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Field recording · Belgium

Listening to trains through a metal fence and contact microphones

Ville de Bruxelles - Stad Brussel, Bruxelles-Capitale - Brussel-Hoofdstad, Communauté française, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale - Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest, 1000

A 6-minute field recording by Felicity Ford made in Brussels, Belgium on 27 March 2013, in the afternoon. Soundscape: contact-mic recordings and parks & gardens.

Listen

Listening to trains through a metal fence and contact microphones
5:40CC BY-SA 3.0by Felicity FordInternet Archive
5:40

Tip: press play to see the sound's live frequency spectrum in blue over the waveform.

Recordist's notes

I attached two contact microphones (both made by Jez Riley French) onto the metal fence at the back of the skateboarding park, in order to listen to the vibrations of trains passing. The metal fence collects many other environmental sounds, so that as you stand and listen to the contact microphones you hear not only the trains but also the atmosphere of the skateboarding park.

Written by Felicity Ford on radio aporee ::: maps.

About the place

Brussels is a city of about 1,019,022 people in Brussels Capital, Belgium. OttoAnna lists 565 field recordings from here.

Equipment mentioned: Contact microphones. Piezo pickups that record vibrations in solid materials instead of airborne sound.

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Sources & credits