Love this. You can really feel the power! Great work George!

The eerie calls of an African scops owl in mopane woodland - South Luangwa National Park, Zambia. Recorded with Zoom F6 and Lom mikroUsi Pro microphones. Listen to more recordings from the African savanna at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCRlYmmK1sqpnPimVGFNUhmt1WtYhnsZc

African Scops Owl In The Savanna

Of all the rainforests I've visited in Madagascar, Masoala seems to be home to the most complex and lush soundscapes. The best moment to experience this is clearly the dawn chorus, although dusk choruses can also be pretty lively. Long version at https://youtu.be/HVktNJpC6D8

Dawn in Madagascar rainforest

A few minutes of light rain falls through tall cypress trees and onto the flooded forest floor, then very distant thunder rumbles through the Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida. Four clips blended from the hour-long storm, August 2022 with Usi Pro omni pair attached to cypress tree 18 inches apart, and Zoom F3 recorder.

Brief Rain, Distant Thunder

Evening at Étang de Ravoir

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.

A thunderstorm of epic proportions on the horizon in the Amazon rainforest. Long version at https://youtu.be/R8lLynze4Oo

Massive thunderstorm approaching in the Amazon rainforest

On Saturday, 12 November 2022, South Australia, including the whole Adelaide region, experienced an uncharacteristic extended storm of unusual intensity. Several storm fronts, arriving from the NW over St Vincent's Gulf, hit Adelaide and the Fleurieu Peninsula. The storm has been described as "one of the strongest thunderstorms in recent memory",* causing flash flooding, wind gusts exceeding 100 km/h that tore down huge gum trees (many of which crushed houses, cars, and electricity lines), as well as flattening giant electricity pylons, leaving around a hundred thousand people without power. 

This recording, made in the Adelaide Hills (near Norton Summit), captures a sample of the first and mildest storm wavefront that day. (The recording begins at 10:30 in the morning. This abridged version selects two excerpts from the longer recording, chosen because of the poignant presence of bird calls audible between the peals of thunder. The highlighted parts of the spectrogram in the track image indicate the passages from the longer recording that were selected for this abridged version.) The microphones sheltered from the fairly light rain underneath a 'sweet pittosporum' or 'native daphne' tree (Pittosporum undulatum), native to southeastern Australia, but a 'declared plant' in South Australia ('a woody weed invading native local vegetation', due to widespread ornamental planting).

Travelling farther south immediately after this recording, I was able to intercept the next two storm wavefronts, which were far more intense. Although the storm was utterly awesome and spectacular (lightning bolts plunging into fields, exploding thunder tearing the atmosphere apart), it was impossible to find any spot from which to record the storm, because it brought with it an abundant lashing downpour of rain and wild tree-tossing winds. All the shelters in the state forests had iron rooves: the rain battering the rooves was deafening, drowning out even the peals of thunder.

In the end, I could only just sit and experience it. Which, after all, is the very best thing to do, with Nature. (Most of the time, at least. Not recommended when it gets this violent. Although I have to say that this was truly a very beautiful and awe-inspiring experience; and, personally, I'm very glad to have been out there to witness it. I'm also contemplating possible recording solutions, in case this ever happens again... Enraptured by thunderstorms as a spatial music of nature. All that I have said, here, is the simple truth.)
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*https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/why-the-adelaide-storm-was-so-intense/925471
https://www.sapowernetworks.com.au/data/313806/12-november-storm-update-from-sa-power-networks/
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/18/australias-indigenous-people-call-for-seat-at-table-at-cop27
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Recorded with respect upon the land of the Kaurna people.

2022.11.12 Storm above the Hills. Late Spring. (Excerpt)

African savanna ambience with birds singing and insects calling at various distances - a beautiful and calm soundscape full of exquisite little detail. Long version at https://youtu.be/5NyIPnT1Wpw

The sound of the African savanna on a calm day

Morning at Yanayacu River

MAFX019 Volcano is a collection of unique sounds recorded in Ethiopia’s Afar region at Erta Ale volcano. Erta Ale is one of only a handful of volcanoes with lava lakes in the world, situated in the Danakil Depression, one of the hottest and most inhospitable places in the world. Available at https://mindful-audio.com/volcano/

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

Buy volcano sounds

MAFX019 Volcano Demo

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

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

MAFX019 Volcano Demo

George Vlad

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