When I first came here, I didn’t even want to sleep

Nantou Mountains, Taiwan at 6.00am, recorded by James Holland. 

“It's the sound of what is essentially mountainous jungle terrain in Nantou county at dawn.”

 The interview with a Nanatou local that you can hear in the recording is translated as follows: 

“I really love this place. 

 

When I first came here I didn’t even want to sleep -  

 

I just sat outside, watched the stars, the moon and listened to the sound of nature. 

 

I still love this space.

 

I'm even loving it more and more because I feel, besides just the beauty of nature, I feel I become good friends with the animals here. The tree climbing lizards who watch me through the windows.  

 

And I can hear many, many sounds - from nature.  

 

The sounds of eagles,  the sounds of frogs after rains.  Probably hundreds or thousands of frogs together. 

 

The sound of calling.  

 

And the sounds of cicadas, the sounds of bird calls. 

 

Wow. 

 

It’s so good, wonderful to live in the mountains. 

 

I feel completely enriched here."

Interview credits:

Interviewee: Chang Fu Jung

Interview recordist: Tim Cole

Interview translation: BaoBao Chen

Part of the 5,000 Miles project in partnership with Ithaca Studio, an immersive 360-degree audio experience that transports you to another place through the evocative sounds of places 5,000 miles from the UK through spatial audio technology and ambisonic 3D recording. 

The project was an immersive live experience touring festivals in 2021, and is presented online via Cities and Memory at www.citiesandmemory.com/5000-miles.