This project, commissioned by The Land Lines Project - Nature Revealed, combines the traditions of storytelling and song with contemporary field recordings to search for narratives that might revitalise our connection to the natural world.
Specifically it focuses on the hidden soundscape beneath the water’s surface, eavesdropping on a world beyond our usual limits of perception where sound and vibration are the primary senses that connect us deeply to our ecosystems.
Field recordings have been traced from water bodies around the North East of England including the mudflats of Teesmouth, bays along the Durham heritage coast, nature reserves and colliery pit-ponds. In many of these locations the remnants of an industrial past provide an unlikely backdrop to blooming natural habitats. Indeed, many of the Wildlife Trust reserves are reclaimed pit and quarry sites.
An additional field trip to the Farne Islands in Northumberland allows us the opportunity to observe the underwater behaviour of seals and trace their route down to Teesmouth, the only intertidal mudflat between Lindisfarne to the north and the Humber to the south.
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Jez Lowe is a singer-songwriter whose musical history lies in the traditions of the North East. I approached him to ask whether he would produce some bespoke lyrics and songs informed by the field recordings I had made. Folk Music is necessarily rooted in local geographies and landscapes. Archival recordings portray the role of musicians within their local communities and are often recorded on location, embracing natural sonic characteristics that become embodied within the recording medium.
The environment to play more than a supporting role in this commission. The submerged voices and actions of underwater residents became the foundation on which this music is built, suggesting a need to become more connected with marine environments and the ‘otherness’ of the natural world.
This project is a radio ballad for aquatic lifeforms, told from the perspective of the marine-dwellers themselves about the coastal communities that rely on them.
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This work exhibits an undercurrent of production techniques that have their basis in Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR), including close-up recording, binaural production and repetitive noises. An accompanying EP of these ASMR-focussed tracks is available on my Bandcamp page.
lyrics
LYRICS ------
THIS WAS MY BOAT, NOW IT’S MY BED,
BOW, KEEL AND STERN NOW A ROOF FOR MY HEAD,
ONCE FOUGHT THROUGH STORM, NOW KEEPS RAIN OFF INSTEAD
SYLKIE AND SEAL, STARFISH AND SHELL,
EACH ROCKY CRADLE A SECRET TO TELL
TRICKLE AND RING OUT YOUR SALT WATER BELL
THOUGH I AM OLD AND LIFE HAS BEEN LONG,
I’M BARELY A WRINKLE ON THE FACE OF A POND
RAIN-FILLED AND STILL, EVER AFTER I’M GONE.
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WELCOME TO JOE’S, DEEP DOWN BELOW,
ABOVE AND BEYOND, A PRINCE AMONG PONDS
DRAGONFLY BLUE, AND STARTLING HUES,
WELCOME TO JOE’S, SO EASY AND SLOW
WELCOME TO JOE’S, THE FRIENDS AND THE FOES,
A MIXED CLIENTELE, ENTERTAINMENT AS WELL,
TEARS AND LAUGHTER, THE SOUND OF RENATRA,
WELCOME TO JOE’S,
WHAT DO YOU KNOW?
WELCOME TO JOE’S, DINE IN OR TO GO,
SHOOTING THE BREEZE WITH THE BIRDS AND THE BEES,
NEEDLE AND STICKS, GETTING THEIR KICKS,
WELCOME TO JOE’S, LET’S GET ON WITH THE SHOW
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ROLLING SHOULDERS OF STONE ARE MY HOME,
GREEN WATER GLIDING THE WAYS WE HAVE KNOWN
TWISTING AND TURNING,
WIDE-EYED AND WANDERING
MONK ISLAND MARINER, SALTED OF SKIN,
WHISKERY-WISE, WITH BLUBBER AND FIN,
LAZY AND EASY,
BASKING AND BARKING
AND WILD BLOW THE WATER AND WIND ON THE LONGSTONE
WHERE ONLY THE SILKIE AND SAINT CAN ENDURE
BRIGHT PEACOCK OF LIGHT, TALL AS SKY HIGH
BECKONING WARNING WITH TWINKLING EYE,
OUR SONS AND DAUGHTERS
GO SAFE IN DEEP WATERS.
AND WILD BLOW THE WATER AND WIND ON THE LONGSTONE
WHERE ONLY THE SILKIE AND SAINT CAN ENDURE.
credits
released November 15, 2020
Field Recording by David de la Haye
Music by Jez Lowe
Image by Euan Preston
Produced by David de la Haye
Mastered by Simon Scott