Harbour textures

The collection

There are 264 master sessions here, the largest count in the catalogue, all recorded in a small working harbour on the north side of an estuary. The sessions were made at low water, when the hulls sit lowest and the chains and bollards are most exposed, and on calm mornings before the first boat leaves. Most files are stereo or four-channel, which keeps them smaller and easier to place in a mix.

Entries by theme

1. Slipways and hulls
   • KA-H-004 Slipway at low water, hull knocking on rollers
     • Format: Broadcast WAV, 96 kHz, 24-bit, stereo
     • Size: 58 GB, 2 h 20 min
   • KA-H-017 Hull on a cradle, light wind, gulls kept out of frame
     • Format: Broadcast WAV, 96 kHz, 24-bit, four channels
     • Size: 141 GB, 4 h 05 min
2. Chains, bollards and rope
   • KA-H-029 Chain on a steel bollard, slack then taut
     • Format: 32-bit float, stereo, 96 kHz
     • Size: 37 GB, 1 h 10 min
   • KA-H-033 Rope creak on a mooring post, one gust
     • Format: Broadcast WAV, 48 kHz, 24-bit, stereo
     • Size: 22 GB, 1 h 45 min
3. Shingle and swell
   • KA-H-041 Shingle drawn back by swell, four sets
     • Format: Broadcast WAV, 96 kHz, 24-bit, four channels
     • Size: 263 GB, 7 h 30 min
     • Note: the upper pair of channels is cleaner than the lower

Working with the harbour files

Shingle and swell files are the most useful for layering under other sounds, since the rhythm is irregular enough to avoid obvious loops. Slipway and hull files suit a single scene with a clear location. Chain files carry most of their character in the first two seconds of each movement, so a short excerpt often works better than the full session. The recording method page explains how positions on the harbour wall were chosen.