Quiet beauty. Another perfect moment by Lang Elliott.

Your work is always appreciated by those of us unable to get to such lovely places

beautiful soundscape and a beautiful writing on the magic of attunement to your surroundings.

During a mid-March visit to Big Bend National Park in Texas, I recorded this immersive binaural soundscape at dawn in Santa Elena Canyon. It features wind blowing through a dense thicket of Carrizo Cane (an invasive species from Asia that is now common along the Rio Grande), which produces clicks and clatters as gusts pass through the stiff, bamboo-like reeds. Ravens nest in the canyon and croak repeatedly as they fly up and down the Rio Grande River, their calls echoing off the steep cliffs above. Such a pleasing, enveloping mix of the sounds of the wind, ravens and reeds!. Please wear headphones for optimal immersion!

Recorded by Lang Elliott on March 17, 2021 shortly before sunrise. © Lang Elliott, All Rights Reserved.

Wind, Ravens, Reeds

Excerpt of a 12 minute track ' Song of the Lyrebird' from the recently released album "Bellbird Forest" https://wildambience.com/albums/bellbird-forest/

This track contains some superb examples of mimicry including the imitation of Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo, Green Catbird, Satin Bowerbird, Grey Butcherbird and numerous other bird species. In fact, in this excerpt alone at least 10 species are mimicked.

Song of the Lyrebird

Download Album

Song of the Lyrebird - Excerpt from the Album "Bellbird Forest"

An audio sample from the album 'Flute Lyrebirds of the Werrikimbe Wilderness'. The full length album is 95 minutes in duration and is available from https://wildambience.com/albums/flute-lyrebirds-of-the-werrikimbe-wilderness .

In the cool, damp forests of the New England Tablelands of New South Wales, the local Superb Lyrebirds have an extraordinary accent and are sometimes referred to as 'flute lyrebirds'. The song of birds in parts of this region is a complex, melodic phrase which sounds like a scale played on a flute. In winter when male lyrebirds are in full song, these unique melodies float through the cool misty air of the high altitude rainforests creating a magical atmosphere.

Flute Lyrebirds of the Werrikimbe Wilderness

New Album: Flute Lyrebirds of the Werrikimbe Wilderness

The rainforest comes alive with sound at night. Listen to the sounds of the jungle for a few minutes and you'll notice a myriad subtle changes. Long version at https://youtu.be/5mRnCsRXwv8

Night in the rainforest

The main goal of my trip to Lorraine in the east of France was to record Common Midwife Toads. The location was an old disused quarry just outside Lérouville and knowing the toads begin calling after dusk, I arrived early to have time to scope out the location. I was immediately greeted by a group of very vocal Pool Frogs, their calls echoing around the quarry. I captured this recording much later that night, just after midnight. 

Sound Devices Mix Pre 6 + 2 x Sennheiser MKH 8040s (ORTF)
Recorded on 05.06.2022
Photo credit : Holger Krisp (Creative Commons)

Pool Frogs - Lorraine, France

It's the end of June. Most birds are engaged in breeding chicks or the chicks have already left the nest. There aren't many forest birds who sing anymore. I find Icterine Warbler singing in the black alder forest. At some point, Wren will join him. 
Recording contains sound that sounds like white noise. The air is no longer crystal clear like the mornings of May. Wind in the leaves, the insects and maybe my new pair of em-172 microphones are contributing to this. From time to time there is a knocking sound, these are two trunks of trees that are pushed together by the wind. The photo was taken exactly where the sound was recorded. I believe there is some kind of crepis in the picture

The Icterine Warbler and The Eurasian wren 25 June at Alam-Pedja Nature Reserve, Estonia

NOTE: This is a binaural soundscape ... please listen using headphones! Otherwise, you may not appreciate the magic.

I always strive to keep my ears well-tuned, in order to perceive uplifting soundscapes that might easily escape notice, but sometimes I am not quite up to the task. Such was the case in late July of 2018.

I met up with two recording friends at one of my favorite wild areas … Shindagin Hollow in upstate New York, near where I live. We were very glad to see one another and immediately began chatting about this and that as we hooked up our recording equipment (they with parabolic reflectors and me with my binaural soundscape microphone). Then we dispersed, heading into the forest in different directions, each hoping to capture something of value.

It was then that I paused for a moment just to take in the scene … a foggy misty morning following a rainy night … the deep forest of hemlocks and hardwoods … drip from leaves in all directions … and subtle bird songs. I took a long slow breath and began to amble down the trail. At that moment, a wood thrush caught my attention, singing in the distance though quite clear. I stopped and listened more attentively … another was sounding off from even farther away, and a very faint one as well, unless I was just imagining it. And did I just hear a hermit thrush, buried in the mix?

Oh my, I almost did not notice … there, right next to the road, a lone ground cricket trilling prominently from the gravel. How could I have missed such an obvious sound? And then I detected a barred owl, hooting way off in the distance. And a mourning dove, just audible, cooing softly time and again.

Suddenly, I shook myself awake, finally aware of the miracle before me! The magic I was hoping to find somewhere down the trail was actually right next to me, fully and elegantly expressed! I did not need to walk down the trail in search of anything because nature was already showering me with an exalted mix, an elixir so pure and powerful that it thrilled my entire being, but only after I became fully receptive to it. Had I kept walking, I would have missed it entirely. Thank you wood thrush for breaking the spell of my self absorption, for unplugging my ears and inviting me into the here and now!

So finally I jumped into action … I quickly set up my soundscape mic, hit record, and prayed that nothing would interrupt this amazing concert so freely given. How careful we must be to keep our minds calm and quiet and our senses free of interference, so that we do not miss the extraordinary beauty that nature showers upon us, sometimes subtly, and often when we least expect it to arrive.

© Lang Elliott, Music of Nature. All Rights Reserved.

Thrush Dripscape

In an old growth pine forest, just below the snowline, the voices of Chaffinches, Goldcrests, Blackbird and Song Thrush welcome the spring.

'Pine Wood' - album sample

Body Scan For Sleep

Werbeliner See bei Leipzig, 10.06.2019, 21:00 Uhr
unfortunately with a little bit of traffic noise

www.bemtevi.de

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Thunderstorm at the lake

Now released as part of an 80-minute soundscape, entitled 'Native Birdsong of New Zealand', and available for download at:
http://www.listeningearth.com/LE/product.php?id=116

Native birdsong at dawn on Tiritiri Matangi Island, New Zealand. 

The sing-song of Bellbirds and the virtuosic calls of Tuis can be heard, along with whiteheads, fantail, kingfisher and (incredibly rare) stitchbirds. 

This is a short sample recording from our recent field trip to New Zealand. We plan to release full length NZ recordings in the new year (2113). 

New Zealand native birdsong dawn chorus

Hi Friends! I am a professional nature recordist who travels to wild areas throughout North America and sometimes beyond. My current focus is to gather  immersive binaural 3D soundscapes that effortlessly transport listeners (using headphones) into nature and have a positive and healing effect on the mind, body and spirit.

Thrush Dripscape

Lang Elliott – Music of Nature

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