CAPTURE #9 :: Pressure pan [panela no refúgo]

Date: 01 September 07
Place: Cocas' house, S. Miguel, Açores - 1800km West from Lisboa
Description: Pressure pan sounds
Equipment: 2 Oktava Mk-012 small diaphragm condenser microphones w/ cardioid capsules; 1 Marantz PMD660 solid state digital recorder; 1 Senheiser HD-25 headphones; 2 5m XLR balanced cables; 2 windscreens

The morning after we arrived to Alcoentre I was driven to Lisboa Airport by Brito and Marisa, flying then to the island of S. Miguel in Açores, where I would have two gigs in a club called PDL: S. Miguel is one of the most beautiful places I had ever been to. I had known this place just six months before for a couple of other gigs along with AC 3MONITOR vj Marco.

Cocas, our "islands' manager" had a place for me to crash and feel at home, and immediately took me out for a couple of dives into that nice worm corner of the Atlantic, some beers, and we were started in what came out to be two hard-partying, nature watching hell of weeks.

One evening at his house, Cocas decided to get a tasty stew boiling on his pressure pan, and we both agreed So Sample Sound Sniper couldn't miss that sound:

panela1
panela2
panela3

CAPTURE #8 :: Passing trucks

Date: 30 August 07
Place: National Road somewhere between Alentejo and Ribatejo, Southwest-Center of Portugal
Description: Trucks passing by in the national road
Equipment: 2 Oktava Mk-012 small diaphragm condenser microphones w/ omni-directional capsules; 1 Marantz PMD660 solid state digital recorder; 1 Senheiser HD-25 headphones; 2 20m XLR balanced cables; 1 pop filter, 4 windscreens


23H47 - On our way back from Odeceixe to Alcoentre, Ribatejo, we stoped in the middle of the national road because Xiu seemed to be feeling somewhat sick and restless. Getting out of the van to strech my legs I noticed the sound trucks were making as they passed by: some crickets, confused birds and frogs joined the sinphony. I got the gear together and sat still for nearly one hour, trying to get the levels right and being stung by hordes of bloodthursty mosquitos in my hands, arms, legs, face: that's what I call fun! I felt like giving it up a couple of times but realized that every single truck brought with it its very own drone, different from all the others, so I tried to cover as well as I could and held on to it. Can you hear this low evolving drone the trucks leave behind after they pass by?

Truck1
Truck2

CAPTURE #7 :: Ocean at Odeceixe

Date: 29 August 07
Place: Odeceixe, Southwest Portugal
Description: Ocean at Odeceixe
Equipment: 2 Oktava Mk-012 small diaphragm condenser microphones w/ omni-directional capsules; 1 Marantz PMD660 solid state digital recorder; 1 Senheiser HD-25 headphones; 2 20m XLR balanced cables; 1 pop filter, 4 windscreens
Photos: Michael Dragaschnig



After Fatt we roamed to the West, Odeceixe: a nice small beach village located somewhere between Alentejo and Algarve. One evening, parked on the top of the cliffs, I got my stuff out of the van and tried to get a sound taste of what was going on... the stunning ocean, surrounded by these huge walls of rock always made me feel completely insignificant, which is good starting point if you wanna take it from there. The wind was strong up in the cliffs and it turned out quite difficult to get any sound at all but in the end something came up.

That night I couldn't sleep so I used my van's power set up (secondary battery + power inverter) to turn on my laptop and soundcard and cut up some samples from Fatt, being then able to post the first two Fatt captures on the weblog.

When the sun was starting to rise I left Marisa sleeping and got Xiu out for a morning walk and breakfast. In my way down to the village I saw this austrian photographer making some shots at the ocean which by that time
was completely covered in fog. Later on I came up to him and asked him to send me some photos so I could post them here. I wrote to him and he sent me some of the amazing stuff he was shooting there. His name is Michael Dragaschnig, you can check him out at: www.photoaction.at



Here is what the ocean at Odeceixe sounded like from those cliffs:

Ocean

CAPTURE #6 :: Fatt IV - Running Water

Date: 27 August 07
Place: Fatt - Tribal and Traditional Arts Festival @ Alte, South Portugal
Description: Running water under Fatt's stone stage
Equipment: 2 Oktava Mk-012 small diaphragm condenser microphones w/ hyper-cardioid capsules; 1 Marantz PMD660 solid state digital recorder; 1 Senheiser HD-25 headphones; 2 20m XLR balanced cables
Photos: João Couto C.





Since I first arrived to Fatt I had noticed this beautifull sound made by running water inside a stone structure being used as a stage for the festival's presentations: the last day I waited until 6:00 AM for everyone to go way so I could record it as pure as possible so I jumped inside the structure with my gear, Marisa and Xiu jumping around, João and Rita packed with their cameras, talking about exposure speed, shuter overture, experiences, dreams. Call it good or bad luck, there were still some guys playing the drums on the opposite side of the stream, some 50m way. These drum sounds mix with the running water into what later felt to me like a pleasant, magical pattern. You can find them running along on the lower frequencies:

Water1
Water2

CAPTURE #5 :: Fatt III - Berimbau

Date: 26 August 07
Place: Fatt - Tribal and Traditional Arts Festival @ Alte, South Portugal
Description: Berimbau jam with Carrapato and Puxinho
Equipment: 2 Oktava Mk-012 small diaphragm condenser microphones w/ cardioid capsules; 1 Marantz PMD660 solid state digital recorder; 1 Senheiser HD-25 headphones; 2 20m XLR balanced cables; 1 pop filter, 4 windscreens
Photos: Rita Rocha and João Couto C.





Fatt 2007 day three. Problems with a rotten cable had made it impossible to record the berimbau workshop in the first day of the festival. Fortunately, Carrapato and Puxinho gathered to put up this great session for me. Thanks a lot guys!



...and now for your listening pleasure:

berimbau1
berimbau2
berimbau3
berimbau4
berimbau5

CAPTURE #4 :: Fatt II - Percussion Workshop

Date: 25 August 07
Place: Fatt - Tribal and Traditional Arts Festival @ Alte, South Portugal
Description: Percussion Workshop by Babara Bangoura
Equipment: 2 Oktava Mk-012 small diaphragm condenser microphones w/ cardioid capsules; 1 Marantz PMD660 solid state digital recorder; 1 Senheiser HD-25 headphones; 2 20m XLR balanced cables; 1 pop filter, 4 windscreens
Photos: Rita Rocha and João Couto C.



Fatt 2007 day two. We wake up just to acknowledge that all campment has fled because of heavy rain and wind: gladly enough we didn't even notice it inside the van. Slept warm and cosy and too damn much, then had to track out the percussion workshop which had moved due to the weather, and was now being hosted below a wooden ceiling as you can see in the picture above.



Today's teacher was Babara Bangoura: born in Guiné Conakry, this great spirited drummer had begun his musical adventure at the age of eleven, and had ever since dedicated intirely to it. I always think about how it is when you start so young and focus all your energy into something, and often wonder what would be of me if I had done something like that instead of becoming a true jack of all trades. Thinking better, maybe I started really young and dedicated all my energy to becoming a jack of all trades.









There were lots of great drummers in the group and it turned out to be a really nice experience to sit there for about four hours and listen to these people play: I would even risk saying it is maybe my best shot so far: the conditions were optimus, acoustics was good, mics were perfectly positioned, and the musicians were excelent. Here are some samples:

Echaufement1
Echaufement2
Echaufement3
Echaufement4
Echaufement5
Echaufement6
Echaufement7

Breaks1
Breaks2
Breaks3
Breaks4

Voice1
Voice2

CAPTURE #3 :: Fatt I - Didgeridoo Workshop

Date: 24 August 07
Place: Fatt - Tribal and Traditional Arts Festival @ Alte, South Portugal
Description: Didgeridoo Workshop by Mark Atkins
Equipment: 2 Oktava Mk-012 small diaphragm condenser microphones w/ cardioid capsules; 1 Marantz PMD660 solid state digital recorder; 1 Senheiser HD-25 headphones; 2 20m XLR balanced cables; 1 pop filter, 4 windscreens
Photos: Rita Rocha and João Couto C.



From the 24th till the 26th August a great opportunity for sound capture came up: the APD [Portuguese Didgeridoo Association] was holding a tribal and traditional arts festival hosting didgeridoo, percusion, berimbau workshops, concerts and other activities.



Alte was the chosen village for this happening, a beautiful place considered by many as a cultural hideout in Algarve, South of Portugal: lots of fresh clean water to dive in, cool shades and great conditions for camping and van life.




The organization people were warm and relaxed, and welcomed the So Sample Sound Sniper project providing meals and the possibility of recording whatever sounds I wished. A well designed encounter with two photographer friends - Rita Rocha and João Couto C. - brought up the possibility of upgrading image quality in these posts. You can find Rita's work at: www.ritarocha.deviantart.com/gallery








This capture's target was Mark Atkins' didgeridoo workshop. Atkins is a didgeriddo virtuoso descendant of the Yamijti people of Western Australia and of Irish-Australian heritage: this great character [wearing a hat in the photo above] gladly let me record it all, and it goes like this:

DidgeSample
DidgeLoop1
DidgeLoop2
DidgeLoop3
DidgeLoop4
DidgeLoop5
DidgeLoop6
Voices

CAPTURE #2 :: Pottery Ovens @ Avintes

Date: 15 August 07
Place: Abandoned pottery plant, Avintes, Northwest Portugal
Description: Buna, Marisa and me testing sounds inside an oven at an abandoned pottery plant near Porto. Great reverb!
Equipment: 2 Oktava Mk-012 small diaphragm condenser microphones w/ cardioid capsules; 1 Marantz PMD660 solid state digital recorder; 1 Senheiser HD-25 headphones; 2 20m XLR balanced cables



January 1st 2006, 12:00AM :: Portugal >> Porto >> 555 Arts Centre ::
We were having our much deserved rest after the huge success of the new year's eve party we had just put up the night before, with more then 700 wild animals running loose through the place: everything was a mess. We were a mess. Nevertheless we decided to get our strengh together and check out a free rave party some english folks were still having some kms away.



When we got to the place, after a quick dancing time to the sound of "Voyage voyage" and other old-school anthems alike comming out of this massive wall of speakers, that's when we found the ovens: didn't take much for us to be crawling inside, shouting our lungs out and running wild, in total reverb frenzy.



One year and a half later, having decided to start this So Sample Sound Sniper project, the ovens came right back to my mind: the problem was how to get there, since I couldn't remeber a single turn. Gladly, Buna came into action and together we found our way back once again.



Despite of being a bit creepy, these ovens proved to be a fantastic reverb unit, one you'd kill to have on your hardware rack. We set the mics and recorder and got to the action.







I still wanto to get back there, this time with a diversity of musical instruments and sound objects like a gas cooker + a pan full of corn, maybe kidnap a poet and bring him in too. Check out some samples (not yet mastered):

Sample1
Sample2
Sample3
Sample4
Sample5 (reversed)

CAPTURE #1 :: Drumming @ Tertulia Castelense

Date: 27 July 07
Place: Tertulia Castelense, Castêlo da Maia, Northwest Portugal
Description: 'Drumming' - ESMAE's percusion orchestra - playing live at a venue called 'Tertulia Castelense' near Porto, Portugal.
Equipment: 2 Oktava Mk-012 small diaphragm condenser microphones w/ cardioid capsules; 1 Mottu 828Mk2 firewire audio interface; 1 Dell Precision M65 laptop pc; 1 Senheiser HD-25 headphones; 2 20m XLR balanced cables



The 'Drumming' percusion orchestra is mainly composed by a beautiful instrument that comes right out of the Trinidad and Tobago islands - the steel drums - together with both a regular drum and a percusion set. I had never heard them before and got quite impressed: they're a hell of nice group of musicians and gave us a great concert that evening. Lots of energy and vibe...



Lukkas had been invited to perform along in one of the songs which he'd written for them, so we had a good opportunity to go and capture the gig.



We decided to place the mics above the stage, stuck to the lights rack so they wouldn't disturb or be disturbed by the audience, and using an X/Y setup got what we though was the best sound possible acording to the acoustic of the room.











It was a great first experience for a live capture, thanks to Lukkas who guided me through the whole process, to the 'Drumming' orchestra, and to the people down at 'Tertulia Castelense' who were most helpful.

A couple of hours after the gig, 5:00AM I was starting what would be my first trip with the new wheels, a hit'n'run voyage to Barcelona. The mission: to get my stuff from my ex-flat and come back alive.

Anyway, check out some sound samples (not yet mastered):

Sample1
Sample2
Sample3

Slow Motion

Everything is running late. Damn late.

I had planned my journey to start in the very begging of July. Nevertheless it's now past half August and here I am, sitting on my ass, waiting for my mobile studio to get fixed inside, stationary bateries, mercedes fuckin seats, damn late. And every day that goes by is like a blow of air inflating this anxious urge of getting on the road, making it grow bigger and fatter and tearing my guts apart. Will the waiting be over? The answer is yessss, worry no longer. Soon enough son, soon enough.

MEMBRAIN S // SO SAMPLE SOUND SNIPER :: english

VIRTUAL PLATAFORM FOR INTERACTIVE SOUND BANKS
// SOUND CARTOGRAPHIES IN VIRTUAL SPACE


INTRO

MEMBRAIN is the younger brother of the MYCELIUM Project – a virtual platform developed by Kosmic D-Vision team as a final project of Pedro Pinto in the Sound and Image degree at Universidade Católica of Oporto, Portugal.

From the 2D environment of MYCELIUM, with MEMBRAIN we move a step further to a 3D virtual environment, which function is to host interactive sound banks: basing its philosophy in audio samples sharing projects like FREESOUND, MEMBRAIN allows its users to upload and/or download audio samples, comment them, and organize them using tags.


TAGS AND SPACIALITY

Just like MYCELIUM, the distribution of the objects [web pages in the former case, audio simples in the present case] through the virtual space is directly related to the tag system. The distance between these sounds will be determined by the similitude and differences between their respective tags: this attraction/repulsion engine is based in the physical phenomenon of springs.


INTERACTIVE ENVIRONMENT

Developed in ActionScript3, MEMBRAIN is simultaneously a Net.art project and a tool for sharing and creation: its goal is to use the available technology to give birth to a communitarian environment in which the virtual experience opens the way for new possibilities and new forms of interaction and artistic generation.


S // SO SAMPLE SOUND SNIPER

SO SAMPLE SOUND SNIPER is the first body of contents, created specifically for this Project, and that Hill give life to MEMBRAIN’s engine. It consists of a coherent and consequent recollection of audio samples that, despite presenting very diverse forms and origins, nevertheless share their common goal: to lend a first soul to the MEMBRAIN project.


JUMPING BORDERS

SO SAMPLE SOUND SNIPER is a cartography that goes far beyond institutional cartographies, jumping physical, political and cultural borders – imaginary lines that one draws around countries and individuals – through the union of sounds which are characteristic of determined places and moments, and their fusion in a virtual space that consequently turns into social space.

The process of sound recollection will take place between August and October 2007 in cities and regions that are emotionally and operatically connected to the origin and objectives of the project – Alentejo, Algarve, Asturias, Azores, Cataluña, Douro, Euskadi, Galizia, Gerês, Lisbon, Oporto, Sintra and Viseu – through the digital stereo recording of audio samples - natural and urban sounds, musicians, poets and random people - in an intent of capturing the sound essence of each place in a determined moment.


TEAM

MEMBRAIN S is to be presented as Hugo Branco’s final project for his Master in Digital Arts at the Audiovisual Institute of the Pompeu Fabra University, in Barcelona, Spain, in December 2007.

The team includes programmer Tiago Abelha, sound technician Lucas Palmeira and all other interested in collaborating with this work in progress. Ideas and revolutions are welcome, as are programmers, designers and sound people who wish to join us in this quest.

MEMBRAIN S // SO SAMPLE SOUND SNIPER :: español

PLATAFORMA VIRTUAL PARA BANCOS DE SONIDO INTERACTIVOS
// CARTOGRAFIAS SONORAS PARA EL ESPACIO VIRTUAL



INTRO

MEMBRAIN es el hermano más joven del proyecto MYCELIUM – una plataforma virtual desarrollada por el equipo Kosmic D-Vision como proyecto final de Pedro Pinto en la carrera de Sonido e Imagen de la Universidad Católica de Oporto, Portugal.

Del entorno 2D de MYCELIUM pasamos con MEMBRAIN a un entorno virtual 3D cuya función es servir de anfitrión para bancos de sonido interactivos: basando su filosofía en proyectos de partilla de muestras de audio - como FREESOUND - permite a sus usuarios subir o bajar sonidos, comentarlos y organizarlos a través de etiquetas.


TAGS Y ESPACIALIDAD

Tal como en MYCELIUM, la distribución de los objetos [páginas web en el caso anterior; muestras de audio en el presente caso] a través del espacio virtual está íntimamente relacionada con el sistema de etiquetas [tags]. Los sonidos se encuentran tan más cercanos o alejados entre si cuanto mayor sea la similitud o disparidad entre sus tags, respectivamente: este motor de atracción/repulsión está basado en el fenómeno físico de los muelles.


ENTORNO INTERACTIVO

Desarrollado en Action Script 3, MEMBRAIN es simultáneamente un proyecto de Net.art y una herramienta de partilla y creación artística: su objetivo es la utilización de la tecnología accesible para dar luz a un entorno comunitario cuya experiencia y vivencia virtual lanzan posibilidades para nuevas formas de interacción y generación artística.


S // SO SAMPLE SOUND SNIPER

Es el primer cuerpo de contenidos, creado específicamente para el proyecto, y que dará vida al motor de MEMBRAIN. Consiste en una coherente y consecuente recolección de muestras de audio que, aún presentando formas y procedencias muy diversas, comparten sin embargo el denominador común de su finalidad: prestar una primera alma al proyecto MEMBRAIN.


ULTRAPASAR FRONTERAS

SO SAMPLE SOUND SNIPER es una cartografía sonora que va más allá de la cartografía institucional, ultrapasando fronteras físicas, políticas y culturales - líneas imaginarias que trazamos al redore de países y individuos – a través de la unión de los sonidos característicos de cada local y momento, y de su fusión en un espacio virtual que se convierte consecuentemente en espacio social.

El proceso de recolección de sonidos se desarrollará entre Julio y Septiembre del 2007 en ciudades y regiones íntimamente relacionadas con la origen o objetivos del proyecto - Alentejo, Andalucía, Asturias, Azores, Cataluña, Euskadi, Lisboa, Oporto, Sintra y Viseu – grabando muestras de sonidos naturales y urbanos, de músicos, poetas y gente al acaso, en un intento de captar la esencia sonora que caracteriza cada local en un momento determinado.


EQUIPO

MEMBRAIN S será presentado como el proyecto final de Hugo Branco para el Master en Artes Digitales del Instituto Audiovisual de la Universidad Pompeu Fabra - Barcelona, España, Diciembre 2007.

El equipo incluye al programador Tiago Abelha, al técnico de sonido Lucas Palmeira e todos los demás interesados en colaborar con este trabajo en desarrollo: ideas y revoluciones son bienvenidas, así como programadores, designers y gente del sonido que desee juntarse a nosotros en esta búsqueda.