To Gather

"Firstly there is the unity in things whereby each thing is at one with itself, consists of itself, and coheres with itself. Secondly there is the unity whereby one creature is united with the others and all parts of the world constitutes one world." - Pica Della Mirandola.


Perched on a small rock so as not to disturb what is beneath me, and the bank of the River Severn lapping at my shoes. Where i find myself is transitory, was once underwater, and will be again. There are crows in the boughs of the Oak trees over the river, and I can hear many different tones, as if the river were behind me as well as in front. A bed of distant sedge to my right, and left infact, although one is smaller in size. My microphone is attached and before I picked up my notebook I was listening, marvelling at the roughness of such fragile things, things that will only be here for a moment. I wonder what they sound like when engulfed in the river water, it looks like rain. As I feel my feet digging further into the substrate, the Sun becomes so bright that I can barely see the page I am writing on, I remember why I stopped listening with headphones, why I always stop listening with headphones. But then I spot two adolescent Ducks and the Sun shines on me again. I see the algae dancing underwater, I wish to sit here until it disappears, this fragile environment, listening to how it changes, and listening to how I change.


I prop myself up and attach my microphone to an unknown, to me, Shrub. I can see the imprints that my feet have made, but only for a short time, and now the sky is turning blue. The river shapes the banks and the banks guide the river, I merely sit still and smile at the apparent stillness of a Muslin Moth Caterpillar, diaphora mendica, realising that I will always be noisy in comparison.

Patrick Farmer - Severn Farms Pond. - Free Download.

"Beauty is everywhere a welcome guest" - Goethe.

These five recordings contain a minute glimpse of the auditory world of photosynthesising pondweed (HornWort or ceratophyllum demersum), located at the Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust nature reserve, Severn Farms Pond. Made audible is the production of teeming oxygen bubbles, the plants using energy from the sun to produce sugar, the beginning of an age old system of process and equilibrium.

These sounds are of a very low audibility, and have been 'picked up' by specialist hydrophones, or underwater microphones. Due to the close proximity of traffic on either side of the reserve, there is a constant low frequency presence, a slight amount of this has been filtered out, but in keeping with a certain aesthetic of representation they are left alone.

The last recording is an example of the sheer weight surrounding the reserve. I kept this because rather than being overwhelming, it is to me, a joyous thing. It shows that such minutiae can exist in any conditions and that intriguing worlds are all around and will continue to exist regardless of our anthropic presence.

Going out and searching for such auditory phenomena as this, I am constantly reminded of what it was like to be a child, intrigued by everything and anything. Always listening and watching, not taking anything for granted. Long may it stay that way.

These recordings owe a debt to Lee Patterson. A wonderful human whose depth of exploration is only exceeded by his humour and dress sense.

Patrick Farmer - Severn Farms Pond. <-- Right click and Save as to download

Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust

'is' - Free Download

Originally released on the Compost and Height label in 2009 as a six minute excerpt. A Hydrophone recording of Black Headed Gulls, Coots, Moorhens, Canada Geese, Mallards, etc, and the dispersion created within the drum head like phenomena of a frozen pond. Many of the sounds associated with ice are usually at their peak during fluctuations in temperature, throughout this recording however, they are mainly created by the movements of birds.

'is' (22:12) <-- Right click and Save as to Download

compost and height