Two Lakes Sleeve Art

The photograph from the cover of Two Lakes comes from within an extensive sedgeland consisting of Juncus krasuii alongside Meroo Lake. There was about an hour or so of recordings made this morning within and around the sedgeland. Quite an amazing morning, cool but sunny without too much breeze. There were massess of swarming insects (small flies and midges) through out the sedgeland and they created an amazing sight as they caught the sunrise and contrasted against the casuarina forest and rocky headland behind.

The photo was taken using a Canon PowerShot S5IS. Many thanks go to Taylor Deupree for his artistic vision and processing skills to bring out the best in the photo.

Two Lakes samples

Sound samples from the upcoming Two Lakes release are now available from the 12k website!

Meroo National Park

"Two Lakes" was primarily recorded around two coastal lakes, Termeil Lake and Meroo Lake, within the Meroo National Park on the south coast of NSW, Australia. The National Park is about 4 hours drive south from Sydney.

The environment here has provided food and shelter for the Walbunja people for over 20,000 years. Meroo and Termeil lakes are also of national significance for some endangered fauna. As well as the Green and Golden Bell Frog, there is a diverse insect fauna including a large and spectacular species of moth that has not been recorded elsewhere except at Jervis Bay in 1914. Most noteworthy is the 1000s of waterbirds that use the lakes with some migrating to the area from the northern hemisphere. It isn't only the animals that are important, the seagrasses, saltmarsh and sedgeland are also ecologically important.

For more information on Merro National Park, please visit their website.

Sand Dunes

Field recordings for "Two Lakes" were made around Termeil and Meroo Lakes. These types of lakes are referred to as Intermittently Closed and Open Lakes and Lagoons (ICOLL). ICOLLs are saline water bodies that have intermittent connection to the ocean with an accumulation of sand blocking water flow from the lake into the ocean. They are fragile ecosystems with the lake system and surrounding wetlands strongly influenced by tidal exchanges (or lack thereof) with the ocean. For more information on ICOLLs and their conservation and management, visit the Wetlandlink website

This short recording was taken from within the grasses on the dunes seperating Meroo Lake and the ocean. The constant rumble of the shoreline waves and windblown vegetation dominate this recording.

Sand Dune by seaworthy

Hydrophones & Rock Shelves

A sample of the source material used to compose "Two Lakes". This hydrophone recording was made on a rockshelf adjacent to Lake Meroo. At depths up to 2m, the sound of sand and air bubbles hitting the microphone can be heard along with the dripping water falling down into the rock pool after waves washed over the rocks. The location was a special place to record with one side of the rock platform exposed to wind and waves, a moderate swell sending waves crashing up onto the platform, shifting stones and swirling up sand and shell fragments within the rockpools and gutters. The other side was sheltered with masses of thick seaweed dirfting with the more gentle surge of swells. The hydrophone used was a Aquarian Audio Products hydrophone (model H2a).

Hydrophone by seaworthy