Paysages Sonores
Join me on an auditory journey across the soundscapes of France
“So ask the traveled inhabitant of any nation. In what country on earth would you rather live? —certainly in my own, where are all my friends, my relations, and the earliest & sweetest affections and recollections of my life.
Which would be your second choice?—France.”
A quote attributed to Thomas Jefferson that I recently heard recited at a wedding in Villefranche-sur-Mer, at the charming Domaine du Mont Leuze, overlooking this beautiful Cote d’Azur coastline.
This month I’ll have been living here in France for 6 years…
Bizarrely considered, that’s 16.6% of my life — an episode that has seen me become a father, a husband, a French taxpayer and an expert crêpe maker.
Connected and flowing through all of these achievements exists a beautiful realisation that appreciates and values truly the benefits of experiencing a culture when living as a non-native within it.
Living most of my life in London, one is rather unconsciously indoctrinated into a sort of city cult . Trains, time it takes to get places, house prices, gentrification, pop-up concept stores and single origin coffee seemed to saturate a lot of conversational bandwidth in my later years before leaving London, but on the whole I feel mighty fortunate to have grown up there. The British Library, Soho, Primrose Hill, Brick Lane, Hampstead Ponds. The Blythe Hill Tavern — there are all things I deeply miss, but yet have their place in my fond memories of the time I spent living there. Not forgetting all the friends and foes made along the way!
Life in France has been a very fresh chapter. I can say with confidence that I have fully embraced the South of France way of lifestyle — taking maximum advantage of their immaculate coastlines, enchanting forests, mountain parks and of course their fond tendency to take afternoon sieste naps to enhance my productivity…
But perhaps the most indulgent of my recreational activities here has been the time I have spent in the field, recording…
This screenshot of my Google Maps — now so dense with place markers that it looks like my 5 year old daughter had another Connect 4 based tantrum — shows all the locations that I’ve visited, listened to and recorded at during my time in France…
So I thought it would be a good time to share some of the sounds from this collection of growing sounds, exploring these paysages mysterieux — stopping off at some of my favourite spots along the way.
The following sounds are a mix of recordings, collaborative artistic projects, residencies, workshops and wandering explorations from the past few months.
Please take the time to listen in, preferably with a comfortable pair of headphones on, and enjoy!
Bonne écoute !
Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône)
This soundscape was composed from sounds collected during a series of field recording workshops I held in collaboration with the Bibliothèques de Marseille network in the Bonneveine neighbourhood — a seaside district where the city meets the beaches of the Mediterranean coast.
Introducing different sound recording and listening techniques to amateurs and enthusiasts alike, participants and passers-by were invited to contribute their own sonic captures and interpretations of the landscape. For many, these were their very first field recordings — exploring the tonality of the sea, the voices of local residents, and the deep, dense sound worlds of the Mediterranean coast.
Lac du Salagou (Hérault)
https://xeno-canto.org/1035845
Visiting in May earlier this year, this peaceful, reclusive lake had been on my wishlist for a Springtime cold dip for quite some time.
Sitting quietly in the hills of the Hérault region in Southwest France— its’ rough terrain, maroon sands, dreamlike landscapes and surrounding strange soundscapes are as enchanting as they are a welcome embrace to the senses.
Waking early one morning at sunrise, I set off to find a spot for a dip before the presence of the modern world came calling. As liberating as it is to be submersed in Nature without a phone — I’m very seldom wandering without a portable recording device!
Sat by the shore, I heard these beautiful calls of great reed warblers, rousserolles, greeting the morning with their truly mesmerising chorus — whilst fisherman set out for trout, hidden between the marsh reeds gently swaying in the breeze, the soft, lapping wavelets of the gentle tide.
Mont Ventoux (Vaucluse)
This soundscape, commissioned by the Arles based eco-design agency Canopée and the Parc naturel régional du Mont-Ventoux has been composed from multiple recording trips to the Ventoux region. Famous for its iconic Mont Ventoux (pictured above) — a Mecca for cyclists and nature lovers.
This project featured the construction of La Ventillote (pictured below) which invites visitors to see, touch, smell and hear the wonders of the Mont Ventoux region. It is a real journey through the landscapes and history of Ventoux, paying homage to the riches, crafts and culture of this beautiful paysage with an interactive and immersive platform.
The sounds we hear take us on a voyage from the lavender fields of Sault, through the market town of Carpentras, climbing the ancient cliffs of the Vauclusien forests, passing migrating herds of sheep on their descent from the high pastures of the mountains, a game of pétanque under the chorus of cigales and of course the vigorous challenging ascent of the Mont Ventoux à vélo !
Biarritz (Nouvelle-Aquitane)
Lastly, who doesn’t like listening to the sounds of the ocean…
Being based on the South coast of France presents wonderful opportunities to record along the Mediterranean shorelines — but it was a trip back in June to Biarritz, close to the Southwestern border of France and Spain, where this recording, and my first encounter with the Atlantic coast of France, was made.
Having visited the beaches and towns along the coast — Biarritz, Bidart and Guéthary — I settled for a quiet spot at Plage de Lafitenia. Alone and contemplative, I set my recorder down amongst a collection of large rocks on the beachfront. Looking out at the vast North Atlantic Ocean, I listened to the waves and convinced myself that yes the ocean does sound different to the sea…
A deep, brooding, eternity — the sound of which does wonders for the soul.
Driving through those winding Basque country roads I recalled a song first introduced to me by a Japanese friend who once ran a small sake bar in Kamakura. Txinaurria by Basque singer Mikel Laboa is a song about a woodpecker’s burden working to find nourishment and comfort throughout the harsh seasons.
Drinking sweet potato wine and listening to this song seep through the air, the needle of the vintage turntable softly crackling with it, brought back memories and connected these two magical places together.
A good field recording does exactly this in my opinion. It creates an atmosphere, a sense of place, a sonic representation of our world as something deeply mysterious, other-worldly, out of the ordinary…
To borrow a term used for a wonderful documentary showcasing the work of the great French audio-naturalist Marc Namblard — it is what perhaps would be called the spirit of the place (l’esprit des lieux)
“The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing which stands in the way. Some see nature all ridicule and deformity… and some scarce see nature at all. But to the eyes of the man of imagination, nature is imagination itself. As a man is, so he sees.”
William Blake from his communications with the Reverend John Trustler, 1799
It’s a rare and wonderful thing when creative imagination and objective reality overlap.
Working with field recordings as a medium for creating soundscapes is a fascinating challenge. The terrain is wide open. It’s a unique way of telling a story, sharing an experience that is crafted from one’s own interpretation and connection with a place.
If you’d like to listen to more recordings from my travels in France, I have been building an exclusive collection for Soundly — a gold mine of sound effects, ambiences and foley recordings well worth checking out for those curious creatives!
If any of you have your own recordings you’d like to share, as always, I’m very open to listening to them!
Get in touch via the comments or please feel free to message me directly ;)
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Thank you for being here with me.
Mat
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