Interviews with wildlife sound recordists

Patrick Sellar interviewed by Mark Peter Wright (1 of 3)

  • Add a note
    Log in to add a note at the bottom of this page.
  • All notes
  • My notes
  • Hide notes
Please click to leave a note

The British Library Board acknowledges the intellectual property rights of those named as contributors to this recording and the rights of those not identified.
Legal and ethical usage »

Tags (top 25):
(No tags found for this item)

What is this? Log in to add a term that describes this item and help make it easier to find.

  • Type

    sound

  • Duration

    00:52:45

  • Shelf mark

    C1627/2

  • Recording date

    2013-11-23

  • Recording locations

    London

  • Interviewees

    Sellar, Patrick (speaker, male, interviewee)

  • Interviewers

    Wright, Mark Peter (speaker, male, interviewer)

  • Recordist

    Wright, Mark Peter

  • Abstract

    Track 1 [00:52:45]. [00:00:00] PS reflects on his childhood in Aberdeen and his relationship to identification through listening. [00:06:35] PS talks about relationship to his mother, wildlife and nature. [00:08:15] PS reflects on the first recording device he acquired and the places, subjects and relationships he developed with recordists Jean Claude Roche, Ludwig Koch and Eric Hoskin. [00:11:00] PS discusses the formation of an organisation “Institute Echo”, which he steered away from (for commercial reasons) and instead co-Founded (Denmark, 1969) a separate organisation called the “International Bioacoustic Council” (IBAC). PS discusses the motivation for this advisory organisation. [00:13:35] (lavalier microphone re-positioned) PS continues reflecting on the mission of IBAC and how the organisation has changed over the years and the new challenges IBAC faces. [00:17:30] PS Reflects on the formation of the Wildlife Sound Recording Society (WSRS) in 1968 and contrasts it to IBAC and his own ethos and recording technique. [00:21:00] PS reflects on European conservation year in 1970 and a wildlife sound recording competition that he won. [00:23:00] PS plays his winning recording of Leach’s Petrel. [00:24:00] PS Reflects on the first ever recording he made in 1961 of a blackbird. [00:25:00] PS reflects on his travels to Denmark and Sweden and one particular night where he recorded six species of owls. [00:26:20] (after short break) PS discusses his collaboration with Vic Lewis for Pye Records in 1972, mastered in Abbey Road Studios, London. [00:29:30] PS reflects on his relationship to recording for hobby and how he and Vic Lewis enjoyed recording during a time when the technology was only just emerging. [00:32:20] PS reflects on his on going relationship with Northern Europe and wildlife recording. Goes onto discuses the difference between recording locally in the UK and abroad. [00:34:20] PS relays a particular story about recording wildlife for David Attenbourgh in 1981. [00:38:00] (PS handles microphone) PS discusses technique for recording Ivory Gulls. [00:40:50] PS reflects on relationship with Jeffery Boswell and the formation and details of “British Library of Wildlife Sounds” (BLOWS) what is now the wildlife section of the “British Institute of Recorded Sound” (BIRS), now the “British Library Sound Archive”. [00:45:15] PS discusses relationship with Cheryl Tipp - current curator of the department - before moving back to Jeffery Boswell. [00:47:50] PS discusses the importance of “community” amongst recordists and the WSRS. [00:50:40] PS discusses changing technology, equipment and the onset of editing software [end of track].

  • Description

    Interview with Patrick Sellar (1 of 3). The wildlife recordist discusses his personal history and the formation of organisations and archives he helped to establish.

  • Metadata record:

    View full metadata for this item