing the sonics of bubbling fermenting barrels containing wonderful juices. Head over to https://sonicjournal.tumblr.com to see more on this along with photos captured during the process.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.