Stuart Bowditch Podcasts

My travelling companion and I have taken to booking a few weeks away in October both as a means of extending the summer and a chance to discover somewhere new. We’ve been keen to travel to Palestine and Israel to see for our own eyes what is happening there, as well as to visit some of the holy sites associated with a variety of religions, and this is where we travelled to in 2019. Being interested in the sonic aspect of places and people’s activities, I found time to record the sound of many of these locations, as well as the places that we stayed and travelled through. The original two hour broadcast on CAMP Radio is a collage of recordings made inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Dormition Abbey, Tomb of the Virgin Mary, St. Anne’s Church, Church of Condemnation, The Western Wall and St, James’ Cathedral Church, all in Jerusalem; The Milk Grotto and Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem; St. Joseph’s Church and The Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth, as well as streetscapes from each of those cities. The single recording there is from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem on 2nd October 2019. I’m not a religious person by any means but I felt strong emotions in these buildings, a palpable sense of their power and importance both historically and today. Following pilgrims throughout the cities we were able to witness some incredible services, rituals and ceremonies of people from the Catholic, Jewish, Greek Orthodox, Armemian Apostolic and Islamic faiths. We also sought out conversations and experiences with Palestinians and Israelis, had lunch with some Jewish people in Jerusalem and visited a settlement in Hebron and Aida refugee camp in Bethlehem to better understand both viewpoints of current and historical situations, although recordings of those encounters do not feature here. Listening to these recordings now brings back a lot of those memories and emotions and I hope that you too can get a sense of the religious and historical significance of this area at this time, as well as recognising that they are real and everyday places that continue to be home to one million people today.

I'm chuffed to have contributed a field recording to this exhibition of large format photographs taken by the excellent Mark Edwards. Countless Edens is on until 15th October at Primeyarc in Great Yarmouth and expertly curated by originalprojects; so head on over there if you get the chance. 'Countless Edens is a body of photographic work by Mark Edwards, made over the course of three years, in the house and garden of the writer Ronald Blythe. Both house and garden were formally the house of Blythe’s close friend, the painter John Nash. Countless Edens draws upon the rich English landscape traditions of both literature and painting. The pictures depict a garden that was initially planted by Nash when he first moved to Suffolk in the mid-forties. The garden was established in order to supply source material for both his paintings and illustrations. He bequeathed the house , situated on the Suffolk/Essex border, to his close friend, the writer Ronald Blythe. Blythe lived there until the end of his life, and continued to cultivate and attend to the garden. This intimate space, and the landscape beyond, forms the fulcrum to much of his writing. The interior photographs extend this discourse to allow the viewer to examine the relationship between Nash and Blythe through objects, possessions and personal motifs that also allude to the paintings and writing of both. Viewed as a body of pictures, the photographs contribute to the work of both painter and writer in a response to place and history. With Ronald’s encouragement, Mark Edwards began to explore the outdoor and indoor space. The exhibition includes a sound recording made at Ronald Blythe’s garden by artist Stuart Bowditich. Birds that can be heard include Garden Warbler, Blackcap, Dunnock, Wren, Chiffchaff, Starling, Blue Tit, Linnet, Nightingale, Bullfinch, Wood Pigeon, Redstart and Willow Warbler.'

In August 2014 I went for a walk with artist Cathie Cox to explore the riverside environs of West Thurrock. We started at St.Clement's Church (which featured in the film Two Weddings and a Funeral) and its rather incongruous neighbour the huge Proctor and Gamble factory, and then proceeded along the sea wall amongst all of the industrial and liminal riverside landscapes, admiring the world renowned graffiti (true fact!) and having a chat with the friendly homeless man.

The day before my birthday in 2010 I took the train and tube to Brixton, arriving in Electric Avenue, probably for a gig or to go dancing. Please excuse the slight wind noise on the mic.

A recording made on a family holiday on 11th May 2008 to Barcelona, I walked in on a service (unknown) at the Basilica Santa Maria Del Mar,

A recording from the archive, made on Platform 3B at Peterborough Station on 24th July 2008. I have no recollection of where I was going or what I was doing on that journey but I was waiting for a connecting train to somewhere.

On the fifth day of our walk along the Camino de Santiago I went to record the bells of Igrexa De San Tirso in the small town of Palas de Rei. The plan was to record from around 7:55 until 8:05 with the church bells in the middle of the recording, a strategy I have employed for many years now. Unfortunately, although I could see the bells, they didn't ring. But you can enjoy the songs and calls of a Wren, Robin, Blackbird, Long Tailed Tit, Song Thrush, Carrion Crow and Great Tit. To witness the impact of human activity, see how the bird calls diminish with the arrival of gathering peregriños. You can hear more successful attempts at recording bells in this fashion on my Touch Radio broadcast https://touchradio.org.uk/radio146.html

My travelling companion and I were in Den Bosch, Netherlands, for the weekend and found St.John's Cathedral whilst wandering around. There was a service in proceedings for the celebration of Pentecost. You can hear the opening and closing of the gates on the stalls as people come to sit down, and also in the middle section of music as people get up to queue for their communion wafers. Photo by Ruth Philo.

My travelling companion and I went to one of my favourite places, Shingle Street in Suffolk, for a New Years Day walk in 2018. On the way back we made a short detour to Bawdsey and waited for the ferry to return across the River Deben. There was a queue of excited passengers waiting to be picked up and some children playing the shingle beach.

I was early for a job in Central London so was waiting on the corner of Mortimer Street and Berners Street to kill some time, or rather, make a field recording. The location of the recording is in the street, not from the vantage point of the photograph.

A recording made at Beiyuanmen Night Market, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China on Thursday 31st September 2018.

At the end of my Camino journey, taking 8 days from to reach Santiago de Compostela from Sarria, I was lucky enough to find Procession of Holy Encounter in the centre of the city and followed the procession through the narrow streets for 20 minutes to the central Praza da Quintana De Vivos next to the Cathedral. I positioned myself in the middle of all of the people taking part and in front of, but not too close to, a tannoy speaker. 13 seconds after I pressed record the liturgy began. Tune in to also hear sombre music (advice as to which piece is welcome) played by the band, carrying of pasos (floats), the tapping of staves and dragging of chains.

Recorded in a small woodland called The Bottoms, near to St.Andrew's Church in Wormingford in north Essex. I initially went to record inside the Church but it was closed (even though the opening hours online stated otherwise) so went to sit in the woods for a while. It was quite a bit milder than recent temperatures, that made for a pleasant experience listening to the birds although being in a quiet place I quickly realised that my tinnitus was pretty bad today. You can hear most prominently a Green Woodpecker and Robin, but also Blackbird, Jackdaw, Greenfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker and a Redwing.

Part of a series of recordings being made for the project Fonema in Barreiro, Portugal. My two week residency is part of Territory, a programme commissioned by Sluice magazine and PADA Studios, which will exhibit as part of the Lisbon Art Weekend 10-13th November 2022. I sat drinking a beer in the afternoon outside of the Cervejaria Pireza listening to the clientele converse about things I had no chance of understanding. I love this kind of situation as I'm completely reliant on interpreting tone, intensity, gesture and body language as to what may or may not be being spoken about. All of these conversations were happening on the ground floor, inside the bar and in the street. After a while I noticed conversations of a different kind happening on the first floor. Residents in this area are keen on keeping caged birds (not something I am a fan of. I don't really agree with the concept of pets.) and at least three birds in cages outside three separate houses seemed to be chatting to each other above the people below.

Part of a series of recordings being made for the project Fonema in Barreiro, Portugal. My two week residency is part of Territory, a programme commissioned by Sluice magazine and PADA Studios, which will exhibit as part of the Lisbon Art Weekend 10-13th November 2022. I spent a while recording next to the River Tagus on a small spit known as Alburrica. The recording highlights the effect of the ferries, which pass very frequently, on the surrounding landscape, both sonically and ecologically, with the sound of their engines and the intensity of the water being displaced. Also this is the first time I have recorded a Small Egret, whose call you can hear once between two ferry horns at around 2:50. The recording also captures a lady collecting clams along the tide line, whose work was interrupted by the sudden noticing of the microphone. I apologised.

A recording made next to the River Stour at Foxearth Meadows, Essex, on 30th April 2022 in the late afternoon. Competing with the rush hour traffic are the following birds, of which there are many during peak springtime activity. Chiffchaff, Wren, Song Thrush, Blackbird, Robin, Long-Tailed Tit, Great Tit, Nuthatch, Oystercatcher (this far inland!), Bullfunch, Moorhen, Sparrow, Blue Tit, Mallard, Green Woodpecker and Blackcap...as identified by the Cornell Lab Merlin App...which is fantastic!

I went to the allotments to do a bit of digging, weeding and watering. Being next to Sudbury Meadows, and alongside the old railway embankment there had been lots of birds recently so I decided to make a recording and see what birds I could identify (with the excellent Merlin iPhone app). I couldn't identify them all but my knowledge of birds songs and calls is getting better. You might do better than I could. See if you can hear the following: Robin, Wren, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Dunnock, Chaffinch, Blue Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Goldcrest, Tawny Owl, Grey Wagtail, Carrion Crow and Wood Pigeon.

Recorded live at Day 2 of the Suffolk Noise Alliance Weekender in Bury St.Edmunds.

It's been a while since we made any site visits as part of our Fabric Silk Road project but today we had an invite to record the machines, environs and personnel at Vanners Silk in Sudbury. Ciaran Roche at Vanners, one of the five working silk weaving companies found in Sudbury, saw our activities online and said that we'd be more than welcome to come and have a chat about our project and see behind the scenes at their town centre mill. More info on our blog shortly. www.fabricsilkroad.co.uk

It's been a while since we made any site visits as part of our Fabric Silk Road project but today we had an invite to record the machines, environs and personnel at Vanners Silk in Sudbury. Ciaran Roche at Vanners, one of the five working silk weaving companies found in Sudbury, saw our activities online and said that we'd be more than welcome to come and have a chat about our project and see behind the scenes at their town centre mill. More info on our blog shortly. www.fabricsilkroad.co.uk