Free · every Sunday
Room Tone
A new post every Thursday: my recording notes from canals, halls and stairwells, and what I made of them.
CanalsRecording a canal at six in the morning
A hydrophone, a thermos and the sound of a boat engine two bridges away.
HallsWhy I record the empty hall first
Before any music, a few minutes of the room alone: the tone every later sound sits in.
StairwellsA microphone at the bottom of a stairwell
What a concrete spiral does to a clap, a footstep and one long note.
PlacesThe doorway of a closed factory at dusk
Gravel, pigeons, a distant fan and how I kept my own breathing out of the recording.
SynthTurning a hall recording into a drone
Slowing it down, stacking two copies and letting the room hum under the synth.
SynthPatching a slow pad from a canal recording
Three cables, one filter and a sound that moves like water without being water.
TapeLooping a tape of footsteps
A loop around a mic stand, a tape machine and a walk that never ends.
EditingEditing a recording late at night
Cutting out a bus, keeping a bird and how I decide what stays.
- Gear
Setting levels for a very quiet place
Gain, headphones and the trick of listening before you press record.
SynthHow I film hands on a small modular
A phone on a tripod, the panel in the light and a rule about reflections.
- Halls
Choosing a quiet time to record a hall
Why Sunday morning is best, and what to do when the heating comes on.
- Stairwells
Three heights, one stairwell, three sounds
The same clap at the bottom, the middle and the top, played one after another.
Free
Room Tone
A free letter every Sunday: where I recorded this week, what it sounded like and one sound to listen for.