Twisting the spine of a train journey

Liz Huff and Joe Barone remodel their own sounds from Zug station:

"Our cards were 1. What mistakes did you make last time? and 2. Twist the spine

“Twist the Spine” was the primary inspiration for what we chose to do with this sound recording made in a train station in Zug, Switzerland. The recording itself is pretty straightforward: train arrives, announcements are made as to where the train is headed and where you can find first and second class compartments, train leaves, people exit the station. Using the oblique strategy suggestion of “Twist the Spine”, we mixed in another train recording ─ made while on board the high speed train from Milan to Florence ─ and focused on part of the announcer’s speech, wishing the occupants an “pleasant journey.” Overlaying those recordings with piano and rhythm, a trippy mix of the announcement, and finishing off with birdsong as the train occupant leaves, we hope this mix will indeed provide a pleasing break from daily life. Funny side note: the other card we received, “What mistakes did you make last time?” was weirdly applicable as the only reason I made this train on time was from having learned my lesson about the timeliness of Swiss transportation by missing both a bus AND a train by mere seconds. Ouch. Train says it’ll leave at 9:44am? That’s when it leaves, no margin for error!"