scapecast

Four 'ghostly' extracts from a 30 minute recording taken from the bend in the Mersey just where it reaches its closest to the track from Hawthorn Road. Positioned on the opposite side of the meadows, I was surrounded by Canada Geese, Ducks, Magpies & Cows, amongst many other types of creature including the jogger! Again with the distant drone of the M60, the trams pass from right to left (Manchester to Altrincham) as they slowly enter and exit from this vibrant environment. The low frequency rumble a the end of each tram pass is created as it crosses the Barfoot Bridge (Trams003: Barfoot Bridge). Listen out for the Moorhen call and the duck landing in the river! Stereo ECM-77’s.

Barfoot Bridge (where the tramline crosses the Mersey just NW of Sale Water Park) carries the Bridgewater Canal as well as the Metrolink. The footpath runs directly alongside the rails allowing you to get so close it’s scary! Recorded with a pair of Sony ECM-77’s in a makeshift binaural arrangement. Please listen to this recording at you usual monitoring levels. Although it’s generally quiet, the tram passes are very loud, especially the second one!

Trams at Elsinore Road, again! This time a little further away from the station and recorded with a pair of Sony ECM-77 omni's.

Made from around 50 metres away from the foot of a new building where this massive pump was pushing concrete to the top floor level. Made using the ORTF arrangement with two Schoeps MK4 capsules.

Okay, I couldn't resist it. A moogerfooger lowpass plugin in Pro Tools:

I like the way that the birds and wildlife cut through the distant rumble of traffic, become lost as the trams pass, reappearing with the calm that follows. I used two Schoeps MK4 capsules in an ORTF arrangement for this recording, but I hear a slight hole in the centre of the stereo image so will try a smaller angle or some spaced omni's next time.