Suikinkutsu 水琴窟 by Stuart Chalmers

Recorded Jan-Sept 2020 in Dowkabottom Cave in the Yorkshire Dales UK,
Using tin cans, kettle, saucepans, dustbin lid, metal plates, metal food bowls, cake tin lids, various gongs, chime bars, singing bowls and bells and swarmandal.

SUIKINKUTSU- "water harp cave".
A Japanese garden ornament used for its water drop sounds. Similar to metal wind chimes this device uses echoes from water to produce a calm zither like tinkle

SOZU - A traditional water fountain made of a bamboo tube that fills with water to produce a clanking sound.

February 2020- 2nd Wettest on record in England since records began
May 2020 - Driest/Sunniest on record in England since records began

Tracklist

1.	1.Exit/Entrance	2:26

2.	2.May 8	5:31

3.	3.April 3	3:33

4.	4.Febuary 2	6:42

5.	5.March 2	4:30

6.	6.Febuary 4	3:36

7.	7.March 5	4:21

8.	8.April 5	3:32

9.	9.May 7	2:52

Credits

released April 30, 2021

By connecting with the land I connect with myself.

An immersion in the natural worlds elements, the sound of natures patterns and human responses.

Made over the time of the first UK virus lockdown and a marriage breakdown, this recording became a kind of healing and calm to balance the troubles i felt in the world outside.
It also help recapture a lost sense of play and discovery, like being a child again seeing/hearing everything with wonder.

Using water drops inside the cave to strike various objects i created my own personal take on the "water harp cave". Placing metal items underneath the water drops created either a mellow ting or a pecussive clank depending what object was used. I then also played along with with my swarmandal. Everything was created in a spirit of a live improvisation.
Combining the unpredictable element of rain water along with the space of the cave I learnt about this environment, its processes and found that the weather also plays an important role in shaping the end sound. The 2nd wettest Feb helped generate more water drops and of greater frequency while the driest May in England reduced the water significantly. By June the water drips apart from the odd irregular spots had dried up. The transient nature of the natural world was felt and heard.
There was also another unchanging feature in that the cave itself has seen water flow inside it for centuries or more. Its shape has been carved out over a long period of time from water. During the time human civilisation has come into being water has been present.

Please play with headphones to get the full cave immersion.

Out on cassette from Fractal Meat Cuts.THanks to graham
fractalmeat.bandcamp.com/album/suikinkutsu

www.youtube.com/watch?v=33iJUEFyuE0

www.youtube.com/watch?v=e93W8oIRVSA

Thanks to these artists working with the land and nature that have inspired the recordings:

Akio Suzuki
Tomoko Sauvage
Junichiro Tanizaki
Henry Thoreau
Matsuo Basho
Andy Goldsworthy

License