Popular new age record label, Wind Records (
The producer/engineer has been at the forefront when it comes to the label's nature recordings since 1996, when she first led a team into the field to record nature's sounds for Wind's initial environmental recording project, the hugely popular 1999 release, The Forest Show (
"As the label's many nature records are incredibly popular, we figured it was about time that we explained how we set about compiling, recording and producing such albums," Wu said.
PHOTO: GAVIN PHIPPS, TAIPEI TIMES
Though Wu's job might sound fun, the producer/engineer will be the first to admit that it is in fact a lengthy, frustrating and at times messy business. Over the years she has fallen into rivers and ruined thousands of dollars worth of recording equipment, has camped out in ghastly weather waiting for a single bird to chirp and has spent hours in the recording studio only to discover that man-made noise has marred her recordings.
Problems aside, Wu and Wind have managed to create some breakthrough and award-winning works over the years. Two years after her debut, Wu was the surprise winner of a Golden Melody Award for Best Producer for her work on 2001's My Ocean 2001 (
"It came as a complete surprise. We knew we'd been nominated, but never imagined we'd win," said the producer/engineer. "I mean, it's not like the type of records I work on win awards every day."
Last year, Wu joined forces with one of Taiwan's leading photojournalists and ecologists, Liao Dong-kun (
Currently working on one of the label's most adventurous projects to date, Wu is putting the finishing touches to an album set to feature the sounds of the many species of dolphins and whales that frequent the waters off the nation's east coast near Hualien. Wu said the project has proven both fascinating and at times surprising.
"We were about 15 nautical miles (28km) out of Hualien when we discovered our boat was being followed quite closely by a killer whale," she said. "It was pretty amazing listening to the sounds being picked up by the hydrophone, hearing such an amazing creature and knowing it was so close."
Although the aforementioned album is still in the production process, Wu has already set her sights on yet another project. Over the coming year she plans to record the sounds of the nation's multitude of bird species; a project that she considers one of her most challenging to date.
"I might now be able to recognize the sounds of all of Taiwan's frogs and many of its insects, but birds are a different matter," Wu said. "I've only got about 50 memorized to date, so the upcoming project should prove fun, well, maybe."
Wind's Judy Wu (
lecture in the multimedia center at Kuandu Nature Reserve (
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