On the morning of February 14th, 2025, I made an impulsive journey by myself up to Lake Minnehaha in Maitland, FL right outside of Winter Park and Orlando.

As I mentioned in my previous EC article, my friend Syoma Flora recorded an improv session inside this tunnel there a while back and released it on her Bandcamp page (also on home-made CDRs!). It inspired my previous article, and then it inspired me to trek on out to where this tunnel is to experience it for myself.

After about 90 minutes of taking the toll roads to get there (Interstate 4 is notoriously bad, especially around the Davenport/ChampionsGate exit, so I try to avoid that area whenever possible), I finally arrive at my destination.

Before encountering said tunnel, I walked along this nature trail and took a bunch of pictures, mainly of the signs that have seen better days. I then found the tunnel, which is this really narrow path under this overpass, and next to a waterway. Of course, there was a lot of graffiti and stickers plastered on various surfaces.
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I didn’t bring any instruments this time, but there were these metal poles and rails that I’d bang on with my knuckle (don’t worry, I washed my hands afterwards) to make these clanging sounds, and I used the KQ Unotone synthesizer app on my phone again to make additional noises. The reverb there was fantastic.

Every few minutes or so, someone would walk past me while walking their dog. Most of them were friendly, with one even exchanging “hellos” with me on the recording here.

Overall, it was worth the trip out there, and I look forward to coming back there with a friend or friends and doing more recording. If you’re ever in this area, I recommend stopping by there as well.

Here’s some of the photos I took while I was there:

​On the morning of February 1st, 2025, I found this metallic barrel-looking thing at a thrift store in Kissimmee, FL, and I’ve been using it as a drum. It makes this clanging sound when it’s hit.

Fast-forward to February 7th, 2025: the highlight of my entire day was at around 4:28am, when I went outside under my carport and spontaneously recorded myself (using a Sony ICD-PX470 digital dictaphone recorder) playing a rhythm on my new drum, while simultaneously playing with one of the synthesizer apps on my phone. 

I played the drum by rhythmically tapping the surface with my index finger.
​As of this writing, I have since invested in a pair of mallets.

Occasionally, some dump trucks, sirens, and other assorted nearby vehicles would make their own noises, inadvertently contributing to the recording process.

This recording was inspired by an album I heard recently, titled “Caroling,” by Syoma Flora and Anthony Cole, which consists of melodica and accordion improvisations inside of a tunnel at Lake Minnehaha in Winter Park, FL. It's an excellent album and I can't recommend it enough. You can listen to that album here: syoma.bandcamp.com/album/caroling