The heartbeat of Thingvellir

"At the heart of this sound recording was the sound of footsteps walking through Þingvellir National Park. As I listened to the recording it got me thinking about how many feet must have walked through the landscape over the years and how many stories those footsteps would tell. As the site of the Alþing (the Icelandic Parliament) since the 900's, I can only imagine the ceremonies, rituals and happenings that the place has witnessed. I wanted to draw on world rhythms, particularly frame drums, and organic instruments (such as pizzicato strings and cymbalom, whilst echoing the juxtaposition of ancient and modern. 

"There was a particularly rhythmic section of the recording which caught my ear and leant itself to a triplet feel. I looped that section to create a rhythmic bed and then orchestrated around this to build up themes, rhythms and soundscapes. The track has a very filmic feel and blends traditional world instruments with more modern electronic textures to highlight the meeting of ancient and modern. 

"I hope others may walk the paths of Þingvellir National Park in time with the rhythm of the piece, connecting their footsteps to Richard's and backwards into the past, preserving the memories of rhythm locked in the earth at this special site."

Thingvellir national park, Iceland reimagined by Christof R Davis.

IMAGE: Bryan Ledgard, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
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This sound is part of the Sonic Heritage project, exploring the sounds of the world’s most famous sights.

Find out more and explore the whole project: https://www.citiesandmemory.com/heritage