top of the world

may 21, 2003.

3 min read 🤓

'Be not afeard. The isle is full of noises,
Sounds and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not.'
[ Caliban, Tempest - Shakespeare ]

[7.]
After some early morning recording together with Peter, who had hopped over from Amsterdam to join in some jutting, another long session of more cueing, capturing, selecting and flashing.
We had dinner ["gewaagde vuurtorenspiesen"] in Herberg de Zwaan, just when - could one make it up? - the local brass band, de 'Hollumer Gromkes', was rehearsing in one of the side rooms.

Just after sunset, it was time for us to enter the lighthouse...

A b-e-autiful lighthouse, fully metal, ringed in white and red.
A nameless lighthouse.
A classic lighthouse, still functioning, yes, but for security reasons recently closed for the public.
So just imagine our luck to be able to get in.
After sunset.
Thanks to the project, really, and some of the publicity it got earlier this week on Dutch national radio.
The isle does sound under lucky stars, publicity wise. There's radio, there's news papers, and they're all spreading the word.
Or, well, they're spreading words tout court.
Other good news today: the province of Friesland - administrative authority also for the isle of Ameland - will support the 'GeluidEiland' AIR-project financially. Good for me, good for Timo, good for the gallery, good for the AIR-project.

I had asked Timo to see whether it would be possible to enter the 58 meters high tower because of a remark of someone we met in pizzeria Il Vulcano yesterday evening, and who mentioned that the lighthouse's humming in the evening. The lighthouse's song (in fact the tower is continuously repeating two low notes at a minor third's distance) is pretty hard to discern from the outside, but from the inside ...
The lighthousekeeper took Timo, Peter and me up to this tiny top of the world. Up to his control room with radar, radio and broadband internet. And wonderful Zeiss binoculars, dating back to world war II, mounted on a rail, stressing that, without a shadow of a doubt, this here up here's a room with a view. And then ever further up, to the highest point of tower, to the optic and the reflectors, moved by a worm.
That's where the lighthouse sings its song.

may 31, 2003.

[8.]
Wednesday 21st has been my last residential day in Hollum. A little recording, an interview with the Leeuwarder Courant and a corresponding photo session, and again a lot of capturing, exporting, flashing.
Left the island early on thursday 22nd, in order to make another short appearance in, this time the morning edition of, Omrop Fryslan's, 'Omnium'.
Had lunch in their studios, and then started the cumbersome trip back to Paris, including a three hours wait at Brussels Gare du Midi.

Okay. Back.
It has been a great action. Some fifteen hours of 'Ameland sound pictures', half in mono, on cassette, the other half in stereo, on MD.
The processing will still take some time, but if you wish you can follow the development of the interactive 'sound island' on the web "Het Geluid Eiland").

geluideiland :: isle of sound(s)

june 06, 2003.

1 min read 🤓

Eightteen new sounds have found their spot on the island. The total number of sounds to be discovered now is 52 ... If one were to listen to all of them: the total playing time is over an hour.

The flash has been programmed in such a way that (with the exception of a classic / cliché "sea'n'seagulls" sound, activated when rolling the cursor over certain 'sea parts') one has to click to play a sound, and one can not activate more than one clickable sound at a time ... it is possible though to 'zap' from sound to sound, even though I do think one should listen to all of a 'track', before going on to a next one...

[ next related SB-entries: schateiland :: water, wind, zeilen ]