New Street Station

People don’t seem to like Birmingham New Street train station much. Even though above ground it has had a fairly successful “daylighting” redesign, its large subterranean platform system exposes the 1960s modernist redevelopment failures which a lot of Birmingham city centre is still slowly shaking off.

Artificial light and low budget apocalyptic sci-fi thriller vibes! The central train hub and the busiest UK station outside of London, it is often just a surreal momentary experience while catching a connection to somewhere else.

But I love it! This station has many good memories for me.

I spent my first nineteen years in Birmingham, I grew up there, and it still feels familiar even though I have not lived there for 35 years. I will always carry it with me, mainly through my very determined Brummagem accent—“Are you from the Midlands”?!

This is the first time I have returned with my ears turned towards field recording. I have never listened to the station before and it has great sounds.

The smooth walls and many connected platforms provide excellent reverberations. So many trains coming and going and the strange tones they make while they sit waiting. Why do they make those sounds, ticking over, are they testing their engines? An ever changing orchestra of chordal train drones.

I made this recording while waiting for my train back to Sheffield on platform 12a using my iPhone and Sennheiser Ambeo binaural in-ear mics. I’m still unsure about the Ambeos, they are useful for “stealth” recording but they seem a bit harsh and prone to distortion.

I will go back soon with other recording gear because I now feel there is an album of beautiful train chords waiting to be recorded at New Street station.

Next post I’ll tell you why I was visiting Birmingham!