Sound Ark Studios

30/07/2024

Sound in nature conservation. Examples and further reading

In the growing field of "ecoacoustics,” scientists use the ocean's natural sounds to monitor the health of marine ecosystems -- and even restore them.

24/07/2024

Silent Roar by Johnny Barrington is having its Spanish premiere at on Thursday 25th of July in Palma! Delighted to have contributed to sound design and recording sound effects on location 🏄

(Catalan) Amics i amigues de Mallorca, aquesta pel·lícula en la qual he treballat s’estrena aquest dijous al festival de cinema . No us la perdeu! 🏄🏼‍♂️

(Spanish) Amigos y amigas de Mallorca, esta peli en la que trabajé se estrena en el Festival de cine este Jueves. Os la recomiendo! 🏄‍♀️

Film stills by Ali Tollervey
Festival background image by
Video by Ángel Pérez Grandi

21/07/2024

An underwater audio and video contraption i put together. Very carefully engineered: 2 Aquarian hydrophones gaffer taped to a GoPro 😎. The idea was to get a visual on potential sound sources, with fish being my ultimate goal.

I got a macro lens magnification adapter to focus on what’s right in front of the microphones. Visibility is poor in freshwater and invertebrates are small.

It looks cool but the results were mixed to poor. A net and a transparent container would a) be cheaper and b) more efficient for IDing, at least for invertebrates.

I’d love to hear suggestions or other ideas you’ve come up with to identify the weird and wonderful sounds of the underwater realm.

1 - Front view of GoPro with Aquarian Audio hydrophones stuck to sides.

2 - Back view of GoPro with Aquarian Audio hydrophones stuck to sides.

19/07/2024

With Leonid Gribanov and Dr. Chris Hails during the Wildlife Sound Recording Society members weekend at Rutland Water Nature Reserve, listening to the clicking rhythms of aquatic plants photosynthesising.

04/07/2024

The sound of bumblebees "drinking" - a quintessential summer soundscape.

The hypnotic drone of bumblebees “drinking” under an ancient beech tree, near Arney bridge in County Fermanagh. A good friend and neighbour mentioned they heard a huge hum on their dog walk down this

03/07/2024

Incredible experience working at Bristol Southmead’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit the past few weeks with filmmaker and photographer . Many thanks to Dr. and the whole team for having us. The level of professionalism and care they put in, in what is an intense environment, is beyond anything I’ve experienced 🙌

06/06/2024

and her sound team. I love this picture, taken at the opening of her exhibition “What is it That Will Last?” at Pangolin London, which runs until June 30th 2024.

Julie will be giving a talk at Kings Place tomorrow June 7th. Most of her work is in remote locations. Some is ephemeral like the Firestacks (seen behind us). This is why its a fantastic chance to experience the work and hear it from her.

There is also a beautiful publication that goes by the same name, with words by Simon Groom, Julie Brook, Alexandra Harris, Kichizaemom XV • Raku Jikinyū and Robert Macfarlane. Available from the Pangolin gallery near Kings Cross in London, or online.

From left: Xan Márquez Caneda, Julie Brook, Angel Pérez Grandi

25/04/2024

Sound memories of a tranquil place

I was lucky to visit Xinjiang back in 2011. This recording is from Tianchi Lake, situated at an altitude of 1900m above sea level. It is an alpine glacial lake surrounded by montane forests. It is als

22/04/2024

Happy (belated) World Curlew Day! Always a little late to these things. Today is Earth Day. Still, some appreciation for these wonderful waders facing huge challenges is never amiss. Here is to the Curlews and to all the charities such as Curlew Action doing their most to raise awareness.

13/03/2024

I find networking painful. HOWEVER, once you get into the groove you understand everyone is in the same boat, and it becomes quite enjoyable. Note to self: at the next occasion, just say something, whatever. There will be a response. Take it from there 🏄🏼‍♂️

08/03/2024

New Blog Post - A first look at Aquarian Audio's new hydrophone model, the A5.

https://www.soundarkstudios.com/blog/new-hydrophone-aquarian-audio-a5-first-impressions

A look at Aquarian Audio’s new hydrophone range, the A5.

02/03/2024

The reassuring sounds of the Mistle Thrush. The sun will rise again tomorrow.

Species: Mistle thrush (Turdus viscivorus) Date and time of recording: 25 April 2021, 6.45am Location: Florence Court Forest Park, County Fermanagh, Ireland Habitat: Old estate managed woodland Gear:

02/03/2024

You can also follow us on Instagram to see more. https://www.instagram.com/soundarkstudios/

09/02/2024

Premiering next week (15 Feb) at the ! Inspiring new choreographic work by Joshua Junker , which we had the pleasure of composing sound for.

Feeling hugely excited and grateful for this. If you are in London go check it out!

Background image Andrej Uspenski
Design

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03/01/2024

Wishing you all the best start to 2024!

28/09/2023

24/09/2023

Surveying our local river for the

13/09/2023

24/07/2023

📸 Cool capture by Director , booming under the watchful eye of (DOP) - Top team completed by in front of camera. 🎥🔈💥

03/07/2023

Still buzzing from a weekend at the Wildlife Sound Recording Society AGM and Members Day. So nice to meet many friendly faces and share ideas on sound and nature. Also got second place in the 2022 Documentary competition 🥳 AND even managed a selfie with Sir David 😉➡️➡️

Thanks and all!

19/06/2023

**SELLING**
10x Sound Absorber Panels For Room Acoustic Treatment. Handmade with high-quality acoustically transparent Camira fabric.

10x in total
£50 GBP each
£425 GBP for the lot

Selling as not needed in new studio.
Collection from Warwickshire (UK).

Dimensions in mm:
(3) 1250 H x 630 W x 100 D
(7) 1250 H x 630 W x 145 D

The Camira fabric used in these panels is called Cara and the colour is Lead.

➡️ swipe to last pic for my younger self with panels fitted on studio walls.

13/12/2022

“I love the hoar frost”

22/11/2022

Great morning listening to local tales and talking medicinal plants, and farming methods past, present and future with farmer/landowner Geoffrey Armstrong.

All recordings will be on the award-winning Cuilcagh Memory Map
(search Cuilcagh to Cleenish online)

17/11/2022

Quiet foggy walk (November, 2022)

20/10/2022

Late naughties E9 London

01/04/2022

A night-time detective adventure to record the sounds of bats in County Fermanagh's Florence Court Forest. Bats like a water body because that's were insect numbers are assured. Here we were close to the pond that feeds the old saw mill.

Species: Common pipistrelle (Pipistrellus pipistrellus), Soprano pipistrelle (Pipistrellus pygmaeus)
Date and time of recording: 21 May 2022, 10 pm
Location: Florence Court Forest, Co. Fermanagh, Ireland
Habitat: Old managed estate Woodland
Gear: Magenta 4 Bat detector onto Zoom H5, Nikon D750 and Rode VideoMic.

Many thanks to John Kelly for lending his Echo Meter Touch Pro.

21/03/2022

Summer drone under the ancient Beech tree.

The hypnotic drone of bumblebees “drinking” under a big old beech tree, near Arney bridge in County Fermanagh. A good friend and neighbour mentioned they heard a huge hum on their dog walk down this lane. By the time the recordings were made (around two weeks later) the drone had considerably faded, so you can imagine the numbers of bees and the size of this beautiful tree.

Initially, we were unclear as to why the bees were attracted to this particular tree. Recent research* suggests that bees are attracted to honeydew, which is the sugary substance secreted by aphids when feeding on tree sap.

Species: Bombus genus
Date and time of recording: 11 July 2021, 10am
Location: Derreen East townland, County Fermanagh, Ireland
Habitat: Farmed grassland
Gear: Sony PCM D50, Sennheiser 8040 in parabolic dish

* www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdfplus/….1086/692437
More info in this blog post: nurturing-nature.co.uk/wildlife-gard…course-video/

☀️

14/03/2022

Swan of the border.

A Mute swan (Cygnus olor) stretches its wings on the Belcoo river. This river marks the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland (and UK/EU by extension). The swan doesn’t care and you wouldn’t be able to tell either- the flow between the neighbouring border villages is seamless. Behind where the picture was taken lies an old railway iron bridge, which was blown up by the British army in the 1970s. A vestige of darker times.

I didn’t record sound on this occasion. Not because the swan was mute - mute swans do make sounds - but because the nearby villages were bustling with traffic at that time of day.

12/03/2022

Recording the sounds of speleologists from whilst they clear the entrance of Polnagossan Cave in County Cavan. Strata upon strata of accumulated rubbish, dumped over the years.

Important work when you think that the water we drink in the area comes from streams such as these. They are on their 3rd full skip. Back at it tomorrow if you fancy lending a hand. (Also the scenery the location and scenery are well worth it).

We also had the chance to exchange skills, as they had a go at recording sound and discussed the potential use of in monitoring remote sites like this.

09/03/2022

Underwater soundscapes from various ponds at the National Trust Florence Court Estate, in County Fermanagh. The sounds you hear are mostly the munching, grazing and stridulations (rubbing together body parts) from aquatic invertebrates such as water boatmen, freswater shrimp, freshwater snails and other bugs.

Species: freshwater invertebrates (water snails, water boatmen, freshwater shrimp and other unidentified aquatic bugs)
Date and time of recording: 11 September 2021, 1pm
Location: Florence Court Estate, County Fermanagh, Ireland
Habitat: Freshwater pond
Gear: Aquarian Audio H2A hydrophones, Sound Devices 744t recorder.