Recording Adventures: Capturing the sounds of Nepal – with Filip Stefanowski:

Hi Filip, please introduce yourself and the Tek Chok Ling Nunnery SFX library:

Hi, my name is Filip Stefanowski. I record sound effects for living. On top of that I’m a foley mixer and editor at Dreamsound studios in Warsaw, where I mainly work on European and Asian feature films. My experience also includes working on movie sets. I’ve been fortunate to work on several projects, which have been screened at both European and American film festivals.

I was touched by the environment and atmosphere of the Nepal’s capital so much, that I decided to capture the city noise and sounds at various times of day and in different weather conditions.

As an experienced sound designer, driven by new ideas and having worked on various interesting projects, I finally decided to release my first professional, a truly unique sound library – ‘Tek Chok Ling Nunnery’. It was during my work in Nepal where I heard sounds that really inspired me to do so. My library is largely dedicated to the Buddhist prayers and ceremonies. ‘Tek Chok Ling Nunnery’ also contains sounds of both the city of Kathmandu and Himalayan mountains, with the latter surprisingly not being based solely on the sounds of the Himalayan wind. Admittedly, I was touched by the environment and atmosphere of the Nepal’s capital so much, that I decided to capture the city noise and sounds at various times of day and in different weather conditions.

While recording at the city main streets, suburbs and Buddhist stupas, I managed to grasp a full spectrum of Kathmandu’s sounds from an early dawn until the late night. Due to the specific musical character of my recordings, the library is not solely dedicated towards the movie and gaming industry, but to the music producers, record labels and meditation practice as well.

How did the idea for a Nepalese library come about?

The idea to create a Nepalese library came by accident, really. It started with an invitation to work on a documentary. I was very much aware that the movie set would take place in Nepal; however, I didn’t know the details and the movie director tended to release bits and pieces of the story day by day. The Buddhist culture was absolutely new to me and I had no idea what to expect. That lack of knowledge pushed me towards reading about and studying the Buddhist culture and its teachings. Upon arrival, armed with fresh experience of both the culture and its amazing sounds, I knew that it was something that I would like to share with the rest of the world.
 

You went to live in the Nunnery to record the library – what’s the story behind your stay there?

While listening to the praying nuns, quite frequently I myself got into a some state of hypnosis, completely forgetting that I was still recording …

The movie I worked on in Nepal was based on the relationship between the master, called lama, and his student. The movie director himself was an active Buddhist practitioner, therefore he did expect from his crew a certain understanding of the bond between the master and his students. That is how the decision was made to stay in the Tek Chok Ling Nunnery. Access to the nunnery is very limited and it’s unavailable for tourists. I had however the privilege to attend and record the morning, afternoon and evening puja. While listening to the praying nuns, quite frequently I myself got into a some state of hypnosis, completely forgetting that I was still recording, due to which I had to edit up to 2 hour long prayers.

What was your recording setup?

Once I got to know the work itinerary, it became obvious that I needed a proper set of microphones, recorder, batteries, etc. I contacted a great field recordist Dawid Moroz at Soundholder to discuss and choose the necessary setup. Most of the time, I used a Sennheiser MKH 8040 microphone in the ORTF configuration while connected to SD 302 or Zoom F8. At a time, I needed to hear even more details, a sort of intimacy. It was at those times when I used an extra directional microphone on a VDB pole, the Sennheiser MKH 416. It’s also worth mentioning the Sennheiser G3 microport and the easy-to-carry Tascam DR100MKII portable recorder.
 

What are some of your favorite sounds in the library?

To be fair, I personally listen to some of the recordings in the confines of my own home, rather than regular music.

It’s impossible for me to clearly state my favourite sounds in the library. The trip to Nepal was my first visit to Asia and my first direct contact with the Buddhist culture – so different from what I’m used to. It is however worth saying that the content of the library is more than just a mere representation of a specific environment. I truly believe that each and every one of the sounds I’ve chosen for the library is special and magical. It’s an occurrence, which involves the amazing particle of Nepal’s capital city – Kathmandu. The recordings involving nuns praying from a close perspective are particularly interesting. To be fair, I personally listen to some of the recordings in the confines of my own home, rather than regular music. I’m confident that while listening to the ‘Tek Chok Ling Nunnery’ library, a lot of you will feel just as I do and immerse yourself in a Buddhist monastery.
 

Any surprises during the recording of the library?

One of the most interesting adventures was taking the trip to the Himalayas. I imagined it as a proper mountaineering atmosphere, river streams, wind… not much more. What a surprise it was to meet crowds of people at the height of roughly 4000m. Traders and artisans, all very much as in a regular town. I even attended one of the local breathtaking festivals, and all of it is part of the library as well. My biggest surprise, however, came during the last day when, with the producer, we experienced a breathtaking sunrise at Boudhanath Stupa. We were hoping to record a slowly waking up city, but much to our surprise we saw a crowd of Nepalese Buddhists practising, all of whom were doing nothing else but wandering around the stupa, burning incense sticks, spinning prayer wheels and striking the bells. I absolutely didn’t expect that to happen.

A big thanks to Filip Stefanowski for sharing with us his experiences in Nepal recording the ‘Tek Chok Ling Nunnery’ library!

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