Silence

Life events inspire us...

The complete silence at 5am on a bright July morning in the midst of lockdown. The chatter of birds, more prominent than ever, the total shutdown of humanity, however temporary, lent a voice to those sounds we tune out normally.

Setting up a pair of low overhead mics in the garden to record a few objects I had lying around the house; a mini music box, my daughter's Ballerina box...A squirrel came bouncing up quite close to watch. He made no sound at all, not even his hopping through the grass towards me could be heard. I knelt down low with my head very near the grass to play the instruments I'd chosen whilst the tape ran. With every click of the music box, in the silence between, could be heard the chirping or birds all around us. High up in the trees and in the little park next door. Although recorded very close up, a sense of space could be heard in these recordings, and great silence. 

This morning session can be heard quite a bit in the first sound sets we'd created for Pigments.