MATILDE MEIRELES

Belfast Lough is an environmentally informed project that uses field recordings from urban and rural locations around the Belfast Lough area, Northern Ireland. The work has been composed to take advantage of the unique immersive audio possibilities of the Sonic Lab, Sonic Arts Research Centre, Queen’s University Belfast.

Recorded locations: Carrickfergus, Jordanstown, Belfast Harbour, Window on Wildlife Centre – RSPB Belfast, Botanic train station, Belfast Central train station, Victoria Park, Holywood, Cultra.

Slieve Gullion is renowned as an area of natural beauty, but what does it sound like? Over a six-month period, we recorded the sounds around the mountain: from foot to summit. Using surround recording techniques and a variety of microphones, we captured the dawn chorus, forest winds, farm animals, streams, and sounds from within the mountain-top cairn and lake. In this way, we could explore unique sounds and spaces that make up the area. We also recorded sounds inaudible to the human ear, such as atmospheric activity using a VLF antenna and underwater sounds with a hydrophone. The combined recordings resulted in a 60-minute surround-sound audio experience that takes the listener on a journey around Slieve Gullion and draws from the rich tapestry of its sonic environment.

On or Under the Surface of Land

Digital release

16 mins. composition using field recordings

Recording of the live performance at Sonorities Festival,

As part of Unrehearsed – An Evening full of Sound curated by Tullis Rennie

Sonic Lab, Sonic Arts Research Centre, Belfast

2015

On or Under the Surface of Land suggests a subtle shift in practice: from fixed to live, from predetermination to intervention. This evolution is slow and cautious, reflected in the treatment of the sound material. Changes in texture and intensity are explored slowly over the duration, blending minimal environments and hinting at the patient listening process involved in field recording.

Correspondence combines recordings from two different cities: Belfast and Rio de Janeiro. The composition explores unexpected similarities and variations in spatial density between two disparate sonic environments. The recordings open a dialogue, constructing a composition that maintains a sense of presence and initiates transitions between spaces not normally associated with either location. The recordings were made over a two-month period between April and May 2014.

We recorded the sonic environment of various locations surrounding the lough, using the recording process as a way of establishing a relationship with each location. Lough Foyle as a place of transition, a border.

Lagan:Behind re-imagines the intricate, complex soundscape of the area around a particular bridge which links the Lagan towpath to the meadows, a route well known to Belfast’s walkers and cyclists.

We recorded extensively at a set location over a six-month period, allowing us to experience the sonic environment: an ever-changing rural scene alive with birdsong and the flowing Lagan, coloured with subtle reminders of its proximity to urban Belfast. Over time, various perspectives slowly blend and develop. It is hoped that through listening one can find new ways to engage with this rural area right on Belfast’s doorstep.