Name: Costa Rica - Jungle Rain by George Vlad
Duration: 10 min 21 s
Description: Rain is to be expected on a rainforest expedition and Costa Rica is no exception. Recording soundscapes in the rainforests and cloud forests of this beautifully green Central American country reminds me of previous jungle experiences and also teaches me a few new lessons. Longer version at https://youtu.be/03sgLm-pLSA

I love the sounds of rain drops on the large leaves overhead. The rain sounds heavy like it should.

Sounds like some really thick leaves! Beautiful recording George, thanks for sharing

When George Vlad from Mindful Audio let us know he was going to Kenya for an expedition we thought it was a great opportunity to sponsor him with the Telinga Modular parabolic reflector he already purchased from Pink Noise in U.K. We were eager to find out how it worked with the mics he already had in his collection, and very happy to showcase some examples
he sent us already. These recordings are made with The Telinga Modular:s included stereo foam cartridge and a pair of his LOM mikroUši mics. To listen in full quality please download for your own use.  

For more information regarding this recording please contact George Vlad: www.mindful-audio.com
For more information regarding the Telinga Modular please see: www.telinga.com/products/pro-series/kits/telinga-modular/
For more information regarding the LOM mikroUši please see: https://store.lom.audio/products/mikrousi?variant=6174830002208

Photo and recording kindly sent by: George Vlad.  Sponsored content. 
Copyright and all rights reserved, George Vlad, Mindful Audio. 
Telinga Microphones - www.telinga.com

Telinga Modular stereo with 2x Lom MikroUsi mics (George Vlad)

Rain is to be expected on a rainforest expedition and Costa Rica is no exception. Recording soundscapes in the rainforests and cloud forests of this beautifully green Central American country reminds me of previous jungle experiences and also teaches me a few new lessons. Longer version at https://youtu.be/03sgLm-pLSA

Costa Rica - Jungle Rain

During a severe wind storm, I revisited the yellow popular from this winter storm recording: https://soundcloud.com/acousticnature/tree-creaks-inside-an-oak

This time, I stuck a pair of EM272 microphones inside the tree cavity instead of putting my SASS in front of the opening. I mainly did this to protect the mics from the heavy rains that came during the night. 

I was really amazed at how well the tree insulated the mics from the outer world's sounds. Even the torrential downpour we received sounded like a gentle drizzle. 

When I popped the SD card into my computer the next morning, I was surprised that the popular made less noise than the previous recording, despite the increased wind speeds. 

I think this may have been due to 2 things: the warmer weather and deeper cracking along the the main trunk. I believe both these factors gave the tree more "wiggle-room" and caused less direct rubbing.

This recording is a compilation of 27 interesting clips throughout the night ranging in length from 3-111 seconds. 

Thanks for reading and listening ♫

Tree Creaks Compilation | 50mph Gusts

The sound of soft rain in the rainforest at dawn is bliss. The soundscape is comforting, relaxing, reassuring. It's the perfect ambience for slowing down and immersing yourself into the jungle landscape. Long version at https://youtu.be/5Uk22dxfJJY

Rainy dawn in Costa Rica's rainforest

These recordings were made with deep respect in the country of the Ngarrindjeri peoples.

With respect, with sadness, with hope. Everything here has changed; except for the sound of the ocean. Where the waters meet, is where the sounds merge. The sound of the ocean, permeating all, remains the same.

Unprocessed excerpts from original recordings. (Listening with good quality headphones - preferably open-backed - with a flat frequency response is recommended.)

An Afterword: I am deeply pleased and honoured that the original recordings from which this piece was composed have found a perfect home in Megan Spencer's important and heartfelt podcast, 'Bringing His Spirit Home: Private Arthur Thomas Walker, Ngarrindjeri ANZAC', as immersive field recordings made in, and expressing the natural spirit of, Arthur Thomas Walker's home country. This educational podcast is one of four produced by Megan, commissioned by the Virtual War Memorial Australia, and can be heard here: https://vwma.org.au/education/bringing-his-spirit-home-private-arthur-thomas-walker-ngarrindjeri-anzac.

Some of my earlier Kurangk/Coorong recordings have also been happily woven into Megan's related podcast, 'Walking in Two Worlds: The WW1 Story of Ngarrindjeri ANZACs Cryril & Rufus Rigney', which can be heard here: https://vwma.org.au/education/podcast--walking-in-two-worlds--the-ww1-story-of-ngarrindjeri-anzacs-cyril-rufus-rigney.

@Bandcamp

2022.10.09 From the Mouth of Murrundi to Goolwa Beach. Kumerangk, Kurangk. Night to Dawn. Spring.

2023.05.19 Microbat Nocturne. Mallee Country. Late Autumn.

When it comes to recording, 2023 was an odd season, my trip to Sweden was not successful from a recording point of view, then at home I have two main recording locations, Ballinvally and Rosahane Graveyard, for various reasons the recording in Ballinvally was not very successful, however the trips up to the graveyard were much better and I am very pleased with those recordings.  I love the purity of the silence there, the birds even seem to sing more beautifully in the uplands for some reason.  Maybe it has something to do with the air being more thin at altitude.   All these sounds were recorded with Lewitt 440's and usually a Sound Devices MixPre3 recorder.

The Uplands - Morning (1).

From dusk to dawn with two pairs of cranes and one or two single male contenders. In this recording you will hear almost infrasound (80-200 Hz) growls and heavy panting as the males chase each other in the wetland and of course the trumpeting of cranes through the night. An amazing experience to be this close. Huddunge, Uppsala. April 9, 2024.

Mixpre 3ii + Lewitt 440 Pure in ortf

Cranes like you never heard them before!

"Hábitat imaginario" for voice, bird whistles and field recordings / stereo version
Live intervention for the garden of La Fonoteca Nacional (jardín sonoro) in Mexico City. I composed a 8-channel piece using field recordings of the archive. My chameleon - like voice is interacting with and tuning into this soundscape through mimesis and transformation, creating a strange place between human and nonhuman identities.
Commissioned by Poetica Sonora and Fonoteca Nacional, Mexico City

"Hábitat imaginario" (hier als Stereo Version) ist eine Live Intervention für den Jardín Sonoro der Fonoteca Nacional in Mexico City. Im Garten der Fonoteca  ist permanent ein  8- Kanal-Lautsprecher System installiert. Das Material für das Zuspiel habe ich dem Archiv der Fonoteca entnommen. Ich komponierte vor Ort ein „imaginäres Habitat“ aus gesampelten Geräuschen der Provinzen Mexikos. Loops, und Samples von Klängen von Vögeln, quasielektronisch klingenden Insekten, den verschiedenen Pfiffen der Händler Mexico Cities und vokale Äußerungen wurden Teil dieses Soundscapes. Auch die Live-Atmosphäre des Gartens integrierte sich in das Klangbild.
In meiner Performance interagiere ich als Sängerin mit diesem „imaginären Habitat“ durch Mimesis und Transformation. Die vokalen Klänge scheint losgelöst vom üblichen Klang der menschlichen Stimme zu sein und lösen sich auf in eine Klangwelt von Vögeln, Insekten und elektronisch anmutenden Sounds.
Auftrag der Fonoteca Nacional und Poetica Sonora, Mexico City

Hábitat Imaginario for voice, bird whistles and field recordings, Stereo Version

This recording was awarded the Silver Fox 2018. The Silver Fox is the overall winner of the annual competition of the Wildlife Sound Recording Society. This is the long version of the recording - the competition entries are allowed to be max. two minutes long.
Recorded 2017 at the Amazon Refuge Lodge in Loreto, Peru. 2 x AT4022 omnis in an Olson Wing array.

WSRS Silver Fox Award 2018 - Afternoon by the Lodge

taken from the project 'mineral veins' (dissolves)  natural substances breaking down under environmental pressures, interactions and distortions. 

(recorded using JrF d-series hydrophones & adapted geophones)

mineral veins | Lugnas Dissolve (extract) - headphones / speakers needed

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

Costa Rica - Jungle Rain

George Vlad

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