Water is one of the most diverse natural sounds on the planet. In the state of solid, liquid or gas, not a square inch of Earth goes without water’s touch. From giant sheets of arctic ice, to much anticipated rains in the desert, and even jets of steam as geysers, water’s diversity is astounding. How many forms of water have you experienced?

In science, water is called the “universal solvent” because it can dissolve more substances than any other liquid, but this is only half the story. We can use this property to help dissolve stress and worry from our lives. I believe the sound of water has powerful healing properties. 

Just think about it. How do you feel while listening to a thundering waterfall, a bubbling stream, or even a gentle rain through your window? Calm and relaxed; you forget about your problems and sit comfortably in the present moment. 

The following is a collection of water field recordings captured on my travels. Each one is unique and captured in crisp, 96kHz/24-bit detail with 3D binaural microphones. Enjoy and allow water to melt your stress away! Thank you for listening.

Ambient Water Sounds for Relaxation: A Field Recording Album

Listening to the sound of gentle, flowing water has got to be one of the most relaxing soundscapes. 
This is the confluence of Thompson and Spruce Brook on the Mt. Garfield Trail July 6th, 2019. I recorded with a Olympus LS-10 handheld with a homemade windshield.

Headwater Confluence : Walking through the woods binaural recording

Hi everyone!

I captured this recording of light rain sounds falling on my tent at 4am. A major storm just broke and the relentless wind and rain finally stopped. My cousin and I were camped on Mount Garfield in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.

This is a short recording, but the gentle rain is so beautiful I love listening to this track on loop.

The sonic landscape is really beautiful here. This peak is the quietest place I have experienced in my travels thus far. I have many more soundscape field recordings from this nature outing to share!

Recorded with an Olympus LS-10 PCM hooked up to a custom SASS, binaural microphone. 

Thanks for listening!

To see more of my work visit: www.acousticnature.com

Light Rain Sounds On Tent | 4500' Elevation [Field Recording]

This album is a collection of sounds I recorded @ Douglas State Forest on January 13, 2020. 

Two consecutive days +65° in the middle of winter produced the sounds of this unique landscape. All natural sounds of trickling water, whipping winds and detailed footstep/walking textures. 

Field recordings were produced by a DIY SASS microphone and an old Olympus LS-10 PCM recorder.

Thank you for listening!

Bubbling Stream Sound [Binaural Recording]

Melting Ice Sound [Field Recording]

Although this field recording sounds like falling rain, it is actually the sound of some HUGE icicles melting! The main melting flow of water is located directly behind the binaural microphone and smaller, slowly dripping icicles are directly in front of the mic. 

This soundscape was recorded at Purgatory Chasm in Sutton, MA on January 29th, 2020. Thanks for listening!

Dripping Water Sounds [Melting Icicles Field Recording]

Sit back and relax as you listen to this gently flowing forested stream. This field recording was captured on a winter afternoon so there are no other sounds other than the water. 

Recorded with a DIY binaural microphone rig and an Olympus LS-10 PCM recorder.

Gentle Forest Stream Sound [Ambiance]

This rain field recording was captured right after a thunderstorm in upstate New York. If you listen closely, you can hear some birds calling in the background as the rain begins to fade. 

To capture this recording, I protected my Olympus LS-10 recorder and binaural SASS microphone with a PVC frame topped with 4 inches of foam. This prevented any rain falling directly on my recording rig and causing unnecessary noise. 

Thank you for listening!

Gentle Rain Sounds Falling on Forest Floor [Field Recording]

I love this recording! While hiking down from the summit of Mount Garfield in New Hampshire, I found this mini waterfall that was flowing down from a tree root suspended over the trail. 

This morning was such a beautiful experience. It was very early and very foggy here (see photo for reference).   

I hope you enjoy this one! Thank you for listening.

Recorded with a DIY binaural SASS recording rig with Primo EM-172 microphone capsules. I use this setup paired with an Olympus LS-10 recorder for a low budget, low noise solution. 

To see more of my work or to contact me, please visit www.acousticnature.com

Trickling Water Sound on NH Trail | Binaural Water Field Recording

Not the usual, nature-only, from me, but I think this soundscape recording shows how nature and humans can co-create beautiful sounds. The gentle rain hitting the window with crickets chirping in the distance is very relaxing to listen to.

Recorded with a DIY binaural SASS recording rig with Primo EM-172 microphone capsules. I use this setup paired with an Olympus LS-10 recorder for a low budget, low noise solution. 

To see more of my work or to contact me, please visit www.acousticnature.com

Binaural Rain Sound on Window w/Crickets | Field Recording

This beautiful stream was located in the Sumter National Forest in South Carolina. It is a very remote area and a great place to relax and listen to the fast flowing water sounds of the stream. Due to the pristine sonic conditions here, I was able to record this stream for 30 minutes with no noise pollution. This is only a 5 minute excerpt from that recording.

Recorded with a DIY binaural SASS recording rig with Primo EM-172 microphone capsules. I use this setup paired with an Olympus LS-10 recorder for a low budget, low noise option. 

Thank you for listening ♫

To see more of my work or to contact me, please visit www.acousticnature.com

Fast Flowing Water Sound | Nature Field Recording

This beautiful stream was located in the Sumter National Forest in South Carolina. It is a very remote area and a great place to relax and listen to the babbling sounds of the stream. Due to the pristine sonic conditions here, I was able to record this stream for 30 minutes with no noise pollution. This is only a 5 minute excerpt from that recording.

As seen in the image, I put my recording rig right in front of the babbling stream to increase the amount of detail captured. With my binaural microphones, I was able to capture strong directional sound for your ears to enjoy!

Recorded with a DIY binaural SASS recording rig with Primo EM-172 microphone capsules. I use this setup paired with an Olympus LS-10 recorder for a low budget, low noise option. 

Thank you for listening ♫

To see more of my work or to contact me, please visit www.acousticnature.com

3D Babbling Stream Sounds | Binaural Nature Soundscape

This recording was INSANE! 

At 3am, I was awoken by this thunder storm. I remembered I had left my car windows cracked so I quickly dressed and went outside to close them. Before I went back inside, I stayed on the porch for a few minutes just listening to the storm. I realized that this was a huge storm and would be a great opportunity for field recording! I went back inside, grabbed my Sony D-100 and got to work. 

The full-length recording is 24 minutes but I could only use this 15 minute section because I initially had my gain set too high. As the storm increased in intensity, I had to lower my gain twice. This segment is the pinnacle of the storm. The bolts of lightning were so loud they literally reverberated inside my body.  

I have never experienced a thunderstorm this close in proximity. Next time I record lightning, I will be sure to set my gains lower initially.

Thank you for listening ♫

Insane Lightning Storm Sounds of Thunder [Field Recording]

While hiking down to the Chattooga River, I stopped for lunch alongside one of its many tributaries. I was drawn to this spot because I saw a beautiful cluster of reishi fungi (pictured). I've never seen multiple conks fruiting together and it makes me wonder if all the huge, mature reishis are the result of multiple, fused fruiting bodies. Anyways, back to the sounds...

As I sat on a boulder and ate my PB&J, I kept hearing an abrupt, low frequency sound. I kept thinking that someone was behind me but no one was ever there. After I finished eating I searched for the sound.

The source was from underneath the boulder I was sitting on. A few other large stones had created a small cavity under the boulder. There was a small opening that I stuck my recorder in and began to record. 

I love the detailed, bubbling sounds created within this mini-cave. I think the trickling waterfall you can hear to the left was introducing a lot of air into the water. Before this air had a chance to surface, it was sucked under the boulder and into the cave. It sounds like this air must accumulate into large bubbles somehow, before surfacing. I think it sounds just like a witch's cauldron bubbling over embers. 

Thanks for listening ♫

Low Frequency, Bubbling Stream [Cauldron Sound Effects]

On May 23rd, 2020, I hiked Campbell Mountain in South Carolina. I used my Sony D-100 on a tripod to record this sound. 

This recording is of a beautiful mountain stream flowing into a narrow channel that created a unique sound of swirling water sound effects.

To learn more about me and my mission, please visit my website at www.acousticnature.com

Thank you for reading and listening ♫

Sony D-100 Stream Sounds [Campbell Mountain]

While exploring an unnamed trail near Ceasars Head State Park in South Carolina, I came across this beautiful stream. When I came home, I did some research and discovered the stream is known as Matthews Creek. I recorded two parcels of this stream. 

This recording is of a medium to low-flow section, very relaxing to listen to. I noticed a lot of bear activity in this area and I even think I found a den. I am planning to return and leave my recording equipment in the field to try and capture the sound of bears!

Thank you for reading and listening ♫

If you are interested to learn more about me and my mission, please visit my website at www.acousticnature.com

Medium Flow Stream Recording | Matthews Creek, SC

While exploring an unnamed trail near Ceasars Head State Park in South Carolina, I came across this beautiful stream. When I came home, I did some research and discovered the stream is known as Matthews Creek. I recorded two parcels of this stream. 

This recording is of a very high-flow section. I noticed a lot of bear activity in this area and I even think I found a den. I am planning to return and leave my recording equipment in the field to try and capture the sound of bears!

Thank you for reading and listening ♫

If you are interested to learn more about me and my mission, please visit my website at www.acousticnature.com

High Flow Creek Recording | Matthews Creek, SC

While visiting one of my favorite swimming holes, I decided to walk the stream. I brought my Sony D100 with me and stopped to "interview" sections that looked acoustically interesting.

My deadcat got pretty wet during this experiment but I am really happy with how this one came out. 

For more information about me and my mission, please visit my website at www.acousticnature.com

Thank you for reading and listening ♫

Interviewing A Stream | Moving Sony D100 Recording

I recorded this track in the spring of 2018 at the Douglas State Forest in Massachusetts, USA. My specific location within the forest was the Atlantic White Cedar Swamp. With very dense trees and a thick carpet of sphagnum moss, this area is naturally sound-proofed.

This area gets a lot of aircraft traffic and I was lucky to capture this 6 minute recording. I did not use any rain protection over my binaural recording rig so there are some rain drops that are quite loud as they fall directly on my setup. 

For more information about me, please visit my website at www.acousticnature.com

Thank you for reading and listening ♫

Very Light Peaceful Rain in a Swamp | EM172 Stereo Pair

During the full moon on September 2, 2020, I thought it would be cool to go to the ocean and record some epic, high-tide waves. 

I arrived at the beach at 12:30am and recorded a few different locations until 2:00am. I had planned to stay longer but it was so windy and cold that I went home early.

Gear used in this recording:
Benro Tripod
Sony PCM D100
DIY SASS (binaural microphone)

To learn more about me, please check out my website at www.acousticnature.com

Thanks for listening ♫

Binaural Crashing Wave Sounds at the Beach | Sony D100 w/SASS

This is an underwater field recording of the sound of tiny pebbles being tossed back-and-forth by the ocean tide. I really like the sound the small rocks make underwater and find this recording very relaxing. 

I believe I captured the sound of an animal at 4:48 and 11:43. If you know what this is, please let me know. The microphone was in water about a foot deep. 

This is one of the first field recordings I have captured with my new JrF D-series hydrophone. For this recording, I paired the hydrophone with my Olympus LS-10. 

I am really happy with the low-noise performance and high sensitivity of this microphone and I'm excited to try it out in new places.

If you are interested in field recording, please visit my website at https://www.acousticnature.com for information, advice and reviews!

Thanks for listening and for reading ♫
-Jared

Underwater Rocks in the Tide | Hydrophone Field Recording

All albums available for "Name Your Price" on BandCamp (personal listening use only). Please contact me for creative and commercial licensing through my website acousticnature.com

Ambient Water Sounds for Relaxation: A Field Recording Album

Jared Blake