Copies available as-of 10October2012 — Please email your order via the contact page
“I like to have it on in the background when I’m reading.” — Destiny S. ~ Shoreline, Washington
“It is very relaxing and interesting. … Its very soothing. Good stuff to turn on when trying to sleep.” — Bill R. ~ Ayer, Massachusetts
Late in 2011 my brilliant friend & fellow Celtic musician, Andrew Anderson, needed a unique sound to put on a soundtrack he had been working on. He thought to take his two Celtic harps, coupled with my portable recording gear, and stand them in the wind. (Wind & Harps sample on SoundCloud.com)
On 08January2012 we made for the ferry terminal at Edmonds, WA. After preparing Andrew’s harps and setting up my recording gear, we began to hear lite but amazing sounds through our headphones … and apparently two guys with strange electronic gear standing on a wharf with harps over their heads looks strange to people going for walks — go figure.
Finding the sound production unsatisfying, we packed everything up and hopped on the ferry with the hope of getting more wind on a moving boat. In addition to catching better wind and growing cold, we learned that ferry workers will give you weird looks while you hold harps on your shoulders on the outside deck of a ferry boat in winter, but if you’re not causing real mischief they leave you & the state patrol alone. Kids, on the other hand, don’t care — they continue running around the deck and up & down the stairs like wild animals. Some people asked what we were doing, and when possible I would offer that they take a listen through my headphones; I will never forget the fellow how heard the orchestral sounds of these harps and asked if we were ‘picking up whale calls’.
Andrew and I ended up with sufficient material for his album — a single gusty rise & fall of wind through the strings of his harps. As we reviewed the greater collection of recordings, I proposed that this could be turned into an album, but to do so we would have to try again to get a better recording (too many ‘wild animals’ running off energy on the metal ferry decks).
After checking with three local meteorologists for ideas of windy places without unwanted noises, a common suggestion came back of the west beach area of Whidbey Island. Opting for a bluff overlooking near-by Penn Cove, we held sessions on 13February2012 & 21May2012, ultimately capturing the material for the AOR debut album “Wind & Harps”.
Andrew’s nylon- and wire-string harps in an orchard over-looking Penn Cove
The super high-tech Archive Of Resonance mobile recording studio
(this case is about the size of a shoe-box)
Wind-swept oaks where local eagles often perch with an unusual ring in the grass in front
Andrew’s harps on the bluff over-looking Penn Cove where the 2nd-half of Wind & Harps was recorded.
Note the plastic chair — classy, huh?
It may not be high-tech, but it got the job done. Often I’ve found during AOR sessions the work is interesting, but not glamorous, and sometimes I have to be creative to meet the needs of the project.
