One strange idea I had for my outdoor composition was to record at a park three miles from my flat, the Rising Sun Country Park. The plan was to set off at around 4am in order to capture the undisturbed sounds of the place before the early morning dog walkers had arrived and the sun had risen. To complete the trifecta, I wanted to write something with the song "House of the Rising Sun" in mind.
I woke up at 3:30 in the morning with mixed feelings about my mission. I had only slept around four hours and had a fair trek ahead of me. I opted to borrow my flatmate's bicycle rather than walk, giving me extra time to compose when I arrived. I took the coast road which was eerily quiet at this time of the morning. It felt special to be one of the few people awake at such an hour.

Around 20 minutes after setting off, I had summited the Rising Sun's peak, Beacon Hill. From here you are offered almost panoramic views of the surrounding suburbia. I was immediately struck by the sheer volume of the birdsong around me. Without distant noise pollution like traffic to muddy the soundscape, all sorts of intricate details and pretty calls can be made out. I recorded some clips of the birds, some of which were badly affected by the breeze at the peak, where there were no obstructions to soften it. I managed to capture some clearer sounds further down, however, which I will use in my musique concrete project. I found a decent bench to sit on for my following composition.

As for the composition itself, I began by trying to replicate my own chirping sounds by playing quick and irregular high notes on my guitar. I added more notes until some kind of harmony appeared, at which point I began to arpeggiate chords reminiscent of the traditional folk song "House of the Rising Sun." I return back to my chirping sounds, more frantic this time, signifying the waking of the world and beginning of its daily processes. I repeat the two sections again, finishing on a final bird call. After I had finished playing, I decided to whistle for a while and imitate the birds I was hearing. I have included these samples in the final composition during the guitar chirping segments.
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