“Urban Nature” was recorded in late spring/early summer of 2021 and was inspired by a
wonderful section of wild land known as the “The River Dodder Valley Park” that sits between
two urban locations near my home. The river Dodder springs from the Dublin mountains, the
park it's full of wildlife and has a path that runs through it for about 5km, which has recently been
expanded.
I’ve always found it fascinating that this thriving natural habitat sits near dual carriageways, the
M50 motorway, its flyovers, local shopping centres and even a cement plant nearby. There's a
waterfall and a weir and remnants of the old canal system that led from the old developing
Tallaght village to the heart of Dublin's city centre.
Armed with my Zoom portable recorder I gathered lots of various recordings, nature and urban
sounds and they inspired me to improvise over these elements using keys and subtle synths &
effects etc.
I tried to capture certain locations along this path with certain sonic aesthetics. Part 3 for
example was inspired by a large electrical pylon that sits close to the river bank and its heavy
cables span across the river. Birds nest nearby and I can imagine the possible electrical
interference that the various animals may hear or feel so the piano part modulates and gets
almost lost at times with a slightly unsettling level of interference & unnatural noise.
Ultimately I created the album to be listened to in one sitting, trying to capture a soundtrack to
the 5-6km walk with the different sounds and feelings you may gather from these polar opposite
environments coexisting, so the CD is mixed as one track but each piece is easily identifiable as
they start and end.
The album is dedicated to the memory of Steve Brown.
Mick Chillage
April 2022