Sounds of Making in East London, 10″ vinyl record, 2012 Sound recordings of twenty-one East London makers at work A project conceived, recorded and illustrated by Dominic Wilcox
Commissioned by CREATE 2012
‘Sounds of Making in east London’ is a 10″ vinyl record that celebrates the act of making. An unusually high number of skilled makers live and work in East London – twenty-one of whom feature on this record. The record, itself cut in Hackney, captures a diverse range of unique sounds including the clatter of lyric poet John Hegley’s typewriter, the chopping of garlic in a Michelin star restaurant, the tap of rock ‘n’ roll cobbler Terry de Havilland’s hammer and the sound of a bell being tuned in Britains oldest manufacturer. Other makers include Alex Noble – designer of many of Lady Gaga’s outfits, Beigel Bake – a 24-hour beigel shop on Brick Lane and artist Barnaby Barford.
Cover illustrated by Dominic Wilcox includes some the makers involved.
Track 12: The sound of making a letter ‘E’ and ‘T’ neon light. Lighting flame, heating glass tube, filling glass with gas and clicking of high voltage contactors. Rob Court, Creative Neon, Walthamstow. 0.58
Track 11 : The sound of Re-tuning a church bell originally cast in 1870. Adjusting the bell clamp, rotating the bell, testing the bell pitch, scraping metal off the inside edge of the bell to change the partial tones of the bell. White Chapel Bell Foundry, Tuning by Ben Kipling, Whitechapel. 2:13
Track 10 : The sound of making a song about the poet John Keats, using a typewriter, scissors, pritt stick and guitar. John Hegley, Hackney. 2:00
The back sleeve documents the 21 makers recorded
Track 17: The sound of making pies in a pie and mash shop kitchen. Laying out pie tins, adding meat, trimming pastry lids. Bob Cooke 4th assisted by Eddie Brown, F.Cooke (est. 1862), Broadway Market, Hackney. 1:20
The record was cut in Hackney, east London at Curved Pressings. The first track is also recorded there.
Track 1 : The sound of a reel to reel tape recorder and vinyl record cutting lathe in a vinyl mastering and cutting room. Hackney. 0:56
Track 3 : The sound of drawing ‘Rosemary chicken with sweet potato’ for The Times newspaper. Using Promarker pens, eraser and scanner. Clare Mallison, Hackney. 1:38
Each vinyl record includes an MP3 digital download code. The Sounds of Making website includes audio interviews with a selection of the makers. The accompanying photography, taken by Wilcox during sound recording sessions, provides a visual insight into each of the maker’s workplaces.
