HBM153: Klänge from Berlin

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Digital render by Jeff Emtman.

 

The composer Pauline Oliveros thought there was a difference between hearing and listening.  She defined hearing as a passive act, something done with the ears.  But she defined listening as something active saying that listening happens in the brain.  

 

Recording a dog in the Saxony region of Germany.

Sam Parker is a recordist who takes inspiration from Oliveros’ words and work.  About six years ago, on an episode of Here Be Monsters called Sam’s Japan Tapes, Sam shared dozens of recordings he made during his first (and only) trip to Japan.  He released those recordings under the name Observance as an album called Japan, 6/21 - 7/14.

On this episode, Here Be Monsters host takes two trips to Germany, and records the sounds of Christmas in Berlin, New Years in Saxony, and many hours of people and birds just going about their daily lives in the late winter and early spring. 

Before Jeff leaves on his first trip, he calls Sam Parker back, to ask for recording advice before the trip, and Sam offers three tips: 

  1. Take lots of time.

  2. Capture moments of everyday routine. 

  3. Trust your instincts

  • MM:SS - Description. (📸 = Photo)

    08:45 - Train to SeaTac airport.
    09:45 - Announcements on an Air France flight.
    11:00 - Turbulence and people rustling.
    12:30 - Berlin's Brandenburg Airport
    13:15 - A brown swan hissing and chirping
    13:30 - Boats rubbing against wooden piers and a small dog barking.
    14:15 - Cars driving on cobblestone streets.
    14:45 - Ice Skating at Berlin's Alexanderplatz 📸
    15:30 - Swing ride with metal chains at Alexanderplatz. 📸
    16:00 - Riding on the subway, then walking up several flights of stairs.
    18:45 - Radio playing advertisements, news, and Christmas music
    20:45 - A Christmas Eve service in a cathedral with a speaker reading a children's story.
    21:30 - Christmas carols playing as people mill around.
    22:00 - A wedding party in front of the Brandenburg Gate.
    23:15 - A Christmas exhibit with a lit up polar bear and fog machine.
    24:00 - Birds chirping in Berlin's Mauerpark as people walk by.
    25:00 - Crunching frosted leaves on a cold morning.
    25:30 - Walking through a forest in the Saxony Region of Southern Germany.📸
    26:15 - Whistling through hands in the forest.
    27:00 - Buying 5 kilograms of potatoes from a vending machine as a dog barks.📸
    27:30 - Mountaintop shop selling hot drinks and snacks in Czechia.
    27:45 - Chopping kindling. Distant fireworks echoing through the hills in Saxony.
    28:30 - Snaps and pops of a small fire
    29:00 - Distant fireworks to celebrate the start of 2022.
    29:30 - Close fireworks echoing.
    30:00 - A strong wind blowing on a mountaintop in Saxony.📸
    30:30 - A tree swing creaking.
    31:15 - 6AM on the outskirts of Berlin. Traffic starting, crow screaming.
    32:45 - Captive pigeons fluffing their feathers and cooing at Hasenheide Park
    34:00 - Slow motion recording of a sudden hailstorm.
    34:30 - A motorized billboard in a subway station
    35:00 - Accordion player performs in a subway station in Berlin's Mitte neighborhood.
    37:45 - Applause after a play.
    38:15 - A small bird singing several songs.
    39:30 - Church bells ringing.
    40:45 - Wind flapping the torn domes of the Teufelsberg listening station as people sing.📸
    43:00 - Walking through the forest near Teufelsberg as bikes pass.

 
Buy the album!

The recordings on this episode are available as an album called “Field Recordings: Germany, 2021-2022” and it’s available for purchase on Bandcamp, under Jeff Emtman’s pseudonym: The Black Spot.  Until June 30th, 2022, all profits from the sale of this album will be donated to The International Committee of the Red Cross. 

 

Producer: Jeff Emtman
Music: Remixes from HBM049: Sam’s Japan Tapes.
Photos: Jeff Emtman
Thank Yous: Sam Parker, Johanna Gilje

 
 
 

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HBM142: The Vastness of the Universe

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Image by Jeff Emtman with source material from the 2016 frequency allotment poster and Greg Zaal’s Dikhololo Night via HDRI Haven.

 

1,420,405,751* hertz is a very important frequency.  It’s the frequency that hydrogen radiates at, creating radio waves that can be detected far away.  And astronomers can learn a lot about the history and shape of the universe by observing this “hydrogen line” frequency with radio telescopes

Extraterrestrial research astronomers also take a lot of interest in the hydrogen line...and it’s for the same exact reason, though the context is different.  It’s thought that if an alien species is capable of communicating with us, wouldn’t they also have figured out the importance of the hydrogen line?  And is it possible that just maybe, they’d use it (or frequencies near it) to communicate with us?  The theory being that the hydrogen line could be used as a kind of universal hailing channel for intelligent species—a representation of a shared understanding of physics. 

Talk of the hydrogen line was front and center in 1977, when an American astronomer named Jerry R Ehman found a very strong signal on the printout from a radio telescope dubbed “The Big Ear” at the Ohio State University.  The signal he found was close to the hydrogen line.  He noted the abnormality of the strong the signal by writing “Wow!” in red ink on the margins of the printout.  The so-called “Wow! Signal” has long been cited as potential evidence for alien communication. 

But Dr. Seth Shostak (senior astronomer at The SETI Institute and co-host of Big Picture Science) isn’t convinced.  His organization searches for extra terrestrial intelligence across the universe with a high degree of skepticism.  And he’s experienced a false positive or two over the years.  Seth thinks the Wow! Signal (and other related anomalous signals) are almost always tied back to human interference. 

 

An excerpt from the 2016 frequency allotment poster created by the USA’s Department of Congress. Near the middle, we’ve circled the protected hydrogen line frequencies.

 

In 1979 (not long after the Wow! Signal), frequencies near the hydrogen line became protected when a group called the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) created a 1000+ page document that included a worldwide recommendation to keep these channels clear for astronomy and SETI purposes, citing the “special importance to mankind to determine the existence of extraterrestrial civilizations.” (see page 920 of the Finals Acts of the World Administrative Radio Conference, Geneva, 1979)  

Despite this protection, Seth Shostak says there’s still interference on the hydrogen line from human sources.  That interference draws the ire of radio astronomers everywhere. Seth says, “It’s like turning on a bright light in a movie theater—you don’t ingratiate yourself with the patrons.”

Producer: Jeff Emtman
Music: The Black Spot

*Give or take some fractional hertz.

 
 
 
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HBM076: Griff's Speech

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Photo of Griff by Luke Eldridge

Photo of Griff by Luke Eldridge

 

As a baby, Griff Eldridge was quieter than most.  But he slept well.  He fed.  He played with his big brother Ira. And he smiled easily.  For a long time, his parents Luke and Davinia didn’t worry, because he was so happy and healthy.

When Griff became a toddler, Luke and Davinia started to compare his speech to the speech of  other children and to the standards laid out in the Personal Child Health Record, a book issued to new parents by the UK government.  

Griff was on track when he started to babble around 12 months old.  But, unlike other children, the babble never evolved to understandable sentences.

Luke and Davinia began to track Griff’s speech in a notebook and test his hearing. They took him to several doctors, none of whom agree on a single diagnosis.  They learned of “Verbal Dyspraxia” and “Phonological Disorder”.  He’d see a speech therapist.

Griff is nearly four years old, about to start primary school, and still he’s never spoken a fully coherent sentence.  They have 18 months to get him up to speed.  Recently, Davinia’s been teaching Griff the signing language Makaton.

In this episode, producer Luke Eldridge (Griff’s father) shares scenes from their home as his family works together to help Griff learn to talk.  Bethany Denton edited this episode, along with help from Jeff Emtman. Additional editing help from Nick White at KCRW.

Music:  The Black Spot, Flowers

Hello NYC!  Jeff and Bethany are speaking at The Unplugged Soul at Columbia University’s Heyman Center on April 14th and 15th.  It’s free.  Register here.