Humble, by Mark Ferguson

Humble

by Mark Ferguson

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1.	Abandoned Parking Space 02:58	info	buy track
2.	Buff-Tailed Queen 00:46	info	buy track
3.	Nectar Robbing 01:03	info	buy track
4.	Buzz Pollination 02:00	info	buy track
5.	Worn Wings 01:20	info	buy track
6.	Rivernest 02:52	info	buy track
7.	Confrontation 00:41	info	buy track
8.	Honeybee 01:05	info	buy track
9.	Close Call 00:13	info	buy track
10.	Bumblebee Footsteps 00:13	info	buy track
11.	The Big Apple 02:26	info	buy track
12.	Moss Carder 00:28	info	buy track
13.	Wing Mechanics 00:11	info	buy track
14.	Culmination 01:05	info	buy track

about

Humble features bumblebee sounds gathered in various locations throughout England, Scotland and the USA, from May 2017 to August 2019.

Focusing primarily on UK species, many of the sounds featured on the album were recorded using miniature omnidirectional microphones clipped directly onto plants and other surfaces. I also developed my own, custom-built handheld recording device for the project (lovingly dubbed the 'bumble-ator'), which allowed me to track a variety of bumblebee species at distances of just a few centimetres as they foraged. Both of these methods revealed the wing mechanics, flight behaviours and intimate behavioural sounds of bumblebees in remarkable levels of detail.

Humble was incredibly challenging to put together, requiring hours of painstaking observation in public gardens, wildflower meadows, suburban parking spaces and other habitats. Over the course of the project, I managed to document some truly fascinating behaviours, including brown-belted bumblebees foraging next to one of New York's busiest freeways, an early bumblebee biting a small hole into the underside of a flower, and the delicate sounds of bumblebee footsteps on the surface of a leaf. The project’s culmination saw the recording of great yellow bumblebee mating activity on the Hebridean island of South Uist: likely one of the rarest behavioural recordings of its kind, and, as far as I have been able to establish, the first ever detailed sound recording of the species' mating activity anywhere in the world.

In addition to serving as a launch-period fundraiser for the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, Humble has been widely publicised by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, Midlands4Cities Doctoral Training Partnership and University of Birmingham. A number of sounds from the album have also featured on BBC Radio 3 and 4, and been shortlisted for the 2019 Phonurgia Nova competition’s Field Recording category.

All material for Humble was entirely self- recorded and produced, with an absolute minimum of editing and mastering. Apart from removal of the very lowest frequencies, all sounds are presented exactly as captured in the field.

I would like to express my deepest thanks to the staff and volunteers of the Bumblebee Conservation Trust for species ID and publicity assistance over the course of Humble's development. Special thanks to Gill Perkins, Barnaby Smith, Helen King, Richard Comont, Darryl Cox, and Bill Neill.

Tracks 11 to 14 were made possible through the generous support of the Midlands4Cities Doctoral Training Partnership (AHRC).

Mark Ferguson
Bristol, July 2020

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To fully appreciate Humble’s delicate insect sounds, high-quality headphones/loudspeakers and a quiet listening environment are recommended.

Edited, produced and mastered by Mark Ferguson.

Original album artwork by Deadbeat Creative Company.

credits

released July 11, 2020

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about

Mark Ferguson UK

Mark Ferguson is a UK-based wildlife sound recordist and sound artist.

His award-winning work explores the unique and intricate sonic detail of the natural world, with an emphasis on species conservation.

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discography

Walking with Bats

Nov 2023
Humble

Jul 2020
Avian

Apr 2020

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