Description

Recording mechanical cogwheel sounds inside a lighthouse

Honestly, Vietnam would have been the last place I thought I could record sounds like these inside an old lighthouse! I have a love for machine sounds and this recording session was incredibly special to me!

It was until after I recorded inside the lighthouse that I figured out the history and how old it was. My curiosity brought me to the kind people at the Worldwide Lighthouse Society (yes there is such thing!) When I showed them the photos and the location of the lighthouse they informed me that it was built by the French administration in 1902 and commissioned in 1903. The Optic mechanism was made by Barbier, Benard, and Turenne, in Paris and probably was made especially for the lighthouse. I’m so grateful that I could record a piece of history, archive it, and share it with you!

How I recorded these sounds…

Libby and I discovered this lighthouse while driving a motorbike along the coast of Danang, Vietnam. I knew I had to get closer and see if I could get inside! Lucky for me the security guard was quite friendly and allowed me to go inside.

Sitting in this lighthouse and listening to the machine sounds is like being in a time capsule. It feels like going back in time even for a moment. To capture the sounds I went next to the mechanical rack-wheel and recorded the turning circles which created “click-clack” sounds. To my right was a power control generator and this one created this vibrant “buzzing” sound that you can hear in the recording. I used my Rode NTG4+ (Mono) the Zoom H6 Recorder and the Rycote Super Blimp (even though there was no wind inside.)

These royalty-free sounds are great for anyone working in post-production or music makers. I hope you have as much fun with this track and as I did recording it!