Equatorial Guinea : Day 1
Welcome to Malabo
This short series documents my travels across the island of Bioko, where sits the capital city of Equatorial Guinea — Malabo.
I’m here for the next 3 weeks for a field recording project on behalf of The British Library Sound Archive, with the support of the Institute Français de Malabo, studying the traditional and contemporary music culture found in modern day Malabo.
Each day I’ll be posting stories, sounds and captures from my time here. Any questions, reflections or suggestions, please get in touch via the comments section below.
Our world seems to me to be growing too frail, too fragile and too disconnected to not make an effort to listen just a little more closely…
I had arrived late last night at Malabo International Airport, near midnight, after a long haul flight from Marseille via Paris via Douala. Two films (including the sensational Bergers by Sophie Deraspe), no sleep and a disappointing onboard meal had left me a little jaded stepping for the first time into the warm tropical night here on the coast of Western Africa.
The mysterious drive to my hotel was strangely silent. I had expected bustle and booms, yet there were but a few wandering souls to be found out on the highway that connects Malabo’s only airport to Sipopo — an area of the island which feels a little like a ghost-town on its north-eastern coast. Accompanying me is the director of the French Institute of Malabo — Rémi Beghin. It is thanks to him that I am here, it was through his appreciation of my work that led to an invitation to visit and spend time documenting the soundscapes of this fascinating city.
My first session took place in the music studio located at the Institut — where many of my recordings have been scheduled to take place. This is due in part to two main reasons :
1) travel is complicated here on the island, with no public transport available for residents, a fixed point for recording is convenient
2) the humidity here often passes 90% which is terrible news for condenser microphones. It also happens to be the rainy season too — another problematic condition to battle with…
…and so recording in a small, enclosed and well insulated space makes a lot of sense!
My first recording featured three men — Timo, Ja and Jeff — who turned up at the studio’s. The singer, Jeff, recorded four of his own compositions songs fusing Guinean, Creole and Gabonese influences. It was a beautiful introduction to my musical journey here.
I used a very special microphone for this recording — a Soyuz 013 Ambisonic — which essentially records the sounds of the space as a 360° sphere. The result is a clear, dynamic and intriguing mix that really gives a sense of the proximity and perception of each sound source reproduced as if you were there in person.
The microphone is positioned in-between the performers, and captures sound from four different positions - up, down, left and right - as opposed to the more traditional mono or stereo that are usually used for recordings.
Take a listen and see what you think!
I have five further recording sessions booked in tomorrow, plus a visit to Café Malabo to record their house band play to the Friday night crowd. That promises to be very entertaining and I’ll be sure to post another feature with more recordings over the weekend…
buena escucha !
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Thank you for being here with me.
Mat
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