I really wish I had recorded this soundscape in binaural, but at the time I didn’t own my Soundman OKMs. Whilst I was staying in Kuala Lumpur, my local station was Bukit Bintag which happened to be a monorail station. This meant the station was up above the streets rather than below ground and the platform on which I begun recording was exposed to the external elements. The birds and insects add an interesting element to this very modern urban environment. I decided to record both the station ambiance and then an internal perspective from within the train as I rode the monorail. I really love all the detail in the recording, particularly the grinds and squeeks of the suspension as we move along. The carriage was fairly empty so there is little, or no noise from other people, allowing the full character of the train to come through.

Photo Credit: In search for a new country of residence

Following on from the current theme of underground mass transport systems, this recording was taken at my local metro station, Voltaire. The Parisian metro system is currently experiencing a general upgrade, with each line taking turns to get a makeover. Last year saw line 1 become automatic (i.e. trains now have no drivers) and other lines have seen the introduction of new train stock. Voltaire is on line 9, which has yet to receive much in terms of an upgrade. Apparently, new train stock will be introduced next year, but for now we still have the MF-67 trains that are over forty years old. In terms of using these, this means they are generally very degraded, but from a soundscape point of view, I love them! They have a real old-school sound to them which I will surely miss once the new stock is introduced.

Photo Credit: Ludo

I’ve just got back from an awesome week in the UK. The trip was well overdue – it’s been more than six months since I was last there – so I made sure I got as much recording done as possible. However, my main purpose was to visit family and friends so recording opportunities had to be fitted in between. It was the first time I’ve been back to the UK since I got my Soundman OKM II binaural mics so I was looking forward to getting quite a lot of stealth recording done. In true British style, the weather was really poor during my stay so this did become a factor in preventing me from recording more than I would have liked (in-ear binaural mics such as my Soundmans are known to be quite difficult to use in windy conditions). Despite this, I’m really pleased with the results, and my binaural mics have once again proven their worth. I’ll be featuring various soundscapes from my trip over the coming weeks.

In keeping with the current theme in the World Sounds series, I purposely captured various soundscapes in some London Underground stations. London is constantly being upgraded and re-generated and with the Olympics soon upon us, the tube network has received some serious investment. It would be too expensive and would cause too much disruption to upgrade the whole system in time for the games, so whilst some lines are very modern, others haven’t seen re-investment for many years. With eleven lines in total (not including DLR and Overground), each line has it’s own unique sound – a mix of many factors, such as the station environment (interior/exterior, acoustics of the station), the trains, announcements, location etc.

I recorded the following soundscape at Westbourne Park tube station in West London. Being the opposite side of the London Olympic site, this station hasn’t really seen much in the way of investment. But sonically, I find it a really interesting location. Just behind the station there is the Westway flyover, an elevated section of the busy A40 dual carriageway, meaning traffic noise bounces off the buildings opposite the station. The trains also arrive and depart on a steep curve causing the train wheels to screech loudly. In the recording, we first hear a couple of sirens coming from the flyover. The sound reflections can clearly be heard as the police cars drive by. Then we have two trains that arrive at the same time on each platform, followed immediately by the infamous “Mind the gap please“. And as the trains both depart we hear the screeching of train wheels on tracks, a sound that I really like. I think this is a very interesting recording that is sonically very rich. Being recorded binaurally adds further interest as we can re-experience the full panorama. Of course, headphones are recommended!

Photo Credit: Nico Bobinus

I currently live in Paris and although the metro here sounds cool (old school squeaky trains = cool in my books) it is generally pretty dirty, overcrowded and desperately in need of an upgrade. Whenever I have to take the metro here, it’s rarely a journey that I look forward to. The subway system in Bangkok, however, was quite the opposite. Perhaps we experience things differently as a foreigner, but I used to love taking the subway in Bangkok. There always seemed to be a vibe both in the stations and in the trains themselves. A big part of my appreciation comes from the richness of the soundscapes I experienced. There was often music playing in the ticket hall and along the walkways from the ticket hall to the platform, either coming from P.A. system, from shops or sometimes from local buskers. When I listen to the recordings I took in the Bangkok subway system, I immediately think modern. All the user interface sounds that emit from ticket machines or barriers were not over-bearing, all employing modern sound design. Trains were relatively quiet, both in their approach to a platform and once inside. And even the general acoustics of the open spaces seemed to generate a fairly soft, calm atmosphere. Of course, these are my own personal experiences gained over only a week or so. I’m sure it’s not all that rosy, but I’d like to feature these two soundscape recordings to demonstrate what I experienced.

Photo Credit: Auriane Schwegler