Unveiling the Hidden Sounds of a Coal Mine: Ancestral Reverb at Durham Book Festival
Professional musician Liam Gaughan, a project participant, recently recorded down a drift mine shaft at Beamish Museum for a unique and innovative project titled Ancestral Reverb / Threads in the Ground. This project, led by Adam Cooper, director of Threads in the Ground, aims to explore the intersection of sound, environment, and history to create a powerful and educational experience.
The recording process involved projecting various sound waves into the cave-like space of the mine shaft and capturing the reverberations. By subtracting the original waveform from what comes back, the team was able to isolate the sound of the space itself. This process required blasting out a variety of sounds, including jazz drumming and white noise, to achieve the full effect.
The resulting recording, titled Ancestral Reverb, will premiere at the Durham Book Festival in England this weekend. Commissioned by the Durham Miners’ Association, the project combines the sounds of the empty coal mine with music by a brass band comprised of association members, as well as historic colliery pit band recordings from 1903. The composition was expertly put together by musician and producer DJ Bert Verso, with a spoken word piece by poet Jacob Polley accompanying the music.
In addition to the musical aspect of the project, interviews with retired coal miners and their families were conducted to provide a deeper understanding of the history and significance of the coal mining industry. The stories shared by the miners varied, highlighting both the dangers and hardships of the work, as well as the camaraderie and solidarity among colleagues.
The timing of the project is particularly poignant, coinciding with the closure of the last coal-fired power plant in the UK and the implementation of new energy policies by the government. Cooper believes that this project serves as a marker of a significant moment in history, allowing people to creatively engage with climate change and environmental issues.
Plans are underway for an exhibition of the project and a vinyl record release embedded with coal dust, ensuring that future generations will be able to experience the unique sounds captured in the mine shaft. Cooper emphasizes the importance of the current generation in shaping the future and believes that future generations will view them as “carbon reformers” for their efforts in addressing climate change.
Overall, Ancestral Reverb / Threads in the Ground is a groundbreaking project that combines music, history, and environmental awareness to create a truly immersive and thought-provoking experience. It highlights the power of sound in storytelling and the importance of preserving and learning from our past to shape a better future.