Recording Equipment & Media Formats
Field Recordings
The audio and video recordings included in this project are almost exclusively field recordings. That means that they were taken during live performance, all of which were mediated through sound systems of varying quality. The recordings include voices, laughter and commentary of attendees (including the voices of ethnographers), along with extraneous sounds, such as speaker feedback or the roar of a motorbike. Every effort has been made to exclude recordings and edit tracks that involve sensitive material, such as discussion about an inexperienced singer or marital status. These are not studio recordings, with the exception of two recording sessions: one in 2004 (Performance: Recording Session, February 9, 2004) and one in 2016, where unfortunately the sound studio was not at all soundproof and sound bled through from a rock band rehearsing next door (Performance: Recording Session, July 21, 2016). The choice to document this practice with field recordings was both practical and deliberate. Practical because those are the recordings that I made. Deliberate because it gives users the best sense of what it is like to be at one of these performances.Equipment
Audio
In 2003-2004, I went armed with a Marantz Professional MiniDisc Recorder and an AudioTechnica AT-825 Microphone. The MD recorder was not practical, however, in villages and places without electricity or a consistent current as the lithium battery quickly drained and there was no way to recharge it and 8xAA batteries were quickly depleted of energy. I supplemented my recording kit with a lower-end Sony Walkman MZ-N910 Mini-Disc Recorder, to which the good microphone was jerry-rigged.In 2015, I used an Edirol R-09HR.
Video
In 2003-2004, I had a Sony DCR-TRV38 Mini DV recorder, but didn't take any video of saluang because the conditions at night, when saluang performances happened, were simply too dark.In 2015-2016, I used a Sony HDR-CX430V, courtesy of Division of Musicology, Oberlin College and Conservatory. Some video was also captured on my iPhone6.
Photography
In 2003-2004, I used a Pentax Z-10 Film SLR, along with a Pentax Optio Point & Shoot.In 2015-2016, I used an iPhone 6.