On our way to the ArcTangent Festival last weekend, we stopped by at Blagdon Lake in Somerset, not only because it’s a lovely spot, but as a sort of homage to Beak>, who have an excellent song named after this location, which had always made me wonder what the spot was like.

It’s a picturesque, quiet lake nestling in the Mendip Hills, with just a few fishing boats and families having picnics and taking walks around its perimeter. The field recording features insects, birds, gentle wind, and is punctuated by aircraft passing overhead.

For the remix, there are layers of drones and effected versions of two sounds from the lake, the city version and also a recording of the lake water lapping up on the shore. Over this, there are some layers of analogue synths, plus a synth and drum sample from the Beak> song of the same name – since it inspired the visit,  for me the memory of the place was partially about this song, so it felt natural to slot it into the new version.

Below you can hear the original Beak> song (if you don’t have it, go and buy the album!), alongside the two version.

City version:

 

Memory version:

 

 

‘Blagdon Lake’ by Beak>: