The next stage of collecting underwater recordings for the still untitled project about Warsaw's Vistula river.
I got off the bus at Wał Miedzeszyński, near the Rzymska stop. After a short climb, I found myself on the wild and vast bank of the Vistula River. I was overwhelmed by the empty space. Everywhere I looked there was grass, tussocks and trees. A thin, well-trodden path led me deep into this strange, by Warsaw standards, land. I reached the water surface only after about five minutes of walking and three minutes of careful descent down the steep riverbed.
Generally, lots of bushes, mud, sand and birds. If it weren't the muffled noise of the traffic coming from the oposite bank, I would consider this place to be perfect for recording. I installed myself on a rocky promontory and threw two Aquarian hydrophones between the stones. Turned on Zoom F3. The audiosphere was complemented by the vibrations of a half-submerged branch and intersecting currents.
After the session ended, I repeated the procedure twice - five and ten meters away. I didn't bother listening. I passed the time by shaking dried mud off my shoes and listening to old cassette tapes. I also experienced a third kind close encounter with a beaver swimming close to the shore. In the distance I noticed a lone angler who quickly gave up fishing. Apart from that, place was completely deserted.
From my Bandcamp page:
A short vacation in the mountains. A few sketches from a trail that turned out not to be as easy as we thought. Also my first attempt at combining stereo recordings with a hydrophone.
For a short, three-day trip to the Tatra Mountains, I took with me a Tascam Portacapture X6 and... a hydrophone. Quite a strange choice, isn't it? However, it turned out to be a bull's-eye.
We experienced the first truly rainy day after the holidays, which turned the seemingly simple trail to the Five Ponds Valley into a fight for life.
Ok, maybe it wasn't that dramatic, but I just wanted to convey the vibe.
On the way, we passed the Mickiewicz' and Siklawa Waterfalls (the highest in Poland), and we also crossed the Roztoka stream several times. There were plenty of opportunities to record.
After returning home, I decided to buy a second hydrophone from Aquarian to create a stereo set. Underwater mono recordings do not sound that impressive, so some editing was necessary. Regardless, I'm happy with the result, especially the "The Great Pond" part. The wavering pond blends beautifully with the splash of underwater bubbles and the mountain wind.
I'm not a good poet.
A small photo report below:
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