Birthday Pilgrimage: Recording in the Adirondacks
tomorrow is my solar return and i’m headed to the adirondacks to field record. it’s four days of hiking, listening, recording, and communing with the most primal parts of self.
you may be wondering why i’d want to spend my birthday mostly alone in the woods. honestly, being in wilderness spaces is where i feel the greatest sense of connection to both my self, spirit, and source.
i also love the peace that comes from hours of walking on the trail, where your mind becomes entrained with the rhythms of the land, moving over rocks and crags, darting through trees and following the ridge lines. when hiking, the external landscape shapes the internal landscape.
there’s also nothing like the kindness and peace that ensues after a day of hiking. it’s as if all the worries that you were carrying when you started the trail are released to the trees and the streams, the fields and the moss. where you definitely find yourself lighter than when you started.
in essence, going to the woods or the ocean, is a process of remembering who i am. a pilgrimage i try to make at least once a season.
Why the Adirondacks?
the adirondacks is the largest protected national park in the contiguous united states. with six million acres of forest, it’s home to beautiful range of habitats that provide shelter for all kinds of birds. i find birds to be some of the best muses and i’m continually fascinated by their journey to follow the light, and how their journey sounds to us as ground dwellers.
the adirondack forest is also the site i chose to focus on for the sacred seasons project, which is a half-year long series of community sound rituals. in that project, the sound art pieces are mostly comprised of seasonal nature sounds from the adirondacks. so i have quite a bit of sounds that i need to record in order to have enough material.
Preparation is Everything
i think there’s this romanticization of the wilderness, that you just get there and suddenly you’re one with the cosmos. frankly, nothing will ruin your hike like forgetting sunscreen or not packing enough water. preparation actually facilitates having a good time.
on a recording trip, as aside from what you’ll wear, eat, or navigation, there’s the added fun of electronic gear. don’t get me wrong, i kind of geek out in a good way over electronics, but it’s no small feat figuring out how to pack and trek all the equipment. you have basic gear like the recorder, the mics, the cables and all that jazz, but then there’s the power supplies. how are you going to power everything in the woods? for this trip i have a ton of rechargable batteries and a powerbank. everything works great, but it takes some time to figure out equipment.
Do I just stand around and listen all day?
no. i’ll be hiking most of the time, all the while listening to the surroundings, and if i’m lucky, tuning into myself.
if there’s something that calls to me, i will probably stop, ask permission of the land, and record if i get the ok. i’ve found it’s better to record more often than not. because you really don’t want to get home and find that you hardly had enough material to work with.
things that can destroy material: humxn sounds aka noise pollution. this is cars and motorcycles, people talking loudly on the trail, dogs barking, or airplanes. essentially any one of these sounds can make it hard to use the recording later on.
but i love this process of recording because you really develop a connection to the sound. it’s a moment where you recognize something in your environment resonates with something in you, and each time you listen to that sound the connection deepens.
i also like to take pictures on the trail, and this time i’m going to be filming some video for various projects. this is a first for me, i haven’t really done much filming, but i’m excited to see how that impacts my process.
Sounds I’m Excited About
after 13 years of field recording on relatively low-budget equipment, i finally had enough support to be able to purchase new equipment. honestly it feels like a new lease on life. the tools don’t make the artist, but damn it makes a difference.
i’ve been testing the gear in the nearby park (lots of funny looks from kids when i’m standing still as a statue holding a mic up like the statue of liberty) and the results have been so different from my old setup. wider fields of sound, depth and dimension are really highlighted, and the focus is sharper.
i’m particularly excited to try recording wind, and there’s some specific birds, amphibians, and insects that i’m hoping to connect with. generally i really love expansive soundscapes, ones where you can hear the space, i’ll also be working on that.
all in all i’m really just excited to get away from my computer and connect with the world again. it feels like it’s been a long time since i’ve visited home.
want to learn how to record and work with sound as a magical medium?
i’m teaching a sound workshop on august 1st that’s all about sound energy and field recording. it’s perfect for folx who want to connect deeper with sound and start creating magic with sounds. no fancy equipment or experience necessary. click below to register.
