R-09 GETS IN TRANSIT WITH SONIC WALK

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When you need to capture a diverse range of sounds – from classical orchestras to the sounds of wildlife, and the ambient backdrop of urban life to the crumpling of paper – you need to be sure you’ve got a recorder that can do it all, which is why the organisers of a recent arts project chose the award-winning R-09 field recorder from EDIROL.

The Sonic Walk launched the In Transit festival of artist-led walks, talks and events across Kensington and Chelsea, setting out to explore the more hidden and unusual spaces and places in the borough – animating streets, parks and urban areas as well as neglected and forgotten spaces.

The walk was conceived to encourage people to interact with their surroundings in different ways, exploring Kensington and Chelsea with their ears and thinking more about our sonic landscape. The aim? To assemble a sonic picture of the borough and create a unique soundscape. Organiser Miriam Nelken from the borough’s Arts Service explains what happened on the day…

“It was interesting to see where the group of Sonic Walkers chose to go to record sound. The walk started with a private tour around the lovely Cadogan Hall where the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra were rehearsing before everyone went off in different directions.”

“The aim was to meet up a few hours later on Portobello Road. Some spent the entire time in Harrods, some went to the Portobello market, some to Holland Park to record the peacocks and to Kensington Gardens to record the parakeets cheeping. Others headed to the V&A and Natural History Museums on Exhibition Road. I allotted three hours for them to record sounds, thinking that would be more than enough time wandering around with a recorder, but everybody said they wished they'd had all day!” “One Sonic Walker sat in Hyde Park and recorded the sounds of crumpling paper for a long time. The sound designer ended up using this as a recurring theme during the live performance, which made the recordist very happy and proud!”

The walk ended with a performance at the Muse Gallery where singers and musicians – including Martin A Smith (sound designer and curator for event), Alex May (VJ), Bishwo Shahi (singing bowls & bells), Dawa Lama (bamboo flute), and Bridge Fazio (vocals) – improvised live over the collected soundscapes.

But why in particular was the EDIROL R-09 pressed into service for this highly unusual event? “I was looking for field recording equipment that would be easy enough for novices to use but would also provide sounds of a good enough quality to be able to create a high quality soundscape,” Miriam reveals. “The R-09s performed fantastically – everyone found them easy to use, lightweight, and most of all the resulting sounds were of great quality.”

To hear the results of the Sonic Walk and find out more about the In Transit festival head to:

www.rbkc.gov.uk/intransit

The artists involved:
Martin A Smith (sound designer and curator for event)

www.martinasmith.co.uk, www.myspace.com/martinasmith

Alex May (VJ)

www.bigfug.com

Bishwo Shahi (singing bowls & bells)

www.myspace.com/bishwoshahi

Dawa Lama (bamboo flute)

www.myspace.com/onlydawa

Kailas Elmer (electric guitar and mad noises)

http://www.myspace.com/chakrasamvara

Bridge Fazio (vocals)

http://www.myspace.com/faziospace

PINO (cahon - percussion)

http://www.myspace.com/lofoman

Kumikaze (vocals)

http://www.myspace.com/kumikazemusic


The R-09 has taken the recording world by storm and is ideally suited to events like this because it is designed to capture high quality audio recordings easily and instantly, wherever you are. It has versatile recording features, a sleek and lightweight design and has already become hugely popular with journalists recording interviews, students taking lecture notes and musicians wanting to record live performances or moments of inspiration away from their studios.

About the R-09

The R-09 won the MIA (Music Industry Association) Award For Innovation last year largely because of its groundbreaking design, which combines ease of use with advanced recording features. You can record via the high quality, built-in stereo mic in crystal-clear CD quality or in space-saving MP3 format. The unit uses SD data cards (a 64MB one is included) to store your sound – no tape required. All recordings can be backed up to your computer via USB and the unit features an amazingly functional OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) screen for sublime ease of use and data management. It also has an ultra-long battery life so can be relied upon in any situation.