Borneo 2020

The soundscape in the Borneo rainforest is incredibly lush and varied. Most birds stop singing at night, but that's when insects and frogs take over. Longer version at https://youtu.be/HDrUq-eF_ZA

Night In The Borneo Jungle

It's a calm day at Maliau Basin in Sabah, Malaysia. The dawn chorus is a distant memory and birds seem to be calling for the sheer pleasure of it. Insects dominate the soundscape though with their loud and constant chorus. Longer version at https://youtu.be/a0ORDlC7DkM

Lazy afternoon in Borneo

Thunderstorms sound absolutely fascinating in the rainforest as the microphones pick up the beautiful detail of water droplets hitting the vegetation. Longer version at https://youtu.be/MN_JT6hAyMs

Thunderstorm in the Borneo rainforest

Recorded this morning at 5:45am in Chiltern-Mount Pilot National Park, Victoria, Australia

First Light at Chiltern

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First Light at Chiltern, Victoria, Australia

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

In the rainforest, each creature has its own little place in the frequency spectrum or time domain. The apparent chaos is random only when looked at (or listened to, rather) for very short durations. More details at https://youtu.be/E7byvKAJHGU

Costa Rica jungle atmosphere

Sustain Series returns for its third iteration, bringing together ever-more artists for another showcase of recycled music. Reworks and newfound collaborations make up this 27-piece album, demonstrating what can be achieved with ‘one’s trash and another’s treasure’.

 https://bit.ly/amb-sustain3

All Bandcamp proceeds of this album are to be donated to Eden Reforestation Projects, to help continue their work sustaining important local environments, and providing jobs to those that restore and maintain them.

Halftribe & Seabuckthorn - Sway

A long soundscape across Dawn in the Queets River Valley rainforest of the Olympic National Park. Starting in Astronomical Twilight, a small herd of Roosevelt Elk walks in from a distance, though a small forest glade, an away towards the Queets River bed.

Early Autumn rainfall and dropping Maple Leaves are the dominant sounds to begin, their pak-pak-spaks are a reminder that time passes, even in the still quiet of a moss-covered forest.

Highway 101 in less than 12 miles away, and distant traffic is funneled up the Valley, showing the difficulty of escaping human-generated sound. This has been mitigated somewhat with light processing, but close listening and inspection will make remnants evident. There are no other edits or processes committed.

I love the crisp cold air of the rainforests in the fall. Sounds, natural and human generated, carry into the distant. Tucked into my sleeping bag, I lay back in my small tent, listening to the forest awaken. Where once there was just the soft distant wash of the river, the elk are joined by the local birds. Steller's Jays shriek their song with grating-yet-amusing "CHA-CHA-CHA-CHAs". A Northern Saw-whet toots in the forest canopy. Young Varied Thrush practice their songs, not quite reaching the beautiful and haunting signature fluting of their predecessors, instead emitting a silly buzzer-bell-like noise. Pacific Wren singing at the end of their season and the occasional Kingfisher make an appearance as well. Noe of these complete with the sheer vibrance of the elk.

Roosevelt Elk or Roosevelt's Wapiti or Rainforest Elk are the largest remaining elk species in North America and thrive in shadowy silences of the Pacific Northwest's temperate rainforests. Bull's bugles and roars echo through the trees, becoming one of the signature sounds of the Olympic Mountains. The cows mew and squeal in return, listening for one another to not wander far astray.

The small herd is a tight-nit family group, a with one, maybe two, dominant bulls, five or six cows in their harem, and a handful of young. The dominant bull leads the group on a daily hike, down from the upper valley to the river and back again. Their bugles urge the group, both signaling the direction to go and scolding those that dawdle. As they pass through the glade, their heavy footfall on the vegetative floor thump-thump-thumps their presence as much as the vocalizations and the continued crushing of vegetation as they push by.

I can't get enough of their energy. They pull back frequently. No matter how many times I encounter them, Elk never cease to awe me.

Click through the comments below for some highlights!

Northwest Soundscapes

Queets River Valley Rainforest Dawn with Elk

Amazon Jungle is a collection of unique ambiences recorded in the Amazon rainforest on the border between Peru, Bolivia and Brazil. The library was recorded during the rainy season when birds are vocal and humidity is at its highest. Available at https://mindful-audio.com/amazon-jungle/

Downloadable demo - all rights reserved. License agreement available at https://mindful-audio.com/eula

MAFX018 Amazon Jungle Demo

Early morning at a small pond - Tabin Wildlife reserve in the Borneo rainforest. A water hen calls incessantly near the mics while a distant Coucal's notes reverberate through the forest. Longer version on Youtube at https://youtu.be/Q3J9ZSPhPKs

Recorded with Sony PCM D10 and Lom MikroUsi microphones taped to the branches of a dead tree in the centre of the pond. Read about my expedition to Borneo at https://mindful-audio.com/blog/sound-recording-borneo

Borneo Rainforest - Morning At The Pond

A myriad cicadas start calling as soon as the afternoon light begins to fade in Tawau Hills NP, Borneo. Recorded with Zoom F6 and Lom MikroUsi Pro mics. Listen to more recordings I made in Borneo at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCRlYmmK1sqrM_BB3xp6quofSq7fYdEPA

Intense Dusk Chorus In The Borneo Rainforest

1-hour long version on Youtube: https://youtu.be/NFVI7ioUe-4

It's afternoon in Maliau Basin, deep in the rainforests of Borneo. A late Barbet sings its heart out while daytime insect calls are waning. Empress cicadas prepare for their dusk calls and can be heard towards the end of the recording. A soft mist descends on the valley as deep darkness envelops everything.

Recorded in the Borneo rainforest with Sony PCM D10, Lom MikroUsi micropohones and BubbleBee Windbubbles. More sounds and stories at https://mindful-audio.com

Borneo rainforest - Afternoon in the undergrowth

The last days of February were colder and a solid ice of about three inches formed partially one mile out to sea. The Whooper Swans had arrived past week but what I think could be Bean Goose appeared for the first time. At 9 min a fox is crying. 

The sea water was rising due to an arriving low front. This and because the ice was new and solid, causes the crackling sounds. I was lucky to experience this, as it is absolutely not a common phenomenon, at least not here by the sea shore.  The picture with a big Venus and new moon was taken during the recording.

http://www.rupuranta.net/weblog/filet/200228/

(AT4022 ab50cm, MixPre3, 24/48, flac)

Jan Eerala Finland

Night by new Ice - 28/2/2020 - Makholma Shore

A beautiful and calm atmosphere recorded in Borneo's rainforest. Longer version at https://youtu.be/RUZcg6SOZ0A

Borneo Calm Atmosphere

One of my favourite soundscapes to listen to and record is that of rainforest hills. Get immersed into the complex layers of calls as the day progresses. Long version at https://youtu.be/pXi0lIfNkA0

In The Jungles Of Borneo

Award winning sound recordist, audio director and expedition leader - Dune: Part Two | Mufasa: The Lion King | Horizon Forbidden West | Wordscapes

Borneo rainforest - Afternoon in the undergrowth

George Vlad

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