suspended far up in the sky (distant melodies)

eeaoa033 *

eeaoa031 *

we stood there, listening attentively together. at first i heard only the deep note of the water and the hissings rising from its turbulent surface. the willows, for once, were motionless and silent. then a sound like the humming of a distant gong. it seemed to come across to us in the darkness from the waste of swamps and willows opposite. it was repeated at regular intervals, but it was certainly neither the sound of a bell nor the hooting of a distant steamer. i can liken it to nothing so much as to the sound of an immense gong, suspended far up in the sky, repeating incessantly its muffled metallic note, soft and musical, as it was repeatedly struck. my heart quickened as i listened.

text from the willows, images from 2 new elevator bath recordings, one by keith berry and the other by matt shoemaker, both containing ancient sounds that "seem to increase with the darkness".