I'd been hoping to be able to post this audioblog up since I got back from Cambodia. Of all the work I did while I was there, this is the piece I was most pleased with. This afternoon I finally managed to track down the archive recording.

While visiting the Auchamlong minefield it occured to me...why don't I broadcast the safe detonation of a landmind live from the minefield? It seemed like a stupid idea but the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to do it. I couldn't imagine there had been many live landmine explosions before in the history of broadcasting. It was a chance to use the satellite technology -- which allows us to broadcast in studio quality from pretty much anywhere in the world -- to its full potential.

So I set up the satellite dish on the bamboo roof of a long-drop toilet, ran a cable to a safe distance from the spot where the explosion would take place, put an effects microphone out as close as I could to catch the full sound of the bang and plonked my ass down on the ground to broadcast.

When I went live I gave a hand signal to the demolition team to begin the countdown to the detonation -- and the rest you can hear for yourself. I heard the full recording for the first time today and I was particularly pleased with the explosion itself, which sounds very dramatic!

The MP3 below is just over 9 minutes long as is a 1.6Mb download. I've dropped the bit rate from the original. It was originally broadcast on BBC Radio Five Live's Up All Night programme. Sean captured some of the broadcast on video and I'll endeavour to post up a little videoblog when I get home later.

Audioblog: Live From The Minefield