Sonic Wonders with Trevor Cox

I don’t listen to the radio much.

I live in a small town, so I’m never driving anywhere for more than about 5-6 minutes at a time. And I walk to work, so there’s no “commute listening” that goes on. (I do listen to podcasts all the time, but that’s a) different, and b) a story for another day.)

Anyway, as I was saying, I rarely find myself listening to the radio. But last week — for a variety of unplanned and uninteresting reasons — I found myself listening to the radio at two separate times. And both times, I found myself listening to Trevor Cox.

Yep. BOTH times.

Cox is a Professor of Acoustic Engineering at the University of Salford. And he’s the mastermind behind SonicWonders.Org. And the guy behind the radish clarinet.)

He’s also the guy who recently recorded the world’s “longest echo:” a starting pistol fired in an oil tank at Scotland’s Inchindown, near Invergordon. (He’s also the guy who recorded the opening of Barry Cockcroft’s “Ku Ku” in that same tank.)

Listen:

A piece he posted on the details of the Inchindown recording includes a sampling of that same starting pistol recorded in an anechoic chamber. The difference is shocking.

He’s not always easy to pin down — following one of his posts or links seems to lead one quickly to another 4-5 links or posts or even websites — but he’s got all kinds of fantastic sounds going on. Like this recording of The Great Stalacpipe Organ in Virginia’s Luray Caverns:

Or the Burping Kelso Dunes near California’s Mojave Desert:

And the list goes on. Seriously. It’s endless. Check out SonicWonders.Org for more, and all of it fascinating. But be warned: Rabbit Hole. You’d better have a chunk of time. Oh, and here’s the “All Things Considered” bit I heard first, and the “Science Friday” conversation from a few days later. Happy Listening!