Mmabolela Storm - live performance

April 20, 2020  /  Vicki Hallett

Mmabolela Storm 
- Live recording -

Listen HERE

Mmabolela Storm is a reflective live performance delving deep into the memories and legend of Mabolel during my field recording trip to the bushveld of Limpopo province, South Africa and southern Botswana. 

The track features the spoken voice of guide William Mosima, hippopotamus, baboons, frogs, stones, underwater sounds, fences, rain, thunder and of course clarinet.

The live performance was the outcome from my Artist in Residency at The Courthouse Youth Arts / Platform Arts in May - August 2019. 

Thanks to:
The 2017 Sonic Mmabolela residency members, William Mosima, Platform Arts & City of Greater Geelong.                                                                              

Credits:                                                                                                             

Spoken voice: William Mosima (Mmabolela, SA). 
Live recording engineer: Jem Savage (Australia) 
Mastering: Mike Vernusky (USA)
Image: Vicki Hallett

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South Africa - Day Ten to Thirteen

March 27, 2020  /  Vicki Hallett

Sunday 26th November 2017 - DAY TEN

Another early start today - our last Dawn Chorus. With light drizzle on us, we took our chances and settled down at Eagle’s Nest. I had a frog join me for this sunrise. Luckily I saw him sitting quite close to my right foot! After a morning’s rest, I did a score outline for the concert this evening at Mabolel Rock. We headed out at 3:30pm and I decided to just set up and record myself rather than try and do other numerous sites. Packing up in the dark, in a Nile Crocodile site is not the best idea and I would already have a clarinet dealing with extreme heat conditions. When we arrived at the site, it was thrilling to learn that the Hippos were right there! I sat on the bank for an hour and watched the family of 5-6 being very active for us, in the water, There were also the most incredible cicadas that rose in pitch frequency but it was extremely intense to your ears in a particular one metre square area. Most bizarre!

The performance started at 5:20pm and I went out on the rock for a 5 min meditation/sit to let the Hippos (and Nile crocodiles) hopefully grow more comfortable with my presence. It was so hot that I could smell my hard rubber custom mouthpiece melting!! I began a performance with longs notes and a phrase I transcribed from the Hippo sounds recorded earlier in the residency. It was incredible but the Hippos moved closer and one, in particular, moved in and interacted with me! At one point I turned around to engage the audience more and the birds, etc and the Hippo snorted to re-gain my attention. The first section was very much a “call and response” between myself and the Hippo. I was thrilled the audience was there to witness such an event. I could hear and feel their reactions and involvement in the interaction. A truly spectacular and surreal concert! An experience of a lifetime. Funnily, I never felt threatened at any stage. It was calm and respectful interplay of each (myself and the Hippo’s) involved. The remainder of the time I played for around 20 mins before I HAD to get off as the danger of Nile crocodiles and the hippo’s wanting to leave the water, dramatically increased with dusk approaching. We spent the remainder of the time well back on the bank to continue our listening concert.

On our return to the Farm, we cleaned up quickly and headed over to De Pleuss for dinner with Mark and Leslie. I meet the lady who has a farm in Botswana and a unit in Brighton, Melbourne.

Monday 27th November 2017 - DAY ELEVEN

Today was the start of our slower days. We did studio work for our presentation on Tuesday. I decided I would use the Mabolel Rock concert as my presentation. There was no way that I could possibly top that! Mike Vernusky and I had also created a collaboration so it was exciting to be utilised by another participant. Last night Mark had said that what had happened during my concert was quite unbelievable and incredibly lucky. I am so glad that I have video recordings and witnesses! We have had our final recording trip to Harry’s Weir. I set up my gear directly on top of crocodile slide marks. William assured me it was safe! Ha! We finished the day with more studio work - I mainly cleared my hard drive!

Tuesday 28th November 2017 - DAY TWELVE

Today we finalised our presentations before a social gathering with all of the Mmabolela staff. It was quite a sedate affair with our courteous guests - us as much as them. A few people tried to get some dancing happening but everyone seemed to want to talk. I chatted with a family member who is studying to become a Primary School teacher. Our presentations all went really well and were quite polished. We had a relaxing evening chatting and drinking.

Wednesday 29th November 2017 - DAY THIRTEEN

Return to Johannesburg 9:30am-7:00pm!! Mini-bus plus trailer.

Sonic Mmabolela 2017 was an incredible opportunity to record and work with a diverse group of international sound artists and composers. Extensive field-recording opportunities in a ecosystem brimming with activity; the perfect time to develop my craft in the field as well as perform live in memorable locations. My concert at Mabolel Rock performing with a hippopotamus, however, will always be the once-in-a-lifetime highlight.

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South Africa - Day Six to Nine

March 27, 2020  /  Vicki Hallett

Wednesday 22nd November 2017 - DAY SIX

We had a 3:30am start with a field trip again to a location at the river-a place called Umzumbi. I lay in the middle of the dry sandy riverbed and watched the sunrise. It was one of the most stunning peaceful times of the trip. I returned to Harry’s Weir to collect my overnight recording set-up next to the elephant scat. There are 2 interesting sounds that I am unsure of. There were Hippo prints/tracks around 100 metres nearby so perhaps that is them? Hippos apparently (as surmised by Francisco) make only a couple of calls. I will need to research this further.

Thursday 23rd November 2017 - DAY SEVEN

Today was our scheduled day-long hike along the Limpopo River. We started at Harry’s Weir and followed branches of the river up to the Bridge. We left at 8:30am and arrived at the Bridge at approximately 5:00pm. We had Neil waiting half-way with a  very welcome picnic and appropriate colonial music and pith hat. We stopped at a number of locations to record. The first location I chose was one our guide Willian led Nicki and I to. It was a site that he fishes from. Luckily I did not see a crocodile! Earlier William had shown us a site where a crocodile had recently laid her eggs.

The second location, in the afternoon, involved crossing a very rocky part of the river. Reminiscent of The Planet of the Apes! We set up our recorders on the Botswana side. I have gone now to Botswana also! On our return journey across the rocky river, we came across a well-preserved Baboon carcass.

On our arrival at the Bridge, we had refreshments (beer and water). Neil arrived with more beer and wine so that we could watch the dusk chorus concert refreshed and in style.

Friday 24th November 2017 - DAY EIGHT

We returned again to the Bridge for a sunrise recording and listening session. Surprisingly, I slept for 2 hours on the concrete bridge but awoke cold. We returned to our house to recover. In the afternoon we returned to Waterhole No 2 for some hydrophoning and other types of recording. I recorded with hydrophones for about 30 minutes. I wandered around and found an interesting tree and decided to put the hydrophones into the base of the tree and some contact microphones onto, what seemed the start of a termite mound. On our return, we freshened up for our dinner with the Mmabolela owners Mark and Leslie. The conversation was flowing nicely this evening. Mark mentioned a lady who I will meet at the next dinner (at their house). She has a farm in Botswana as well as a house in Brighton, Melbourne. Her property has elephants, so perhaps a future connection?

Saturday 25th November 2017 - DAY NINE

This morning we started with a game drive around the Reserve. We didn’t see as much wildlife as expected - too much human noise perhaps? We drove around the farm and for the first time, gained some perspective on the size of Mark and Leslie’s property. The remainder of the day was spent preparing our work and studio time. We returned to look around Tuli and I photographed the storyboard about Mabalil and Lakwan. I’m performing a concert at Mabolel Rock so this has heightened my perception of the significant site. We had our first rains today. Massive downpours and spectacular thunder and lightning displays. My ideas for the Mabolel Rock concert are solidifying and I am feeling excited for tomorrow. 

South Africa - Day Three to Five

August 07, 2019  /  Vicki Hallett

Sunday 19th November 2017 - DAY THREE

We departed at 6:30am to relieve our overnight recording gear. A quick breakfast and repack was required before we left at 8:30am for our field trip. We headed out the front gates tour to our first location, Mabolel Rock. After a check for Nile crocodiles, I set up four hydrophones off the Rock, two in the ground and two in the water. We left these to record and headed to the legendary Hippo Pool. Access to the site was harder than previous sites. The guides had to use hedge shears to cut through the overgrown Acacia bushes. It was worthwhile though as we were greeted with two hippo families in the water. If hippos are out of the water, it is quite dangerous as they are very grumpy. However, being in the water, they were quite safe. After many photos and videos, we left another set of gear to record.

To watch the CALL TO THE HIPPO video click HERE

Monday 20th November 2017 - DAY FOUR

We again had a 3:30am start for a dawn recording session, an afternoon of talks and lectures followed by another field trip. After dinner, we went out again for a “concert”. Our dawn session was on the bridge crossing over the Limpopo River into Botswana. We were briefed that if we attempted to leave the bridge into Botswana, we would be arrested. We lay down on the Bridge appreciating the performance offered by nature.

Our afternoon session was at Eagle’s Nest. We remained there for our evening concert and left some gear for overnight recordings. 

Tuesday 21st November 2017 - DAY FIVE

After picking up our gear from the overnight recording we returned to prepare for the day. Some tracks of Baboons were quite close to my recorder. Harry’s Weir was the location for our afternoon session. After setting up my hydrophones, I was shown elephant scat from their visit 3-4 months ago. After a relaxing couple of hours sitting by the river, away from the recorders, as soon as I could return, I re-set my hydrophones for an overnight recording dug in next to some of the elephant scat. There were Hippo tracks also around and fresh ones were there the next day too! 

It had been an extremely hot day in the sun. As we have no gauge, it was estimated to be around 42 deg celsius. A group of us went into the plunge pool while we awaited another fabulous dinner cooked by Neil.


South Africa 2017 - Day One and Two

July 31, 2019  /  Vicki Hallett

Friday 17th November 2017 - DAY ONE

We travelled 7 or so hours on a mini-bus up through South Africa. The journey through the Limpopo Valley was greener than I expected. There had been recent rains and the Acacia trees had responded with a flush of green. 

A spider greeted me in my pillow on my arrival at the accommodation. It was much like a huntsman so I wasn’t too concerned. However, after relaying my story to others, I discovered that these aren’t quite as harmless! Bed stripped and checked - all good.

Today is overcast with a moderate breeze with black clouds looming. Hopefully, this will settle by the time we go out to record this afternoon.

We did a dusk chorus recording session. Leaving our main set-ups at Waterhole No 2. I put in four hydrophones and the XY. Travelling further afield to Jackal Fontaine we wandered around after setting up another rig - I set-up my H2n Zoom. A late dinner cooked by a South African Masterchef Neil awaited our return. 

Saturday 18th November 2017 - DAY TWO

A 2:45 am wake-up was required for our 3:30 am departure to record the dawn chorus at Makapo then we relocated to the other Mmabolela farmhouse Tuli. I managed to grab a great chance to record a working windmill. I also felt inspired to do a sounding of a sarcophagus-looking water trough. I was able to include members of the group in the moments as they passed by. I used stones thrown, rubbed, scraped to create a variety of sounds. On our return to the initial dawn site, we had the fortune to see a young giraffe near our rigs.

Later in the day, we travelled out to a concert/ listening session at No 1 Waterhole. We sat for an hour by the waterhole, in the dark, listening and looking at a starlit sky. We finished the night with the setting up of gear for overnight recordings. I dug one hydrophone into the ground and put the other in the water, attaching the Clippys to a tree. It was a 3-layered recording of terrestrial, aquatic and tree sounds.