Presented by The Radiophonic Institute and the Museum Of Sound, The Sound Of The Year Awards is an annual competition celebrating sonic life in its many forms from across the globe. We caught up with wildlife field recordist Ellie Williams, winner of the best Natural Sound award, which recognises “A sound that occurs without human input”
Tell us about what’s happening in your recording…
“The crew and I had been sent to the remote Sea Lion island in the Falklands to film the story of the elephant seals there. It was a wild, beautiful, human-quiet and raw place, with drama playing out in front of us on the vast white beaches. The four ton males made these incredible low bellows and I was there to find out if their sound waves travelled not just through the air but seismically, as earth-vibrating rumbles through the beach.
“I’d never picked up seismic calls before – elephants are known to do this too – and the whole story relied on this scientific theory being proven. My guide and I gently tiptoed among the colony with an array of microphones including a magic geofon. The sound layers were magnificent – warm deep bass and gorgeous detail of breaths and snorts that made me experience frisson. I had to lower my faders right down as elephant seals are one of the loudest animals on Earth. The sound felt like it was shaking my very soul.”
Your immediate reaction after making it?
“I was quite in awe of what this newly captured sound represented – a whole channel of communication that we didn’t know existed, hidden beneath our feet, and what this meant for understanding not just the world of the elephant seals, but the bigger picture of the natural world. That there must be a myriad of hidden sound worlds in the animal kingdom still to discover.”
How do you feel listening to it now?
“It takes me right back there. I’ve been plotting to go back to visit my guide, Giselle, who has become a good friend and has her own island with a penguin colony. It’s the ultimate escape from the modern world and like going back in time to another sound era. Listening to the recordings taps into that feeling beautifully. It’s so elemental there.”
What’s your background in recording sound?
“My mum taught me to recognise birdsong when I was a child. I was a gigging musician on bass guitar for many years, before moving into studio sound, then landing a job at the BBC Natural History Unit and learning to field record through opportunities there.”
What inspires you?
“I’m inspired by the power of environmental films to make change. I worked on the ‘Ocean With David Attenborough’ film, and it’s currently making ripples across the world. For a film to be powerful it needs authentic and immersive sound, so my motivation is this really, to connect us to the natural world through new sound perspectives that tap into our psyches and make us care.”
The best advice you’ve ever been given or would give?
“I’d say, when you’re offered a chance to do something that you think you’ll love, even if it’s scary and out of your comfort zone, just go for it.”
If you could only ever record one more thing, what would it be?
“The otherworldly vocalisations of a weddell seal, please.”
To find out more about the Sound Of The Year Awards, go to soundoftheyearawards.com
