the water tower is on a hill at the back of a reserve behind our house. it's pretty much completely made of concrete but i took a contact mic to see what i could find.pipe
a series of pipes run around the perimetre of the tower. i chose one and began tapping it - it has amazing overtones and a long sustain. the pipe itself doesn't make any sound, it's only when it's activated you get to hear the sounds travelling through it.
the first sound is from me scraping the outside of the pipe with my hands.
Pipe 2 by christinewhite
this sound is from circling the inside of the pipe with a stick.
Pipe 3 by christinewhite
steel casing
further around the water tower was the main stairwell to the top. at the base of the stair structure was a metal guard with a steel box mounted on it housing a padlock.
i had a lot of fun with this structure, running the back of a cello bow over it.Steel box by christinewhite
i also placed the box inside the cavity of the box casing and moved it over the surface. this created a breath-like timbre with tonal changes.
Inside steel box by christinewhite
i was also able to pull a metal sheet around the casing which reverberated through it. this recording is complete with text message (DM tweet) from my partner Hinemoana in the wild west of wyoming.
Rattling the steel by christinewhite
2 comments:
Ha ha! I love the one with my text message arriving! Not just cos of the text message either - Love that sound. Nice work Water Tower Waif.
Oh and by the way - really love the pics, too! The stairway one in particular. Noice wirk.
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