This concert featured Mindy Mang Wang on guzheng, Vinod Prasanna playing bansuri flute and Glen Kniebeiss on tabla at the Northcote Uniting Church. For the recording we used the Nagra VI recorder coupled with the Nagra EMP preamp, four DPA 4023 mics (ORTF stereo overheads and spots on the guzheng and bansuri flute) and a couple dynamics.
We were contracted to produce a concert recording and run of CDs for the Star Chorale Choir and Orchestra performing Mozart’s Grand Mass in C Minor at the James Tatoulis Auditorium in Methodist Ladies’ College. A week before the concert I was able to get along to a rehearsal which allowed me to meet and hear the choir, check the acoustics of the auditorium, organise the recording room and plan the microphone placement.
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My friend Lisa Catinari mentioned she was singing with a choir and they had an upcoming concert, so I offered to make a recording and in a nutshell that’s how this outing came about. The recording is of chamber choir Choristry performing Dvořák’s Stabat Mater at St John’s Southgate which is a great medium sized modern church with great acoustics for its size. The soloists were: Diipti Firmstone (Soprano), Christina Jonas (Alto), Michael Lapina (Tenor) and Andrea Carcassi (Bass) and the concert was conducted by Trevor Jones with Piano by Peter Dumsday.
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Mongolian Throat singer (Huumii) and Horse Fiddler (Morin Huur) Bukhchuluun Ganburged came to Melbourne recently to perform at the Australia Day celebrations in Federation Square. I had taken some portfolio photos for Bukhu before Australia Day and having heard his CD was really interested in doing some recording with him. As things turned we ended up making a recording that weekend and I was quote astounded by Bukhu’s musical skill.
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In March my wonderful partner Namila and I headed over to WOMADelaide for some festival fun. Namila was mcing on the workshop stage throughout the festival and so I went off on various photography missions. Systa BB, a good friend and presenter of ‘The Good, The Dub & The Global’ on Triple R radio organised a photography pass to shoot photos for the station. She had three performers to interview in the speaker sessions: Archie Roach, Nitin Sawhney and Martha Wainwright. Her interview with Archie Roach was recorded for broadcast and her written piece ended up as a feature in ‘The Trip’ magazine along with the photos I shot. Read more »
Throughout 2010 and 2011 I’ve been recording and producing CDs with Dya Singh which has been a truly great experience, both for honing my recording skills and learning about the music of India (well, Dya’s version anyhow). Amongst the work I’ve made it to a few festivals and concerts to see Dya and his group perform, one memory which sticks out is from the Woodford Folk Festival where after one of his concerts Bob Hawke came backstage to meet Dya and I caught him say “thanks Dya, you’re doing a wonderful thing”. Luckily enough I had my camera and took some photos of the moment… Read more »
Headed up to the Woodford Folk Festival and recorded a number of artist performances including: Dya Singh World Music Group, The Bird, Mista Savona, Leah Flannigan, RedBantoo, Hermitude and Spankinhide. For some fun I shot video during Hermitude’s show which they liked and ended up using to cut a full video for their track ‘Get in my life’ which is > here.
During my road trip up to the Woodford Festival I got stuck in Warwick, with flooding blocking the way out of town in all directions. So I spent the night with around 250 others camping out on the floor of the Aquatic Centre. It was pretty good meeting the locals and other travellers plus there was plenty to photograph and film. Some video I shot of the floods in Warwick was aired on Prime TV the day which was pretty cool. Here’s a quick snippet of the flood waters around 3am at the main bridge.
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Here’s some Australian soundscapes made at various intervals between Sydney and Brisbane using a Nagra VI field recorder and a pair of DPA 4023 microphones.
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Soundscape from my grandparents dam just outside of Orange, NSW at around 1am, Recorded using a Nagra VI field recording and pair of DPA 4023 microphones in ORTF configuration.
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Sounds just outside of Orange, NSW
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Sound of seagulls at the docklands Melbourne, 1.30am
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Headed down to the Trinity Uniting Church in Brighton on a sunny Sunday with Sam McNicol to record the Five Pointed Star concert for the Melbourne Composers League. Here’s an excerpt of composer Andrew Batterham’s song Such Sweet Sorrow, performed by the Silo String Quartet.
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Contracted to produce a 20 minute music piece used in the Australian Pavilion throughout the World Expo in Shanghai to accompany sand art performances; the piece was a fuse of Indigenous musicians, outback soundscapes and contemporary music.
On the GEOS expedition with Greg Simmons we recorded shehnai player Ustad Ali Abbas Khan and his ensemble in the grounds of the Chet Singh Palace in Varanasi, overlooking the Ganges River.
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On our trip through Nepal we visited the Maya Devi Temple in Lumbini, Nepal where a marker stone proclaims “the Exact Birthplace of Buddha”. Just outside the temple Greg Simmons and I recorded two monks reciting prayers.
