Arts and nature sound

AWSRG Victorian Gathering, 11/12th Nov 2023

by Roslyn Oades

Creeping along the hilly, dirt road to Strangways in regional Victoria, I was quite unsure what to expect.

I signed up as a member of Australian Wildlife Sound Recording Group several years ago during Melbourne lockdowns. I’d enjoyed listening to their recordings, reading their articles, following group email exchanges, and on one occasion attending a fascinating online listening party, with audio accompanied by spectrograms. But, to be blunt, I was mostly an online AWSRG lurker. When it came to their in-person field excursions, I felt too much of an imposter to attend. However, on this occasion, the gathering was only a couple of hours from home, so I decided to take the plunge…

Following the directions I’d been sent, I took a left at the old ‘Land for Wildlife’ sign and pulled up at a charming mud-brick house surrounded by bushland. I was greeted by Andrew Skeoch, the AWSRG’s president, whose insightful new book I’d just begun reading. Andrew had generously opened his home to an enthusiastic group of AWSRG field-recordists for the weekend – both novices and experts alike. I fell into the novice end – highly curious, and with a lot to learn.

My adventures in sound over the next two days blew my mind. Our friendly group of around a dozen included several musicians, audio engineers, academics, a sound designer, a bird watcher and a few other field-recording novices like myself. One thing we all had in common was a passion for nature recordings and the technology that allows us to document natural environments with fidelity. The weekend was full of generous exchanges of knowledge, artistic sharing, close listening, ample food and warm company – while also managing to be very relaxed.

Highlights included experiencing one of Vicki Hallett’s responsive environmental music improvisations on clarinet in the bush at dusk on Saturday:

Earlier in the day, we’d also been introduced to the work of the Bowerbird Collective – two classical musicians who (by a serendipitous coincidence) were performing a duo concert of environmentally-themed music nearby in Maldon that afternoon. After they’d dropped by to join us for lunch and speak about their work, we attended the concert which featured nature audio and video woven among the live music.

The following morning, several of us rose early to record the dawn chorus, each using our own recorders, allowing a comparison of equipment. A small group of Brown-headed Honeyeaters chipped in the canopy overhead, while a Scarlet Robin, Bronzewing Pigeon, Magpies, Yellow-faced Honeyeaters and White-throated Treecreepers called not far off.

Back in Andrew’s studio, we compared our recording methods and learned about audio processing techniques using Isotope RX.

I came home from my adventure in Strangways feeling inspired, nurtured and energised – and with a new list of listening and reading materials to dive into. I was so appreciative of this opportunity, and in particular, the warm hospitality and generosity of spirit I encountered among the AWSRG community. I look forward to attending another gathering in future, and recommend any fellow AWSRG lurkers to do the same.