experimental sound scapes

Soundscapes

Soundscapes, Soundscape Ecology, & Acoustic Ecology

Nature Recordings - Europe

The Eurasian Scops Owl (Otus Scops) is the only European owl that undertakes a long migration from south of the Sahara desert up to southern and eastern Europe to breed in the early Spring. 

This recording was made late at night on the Old Golf Course of Mandelieu La Napoule. A number of Scops Owls were calling to one another from the trees around the golf course. 

Sound Devices Mix Pre 6 + 2 x Sennheiser MKH 8040s
11.04.2021

Image courtesy of Frank Vassen (Creative Commons)

Eurasian Scops Owls - Mandelieu La Napoule, France

Located on the Tanneron Ridges, the Forêt Du Grand Duc covers 90 hectares and offers beautiful views over the Mediterranean Sea, the Bay of Cannes and the Lérins Islands. 

This recording was made at 6am, about 45 minutes before sunrise. We hear nightingales, robins, blue tits, blackbirds and other common woodland birds. 

Sound Devices Mix Pre 6 + 2 x Sennheiser MKH 8040s (ORTF)
20.04.2021

Dawn Chorus - Forêt Du Grand Duc, Mandelieu, France

Always underestimate how beautiful this song actually is but I never seen to be able to get within close range of them singing. I'll have to make more of an effort next season as it really is a fantastic song. 

Gear: Sound Devices Mixpre 6 ii / Schoeps CCM 4 / Telinga Dish / CCM 2's

Gavin Vella

Linnet Song - Mixpre 4419

The Empress cicada starts calling as the sun sets, just as daytime birds are winding down their calls and nighttime creatures are waking up. You first hear distant ones, and it almost sounds like some industrial metal cutting process. Long version at https://youtu.be/6ZPDYlvj7MM

The weird sound of the Empress cicada

Taken from Meithosos by Hidden Revealed
Enhanced Audio CD
SRMVID1

Hidden Revealed - Meithosos - Underground Battle In Babylon (video edit)

Hidden Revealed - Meithosos - The Atypical Galactic Dub Version

I never set out to record the sound of an elephant farting in the African savanna, but here we are so let's be adults about it. Long version at https://youtu.be/q8JdMIp6H78

Elephant farting in the African savanna

I have tried to record common midwife toads unsuccessfully for over two years and finally succeeded on a recent trip to Lorraine. This recording was taken in an old disused quarry. The toads begin calling at dusk and when the conditions are right, continue on throughout the night. This recording was made at around midnight, once all the birds had stopped singing. There were hundreds of toads all calling at slightly different pitches, resulting in this very musical performance. 

Sound Devices Mix Pre 6 + 2 x Sennheiser MKH 8040s (ORTF)
Recorded on 05.06.2022

Photo credit : Bernard DUPONT (Creative Commons)

Common Midwife Toads - Lorraine, France

I recently visited the Camargue region in southern France to record the mating calls of the greater flamingo.

This recording was taken with the group of flamingos approximately 5 to 10 metres away.

Recorded using a stereo pair of DPA 4060s into a Sound Devices 722.

Photo : Auriane Hunter

Flamingo Mating Calls (Close Perspective) - The Camargue, France

Locked into shadows,
life I see a new way,
tell a cloud in a puddle when the ceiling shines blue,
but I can't promise that it'll answer you.

A Blanket In Deserted Sleep

When will we,
turbulent thoughts run,
go, go,
when we reach our final day,
I'll say hey, 
hey, hey, yah, hey, hey, yah.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdxfMc2CBHE

Coldfur

Named after their distinctive banjo-like calls, Eastern Banjo Frogs (Limnodynastes dumerilii) [also known as Pobblebonks!] are a type of burrowing frog found in South-eastern Australia. Males of the species produce a single 'bonk' note, with other individuals often calling in response. After periods of rain Banjo Frogs are most active and vocal, and in this recording dozens of individuals can be heard creating a unique soundscape at a small dam surrounded by woodland in north-east Victoria.

The full 46 minute album is available for download from https://wildambience.com/albums/pobblebonk-dam/

Pobblebonk Dam

Download

'Pobblebonk Dam', Recorded in Chiltern NP, Victoria, Australia

Paulus and Annie take to the studio to fight through acoustic ecology jargon in search of a better way to listen. 

Photo credit: Joel Rogers

Soundscapes In Crisis: A Love/Break-up Letter to Acoustic Ecology

Composed radio documentary about ecological sound art, broadcast on Resonance FM on 23rd June 2015 as part of Critical Waves Radio.

Critical Waves

'Ecoacoustics' - composed documentary for Critical Waves Radio (2015)

Introduction

Documentary commissioned by basic.fm. Newcastle, England.
A two-part documentary investigating the history and influence of the Acoustic Ecology movement started by R. Murray Schafer in the 1970s.

Documentary - A Short History Of Acoustic Ecology: Part 1

An audio documentary by Chris Wood, Camara Miller and Nathan Clarkson. Mastered at The Banff Centre by Magdalena Kasparek.

The programme is an overview of soundscape studies and acoustic ecology featuring new and archive interviews with Hildegaard Westerkamp, Barry Truax and researchers from Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada alongside recordings from the World Soundscape Project.

A Short History of Acoustic Ecology was commissioned by Pixel Palace for Basic FM

A Short History of Acoustic Ecology

This field recording captures activity around the nesting location of a group of European Bee Eaters. The nests were located in the banks of the river Fiora. The mics and recorder were carefully placed and left to record over a long period so not to disturb the birds. In the background we can hear a Golden Oriole, Skylarks and European Blackcaps.

Recorded 04.08.2020
Sony PCM A10 + 2 x LOM mikroUsi

European Bee Eaters - Montalto Di Castro, Lazio, Italy

At 48 km2, the Lac du Der is the largest artificial lake in Europe. It was built in the 1974 regulate the river Marne and help protect Paris from flooding. 

Since its construction, the lake has become a paradise for birds and is a main stopping point for Common Cranes during their migration from north to south in late autumn and from south to north from mid winter. 

This recording features the Common Cranes as they take off into flight at sunrise, recorded in early January of 2021. Having rested overnight, the birds fly off in groups, with hundreds, sometimes thousands of individuals calling out. Their morning flight is usually to surrounding fields where they search for food, before continuing their migration.

Sound Devices Mix Pre 6 + 2 x Sennheiser MKH 8040 (ORTF)
10.01.2021

Photo Credit : BarbeeAnne (Creative Commons)

Common Cranes - Lac Du Der, Champagne-Ardenne, France

Cold snap as resulted in many species falling silent again so I'm back to the good and faithful Robin! who doesn't let anything get in the way of defending their territory. 

Gear: Sound Devices Mixpre 6 ii + Schoeps CCM 4 / Telinga Dish / Lom Usi Pro

Robin Full Song - MixPre - 3763.WAV

Sound recordist Colin Hunter 
Founder of the World Sounds project

Dawn Chorus - Forêt Du Grand Duc, Mandelieu, France

World-Sounds.org