SGSr_019
Recorded in Hanoi and Hà Giang province in August 2012 using a Tascam DR-07mkII, Sony ECM-MS907, and Roland binaural microphones. All material edited, mixed, and mastered in Digital Performer. Extraneous noise was removed; the signal remains raw.
These recordings were never meant to be permanent. They’re fragments — overheard moments in a landscape increasingly under threat from extraction, displacement, and global tourism. Here, entropy functions as preservation. The tape rolls, the insects scream, the radio tower rusts. You stand quietly inside it.
Each title below refers to a site and moment: local, real, and already gone. This is not a travelogue. It’s a low-resolution archive of experience — the kind that resists translation and refuses to become product.
field notes
night time on yen thai - recorded after dark, near the charming hotel, yen thai st, hanoi.
hanoi rush hour - recorded mid-day while waiting for our motorbike to be repaired. this is a fairly representative recording of traffic in hanoi.
night time in ha giang - recorded at a local bia hoi in ha giang, ha giang province.
heavens gate (quan ba) - recorded at the summit of heavens gate at mid day under a merciless sun. the air swarmed with dragonflies as we stood amidst the ruins of a radio tower. the heat was overpowering after the climb and the insects blared.
storm approaching yen minh - recorded after the hospital in yen minh, as a storm arrived and all power was lost. i had recently been injured and was unable to be x-rayed, so we retired to a nearby hotel and waited in the dark for the storm to pass.
night time in yen minh - recorded very late at night, after a long day and night spent drinking with the local communists. the local moonshine flowed like water, and everyone was incredibly drunk. it tasted like gasoline, and i was happy to make it back to bed.
hmong village - recorded near a hmong village in the mountains on the way to dong van. there was a nearby group of people building a house or a barn as the fog started to burn away and the sun became more visible.
hmong farmhouse - recorded at mid day at a hmong farm far from the road. the jungle was alive with insects and animals. nearby a man cut down a tree with a machete. i stood there undisturbed for a very long time.
valley of the water buffalo - recorded in a hmong village in the mountains. with no motorbike noise, the water buffalo were loud enough to echo off the cliff walls. listen carefully and you'll hear the echo in the recording.
morning in dong van - recorded in the morning in dong van after a breakfast of rice and mung bean paste. delicious and nutritious.
roadside insects - recorded at mid day on the way to lung cu. i've removed as much motobike noise as possible. but ned indicates his displeasure with the vietnamese insistence on continuous horn honking.
waterfall and roadside conversation - recorded during a stop on the way to meo vac, while using the waterfall to cool down. ned speaks to a local resident about our travels.
evening in meo vac - recorded at a local bia hoi in meo vac, in the late evening during a mild rainshower. it was a grey and dreary place, where livestock walk the streets unattended.
stairwell in meo vac - recorded by miking up the stairwell while a bunch of children played downstairs. they sounded like demons while i attempted to sleep, unsuccessfully.
morning in ha giang - recorded at our hotel in ha giang the morning of our return to hanoi.
rain shower in a hanoi courtyard - recording of the courtyard from the rooftops in hanoi. a typical mid afternoon sun shower.
charming hotel (recovery) - binaural recording taken while recovering from my injuries in the charming hotel, hanoi. the prominent sound is of the struggling air con unit, while i tried not to move and risk any additional physical pain.
This recording is issued under the Creative Commons attribution non-commercial share-alike license.
Use these recordings. Sample them. Share them. Just don’t sell them.
Memory isn’t a commodity, and sound isn’t yours to privatize…