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I had the incredibly  fortuitous experience of spending just under a month traveling all throughout Madagascar, and was extremely lucky to be an artist-in-residence for a couple of weeks at Madagascar Arts ‘Les Toiles De L’isalo’ (and a great big thanks to Erick Monjour for making it possible, merci!) the residency itself was positioned at the entry to one of the countries biggest national parks ‘Isalo National Park’ just outside the township of ‘Ranohira’. Apart from the incredible array of biodiversity and truly unique animals and landscape, the Malagasy people were so very beautiful, genuine and generous. Whilst deeply impoverished, they have a sense of vitality and optimism that made me feel ashamed to be fortunate as someone from a foreign land. These a but a few of the remarkable and humbling sonic experiences I experienced whilst visiting such a striking and inspirational island.

here’s an excerpt from my work entitled valiha. the work exclusively uses the sounds produced from a humble valiha (a Madagascar zither) I acquired in Antananarivo

on my way down south I visited an allow recycling factory. The Malagasy people recycle
absolutely everything and this bare foot, molten alloy factory raised the hairs on the back on my neck!

not only did they manufacture an unbelievable amount of pots and pans
they also created some truly stunning trinkets!

here are some of the sounds emanating from the street outside the factory
(which was really a very simple, extremely hot tin shed!

a recording in a market in the  township of Fianarantsoa

recording red-fronted brown Lemur in Isalo National Park

and here’s a very brief excerpt of an ecoacoustic composition entitled gidro I made from the recording;)

paper making, the good old fashion way;)

Children shucking peanuts in Ranohira village

surround sound recording in the reeds riparian canyons within Isalo

recording a Ringtail Lemur in Anja Reserve

surround sound recording in of Zebu and cart, Spiny Forest, Ifaty
(the Zebu and cart, or even a person towing a cart are still one of the major forms of
transportation today in Madagascar)

recording one of the many smaller waterfalls in an oasis in Isalo

coral reef recording, Ifaty lagoon just outside the Mozambique channel

some experimental recording with a DPA BLM 4060 boundary microphone

campsite within isalo park

attempting  a snake recording, Ifaty

market place recording, Ambositra

one of the many gorgeous waterfall rockpools that were part of the river in Isalo

recording some beautiful busking in the main city of antananarivo