The sounds of open heart surgery

Published on: 29th September 2014 Published in: England

This was a creepy enough field recording in the first place – a narration of the process undertaken during heart surgery, accompanying a video of open heart surgery at the Royal College of Surgeons in London (a treasure trove of amazing specimens and exhibits well worth a visit if you’re in London). The pace and tone of the narration along with its slightly odd reverb give the original recording an unnerving quality in its own right, but Montreal’s Eric Powell has taken it to a new level with his remix, taking that meditative but disturbing quality and amplifying it with some quietly menacing synth beds. When I took this recording, I remember hoping that whoever remixed it did it justice, and I think he really has. One of my favourite remixes of the last few months, for sure.