In May 2023 I spent a week of recording at Nat Gras, an artist residency hosted by artist Goele Van Dijck, situated on the grounds of castle Boterberg in Kalmthout. The castle and its domain, now transformed into a cohousing project, borders directly on the Kalmthoutse Heide, a 60 km² nature reserve on the border between Holland and Belgium. The landscape consists of heathland, fens, forests and land dunes and gives home to a diversity of nesting birds and rare plants. In 2015 the area received the label ‘Silent Area’, meaning that it meets certain standards in regards to the amount of sound and noise from external sources such as motorways and airtraffic. For this reason the park is very popular among many to escape the rush of everyday life in order to relax and unwind.

Throughout the entire week I recorded from early mornings till sometimes late at night, focusing mostly on the area around the Stappersven in the North East of the park. In my recordings I tried to work from the perception of loudness and what it means for a place to be considered silent. Though the Kalmthoutse Heide definitely is silent, I could however, due to its vastness of open fields, not escape the sound of cars, trains and airplanes that gave me a constant reminder of where I was. By using hydro and contact microphones I was able to zoom in and change that perception.

To conclude this residency time I compiled some of my recordings into three small audio works or etudes that perhaps together can be considered an audio portrait of the Heide. Tracks number 1 and 2 are edited and composed. Track 3 is an excerpt of a 46min recording of Natterjack toads around midnight.

Available here