Hastings seafront sounds available to buy

Mark Williamson loved the noises of the Stade, the pier, the Old Town and the castle so much during a recent visit with his wife, he decided to record them.

The sound recording enthusiast from London put them together once he got home and has released them as a digital album, with wannabe buyers able to ‘offer their price’.

“Hearing is something that we don’t do enough of, certainly listening,” he said.

“But by listening to the sounds of a place through a microphone you hear all the things your ears block out. You hear a lot more than you would if you were just walking along the seafront.

“So instead you hear the noise of the waves crashing against the beach, the statue-thing chattering away on the mini golf course and more.”

Mark and his wife Rebecca, from Essex, came for a weekend away on February 17-18, and he said they loved it.

Mark grew up in Blackpool and said he was intrigued by the similarities and differences between the seaside towns.

The recording is not meant to be a biographical account of the sound of Hastings, but just what the couple heard on their trip, as well as some extras.

“It’s all natural sounds, I don’t do much editing to it,” he said.

“Except at the end I pretended to be a haunted monk in a dungeon, with some oohs and aahs drawn out, just to add a little bit of something extra to it.”

This is the fourth part in a series of recordings Mark has done and he believes it is a way of experiencing a place that is wholly unappreciated.

“It’s a fuller experience and the more you do it, the more you hear so much more than you would before, which can be a bit annoying sometimes,” he said.

To buy the unofficial soundtrack to Hastings’ seafront, visit www.forged-river.com/album/hastings.

A sneak peek at Mark’s recordings is available on YouTube here.

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