Bryan Potvin was the location recordist and composer for Les Stroud Beyond Survival. Known for his work as guitarist, composer, and vocalist for iconic Canadian band The Northern Pikes, today Bryan has teamed with Les to found Les Stroud and The Pikes.

Bryan took time out from the studio to answer a few questions.

1. This was an unusual sound job as you weren’t responsible for Les’ on-camera sound – you were there to record indigenous talent from around the globe. Can you describe your job in the field, the sounds you sought to capture, and why?

Les came to me last summer with an offer to travel to the destinations on the Beyond Survival series and record as much indigenous, traditional music as we could at the various locations. We tracked everything from Peruvian boys’ choirs to ancient Sann Bushmen chants in Africa. As far as field equipment goes, I had a few different technical solutions with me including laptops, audio interfaces and a wide selection of mics which we powered in the field with custom made battery packs. I also had a couple of sophisticated handheld recorders which we got excellent results from. We went to the trouble of documenting this music for a forthcoming live multi-media show Les is developing for concert halls. Much of these recordings will be featured in the live show.

2.Do you compose music while in the field directly?

On occasion during this series, I recorded people and performances that I was thinking about as I fell asleep that night or I would playback “in the field directly” and with a guitar – which we always had with us – figure out keys or time signatures and familiarize myself with something that I found inspiring. My imagination was certainly working while we were recording but often the field was not a good place to get too deep into composition. We were in the field to acquire the content first. That is what I spent most of my time doing there. It was always pretty exciting to get back to Canada and listen to the recordings in a proper studio.

3. Was there certain indigenous sound you discovered that really blew you away?

I loved the voices the most – that is what I was always looking for, what excited me the most. Ancient words sung – songs that have been passed down for hundreds if not thousands of years. The human voice is the most interesting instrument in the world.

4. What were some of the challenges of recording music in remote indigenous villages?

Power, power, power… Simply converting voltage in different countries was not always an option. Sometimes we were not even in a village but in the middle of the jungle or on a beach somewhere. Dodgy converters blew up several power supplies for the interfaces and I’m still amazed we were able to figure out solutions at certain times. Production Coordinator Andrew Sheppard was invaluable to me – he was constantly helping to figure out how to power the gear at various times. I’m a music guy, not an electrician but Andrew’s ability to troubleshoot these situations speaks volumes of the talent we had working on this show. Weather could be a pain in the ass as well – heat shut down my gear in Africa at one point. The gear took a hell of a lot of abuse on this show.

5. Do you think your style of musical composition has or will change since your Beyond Survival experience?

It has – prior to starting work on the series I was a little bored with pop song writing which is what I am primarily known for. I was looking for something new creatively to get excited about and this work fulfilled that in spades.

6. What are next steps for you?

Les and I are now writing and recording the soundtrack for his live show which is scheduled to hit stages by the summer of 2011.