In the summer I went on a 6 week roadtrip around Europe in my campervan, taking some portable recording equipment with me to search for interesting sounds. I found some unusual instruments, field recordings and incredible spaces to record. This first instrument is recorded in a huge public sports hall nestled in the Basque mountains in Spain. This was one of the largest reflective acoustic spaces I have ever experienced, so I experimented exciting the space with different sources. We played different instruments into the space, using a recorder at a distance to pick up the lush reverb (and birds in the roof!). It was an incredible space to be in with the longest reverb I have heard – you couldn’t understand speech from more than a few meters away. This is made up of a layer of guitar harmonics, sustained flute, and flute trills. The birds that lived in the roof are in all the recordings but I quite like it. There are no effects added here, only the sound of this amazing space. There will be another instrument soon made with some other sounds from this space using less conventional instruments. I have so many recordings from this space that this is just a tiny sample. Check out the vid to see where it came from, or just skip to the test if you want to hear it! I’ve got loads of instruments made from my trip so feel free to follow along 😊

Contributors

George Bloomfield

I recorded different instruments at a distance, to allow for the capture of the reverb in the space rather than the direct sound. This is a combination of 3 layers: guitar harmonics (longer attack to make it more like a pad) Flute trills and sustained flute. There are no effects added, only the sound of this amazing space. Oh and the birds that lived in the roof!