Restyn Park remix

Disquiet Junto Project 139 Tech Technique

The Assignment: Create and upload a track that exemplifies explain one key process you’ve developed.

My process is recording playground equipment with homemade contact microphones and then remixing the sounds to make EDM. I've re-pitched short loops of sequences tapping on swings, monkey bars, a sign and a climbing frame -- click here to see video. You can download the Restyn Park stems here.

 

I recorded Restyn Park in Hanwood on 13 September 2012 but haven't done much with this material until now. My hair looked good that day, so I used images for a magazine article.

This process of manipulating locations developed from an idea that landscapes could influence my audio productions.

The Space Program had a cool philosophy that being based in regional Australia was a key part of their sound. That made a lot of sense to me when I started remixing field recordings.

Around the time I published my first album of electronic music online in 2004, I was introduced to the work of Alan Lamb and his large-scale aeolian harps via the Wagga Space Program's Unsound festivals. My partner Jo and I worked with Lamb for Unsound in 2006.




Lamb showed me how he makes piezo contact microphones and those used for these recordings are the same pair shown in this guide.

When I moved away from his installation outside Wagga Wagga, I started using them on playgrounds for a project to celebrate the centenary of the town Leeton. All sounds in the tracks on the album For 100 years used only those from the playgrounds in the titles.




Of course, once you get an audio recording into Ableton Live there are a lot of ways to manipulate the sounds. I've also used these piezo contact microphones and Live to remix myself eating an apple for an art exhibition.




You can hear more about my 'parktronica' in this short video.