The San Diego Tapes

The San Diego Tapes are the result of a week spent hiking the beaches of Southern California and documenting the landscape through both photography and field recordings. The images and sounds combine to form a unique and immersive travelogue. Scroll down (with headphones) to experience the atmosphere of this idyllic city and some of its major destinations including Balboa Park, La Jolla Cove, and Torrey Pines to name a few. Also, many of the smaller images can be opened if you click them.

Chapter One: Balboa Park

Home to the famous San Diego Zoo, Balboa Park is a sprawling complex with over a dozen museums, extensive gardens, and numerous other features - making it ideal for capturing unique sounds and photos. I also happened to visit the park on Cinco de Mayo, so the atmosphere was perhaps even livelier than usual, with music and a small festival set up for the occasion. I spent a few hours wandering the grounds, which ranged from bustling fountains with crowds of people, to remote hiking paths which led to breathtaking cactus gardens.

The park also has a large botanical house (seen above from both the outside and inside), which was lots of fun to walk through and just let my Zoom recorder run as I passed by groups of tourists, small water features, and birds.

Near the end of the afternoon I set up all my recording equipment on the edge of a small fountain within the Alcazar Garden. This allowed me to take underwater recordings with the hydrophone, while simultaneously taping the above-ground ambiance with a separate stereo mic. The effect is much like being in a pool and only having one ear underwater. I was also able to record a street performer playing classical acoustic guitar near the botanical house. This recording was split in half to create a short intro/outro for this chapter.

Chapter Two: La Jolla Cove

One of the main reasons I chose to visit San Diego was the city’s iconic La Jolla Cove with its sea lion-lined beaches and gorgeous terrain. I spent most of a day hiking up along the coast, hitting all the major spots and finishing up with a swim in the Pacific. I began recording ocean surf but also encountered a huge swarm of bees and tidal pools filled with tiny creatures.

Chapter Three: Torrey Pines

For my last full day I wisely picked Torrey Pines with its picturesque hiking trails and seemingly infinite beaches. After traveling by bus to the entrance of the beach, there is a harrowing trek down the cliffs before you reach the sand and surf. From there I headed north for hours, taking in the scenery with my camera and microphones.

I tried to make a few hydrophone recordings that day, but most of the resulting material was long (15+ mins) takes of loud, churning ocean surf. Instead of releasing these in little snippets like the rest of the Tapes, I mixed them into one longer soundscape and used it on my Sound Therapy Sessions.

Chapter Four: More Locations

During my stay I also managed to visit/document:

• Cabrillo National Monument

• Downtown San Diego

• Imperial Beach

• Coronado Hotel & Beach

• Seaport / Waterfront area

• Sunset Cliffs / Point Loma

• Hillcrest

Chapter Five: Beyond

If you enjoyed the San Diego Tapes, I urge you to give “A Vision I Once Had” a listen. This is an experimental ambient mixtape I released late in 2019, and is dedicated / inspired by memories of California. Many of the sound effects I use are from these tapes, so you will recognize many parts - just mixed into a continuous DJ styled set.