SOUNDS OF WILDERNESS RETURN US TO NATURE    

Friday, December 12, 2008

 In an era where nature sounds are filtering from a CD kiosk in many stores across the province, EARTHAVEN is sort of the new kid on the block. The late Dan Gibson was likely a pioneer in nature recordings whose trademark image of the bow of a canoe drifting lazily along the glassy surface of a wetland somewhere became legendary, his recordings of nature sounds later being complemented with the sweet, sentimental tones of a clarinet, or a unique combination of other musical renditions, appropriate for the mood. As more and more companies have jumped on the bandwagon, unfortunately an increasing number of such recordings are now more about the music than the nature it seems, with the nature sounds serving only as indistinct backdrop. Some of the best nature recordings I have heard are those in which Nature herself provides the musicals, using wind, water and the sounds of wildlife to capture the scene admirably, with no instrumentation dubbed in.

 Grant Mackay of Oasis Productions Limited, has been responsible for a number of outstanding recordings along this line, under the name EARTHAVEN, including two productions from Point Petre – Lakeside Savannah, and its successor, Point Petre – A Birder’s Paradise. He got started recording nature sounds only 10 years ago, after a trip into the Quebec wilderness with a recording engineer friend, Paul LaChapelle who recorded Nightscapes and Woodland Summer.

It is rare for someone these days to capture these sounds without an oncoming car or an ATV to break the mood, but Grant always manages to do so commendably in his releases. The Forest Marsh came about when he accidentally came upon an oasis of secluded marshland while exploring near his rural home. It was an unexpected detour that found him in a deep valley with a serene marsh. Others in the series have included Woodland Summer where songbirds fill the air accented by a rippling brook in the background. Nightscapes gives us a feel for the nocturnal sounds, and Wilderness Mysterium features the calls of the wild mixed with music. Grant Mackay says, “EARTHAVEN has made it part of its mission to venture into completely unexplored wilderness areas.”

Grant MacKay has managed to do it again in a new release that I received in the mail a short time ago, called “The Wildlands.” Sixth in his series of EARTHAVEN releases, this new CD captures nature sounds from across Ontario and Quebec. The tracks recorded in Queen Elizabeth II Wildlands Provincial Park, from which the CD derives its title, “are the deepest forays into the wilderness EARTHAVEN has ventured,” says Grant Mackay. One of the first tracks on the CD captures for the first time a rare, almost concert-like performance by a group of whip-poor-wills, recorded off Vansickle Road in Hastings County on the first night of just this past summer. Other tracks in Hastings County were recorded off Lingham Lake Road and Twin Sisters Lake Road. Kipawa in central Quebec provided the setting for two additional tracks on the CD.

 “We tread very lightly by canoe or foot (only) into these areas,” stresses Mackay, “ avoiding the use of any motorized land or water transportation,” His plan was to move deeper into the wild with each recording, partially for thematic reasons, but also due to the difficulty in finding undisturbed land near civilization. “The Wildlands” is a delightful venture into the world of spring peepers, bullfrogs, whip-poor-wills, warblers, loons, coyotes, woodpeckers and geese.

Lakeside Savannah and its successor, Point Petre - A Birder’s Paradise and his most recent release, “The Wildlands,” are all available locally from Books and Company, 289 Main Street in Picton. Phone 613-476-3037. For more information on this series, check out www.earthaven.com . Any one of them would make a wonderful Christmas gift. A portion of EARTHAVEN products are donated to organizations dedicated to preserving Canada’s wilderness.