The Making of Belizean Heat: Part 2 – Hol Chan

The second song on Belizean Heat is named after a marine reserve near San Pedro. The area was set aside in 1987 to protect the delicate barrier reef and mangrove island ecosystems. In my case, I visited Hol Chan marine reserve while staying at Caye Caulker through Ragamuffin tours. We made a couple stops for snorkelling and saw an amazing variety of aquatic life. At one point I was chased by a green moray eel, which our guide, Captain Ron actually petted afterwards.

The recordings used in this song however, were not recorded at Hol Chan. I brought a hydrophone along with me, but there I mostly recorded the engine noise of the boats. Later on in the trip we stayed in a small island called Hideaway Caye which was much more isolated. While there I was able to record the sound of fish munching away on the coral reef below the waves. This is part of the bed track that runs through the whole song. The other part is a recording I did when I got home, by dipping my head into a bathtub and breathing through a snorkel. The song was originally just called “Snorkle” and I used the rhythm of my breathing along with the reef crackle as the foundation for everything else.

My hydrophone is a Jez Riley French D-Series and you can check them out here.

I also bowed my Electro-Lobotomy Sonic Forest on this song to create some of the undersea creature sounds heard in the slower middle portion.

Part three continues the aquatic theme with Wind Dancer.