Under The Bridge Downtown
This past weekend, I found myself upstate New York with my hydrophone and I got inspired. My in-laws have a getaway house right on the Delaware River, and, what’s even better, there is a cool bridge with metal grating ten minutes down the road.
I could have just recorded it, but I’ve been inspired by the recent hydrophone recordings of Noise Jockey, so I said to myself, “I’m not only going to record underneath this bridge, I’m going to record the sound of this bridge underwater.” While I was down there, I ran into two guys fishing . . . I thought that these guys fishing under a bridge in 30 degree weather were crazy, but then I realized I had just tossed a hydrophone in the water.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Initially, I didn’t think the recordings were all that hot, but when I got back home to edit I was pleasantly surprised. Next time I get up there, I am going to have to record above the water and see how that sounds.
Recording Geek Note: Rig consists of 1 Dolphin Ear Pro hydrophone and it was all tracked to a Sony PCM-M10 with a Sound Device MP2 as a front end, while trying not to fall in.
March 9th, 2010 at 1:05 pm
Love how quickly the sound of cars driving over the bridge appears and disappears. Wicked!
March 9th, 2010 at 6:17 pm
Whoa, Michael. That is really impressive. It sounds like some weird Bioshock-esque ambience. The resonance of the cars going over the bridge is interesting: medium attacks, very short releases, but intense sustains. This is definitely one of the most interesting field recordings I’ve heard of 2010. Very nice work!
March 10th, 2010 at 6:10 am
wonderful and inspiring – amazing how the bridge sounds are transported underwater, I wouldn’t have expected that. I hope it’ll be spring soon here and I can go on hydrophone excursions again too.
March 10th, 2010 at 9:34 pm
Excellent idea Michael. Very interesting sounds indeed. I once recorded under a bridge but not with a hydrophone… I simply liked the sound of the cars going over the metal grates on the top of the bridge. Cool idea… How about attaching a contact mic to a steel beam on the bridge next time ;) ?