In early August 2020 I made a trip to rural Michigan and captured dozens of recordings with my Zoom H6 and it's different capsule attachments (plus my JRF hydrophone). These recordings capture a rural environment bustling with insects, birds, streams, and more ambiance from a rural village. Most of the recordings are from a backyard near the small downtown area, yet still very much in the middle of fields and woodlands. Other takes come from nearby parks.

All sounds captured by Zoom H6 in audiophile WAV lossless format. Headphones highly recommended.

Property of R.J. Stefanski, all rights reserved. 2020-2021.

Archival Ambiance Pt. I: Michigan August 2020 (Relaxing HD Field Recordings)

Archival Ambiance Pt. I - Michigan (recordings made during the first two weeks of August in 2020).

Watershed Preserve Pond Deck Ambiance:
This soundscape was captured at the Addison Township Watershed Preserve, located in a remote part of rural southeast Michigan. This 229 acre nature preserve features four kettle lakes, wetlands, and hiking trails that snake through the forest and meadows. The Zoom H6 recorder was set on a wooden dock that ran out into a secluded pond. This allowed it to capture those quiet yet clear & crisp laps of water and rising bubbles in the closer edges of the deep soundfield. Filling out the rest of the frame are a variety of birds including morning doves and crows to name a few, crickets, flies/bees, and more to be discovered with a good pair of headphones. No editing besides fade in/out, and doubling the track for increased volume. Maintained and presented as an HD 96k WAV file.

All sounds and images property of R.J. Stefanski. (2021)

Archival Ambiance

Watershed Preserve: Pond Deck Ambiance (Crickets, Birds and Quiet Water Sounds) 96K WAV

Archival Ambiance Pt. I - Michigan (recordings made during the first two weeks of August in 2020).

Poolside Ambiance with a Swarm of Bees (plus Cicadas, Birds, and more):
For this single take recording, I set up the Zoom H6 with stereo mic capsule on top of a table to raise it up near some very tall tropical grass. These grasses were near a pool (you can hear the filter quietly running in the near distance) and were flowering, so a swarm of bees was circling the microphone. Also appearing in this rural backyard soundscape are day crickets, cicadas, birds (further off), and light traffic. Headphones recommended for this 96k WAV recording.

All sounds and artwork property of R.J. Stefanski 2021.

Poolside Ambiance with a Swarm of Bees, Cicadas, Birds, and more (Relaxing HD Field Recordings)

Archival Ambiance Pt. I - Michigan (recordings made during the first two weeks of August in 2020)

Call of the Northern Cardinal
This single take recording was captured in Romeo Michigan in a backyard that runs alongside some woodlands. The focus is on a single Northern Cardinal and it's unique, powerful call.

Headphones recommended. Captured on a Zoom H6 with stereo capsule at 96k WAV. All sounds and artwork property of R.J. Stefanski 2021.

Call of the Northern Cardinal (HD Bird / Nature Sounds)96k WAV Zoom H6 Stereo

Archival Ambiance Pt. I - Michigan (recordings made during the first two weeks of August in 2020)

Night Cricket Chorus (Aug 2020 Version 1)
This single take recording was captured at night in a backyard in Romeo, MI (small village an hour north of Detroit). The main focus is on a loud chorus of crickets chirping out from all corners of the backyard and nearby woods. The full take was about 10 minutes in length, so I trimmed a little bit off in the fade in & out. Volume was increased as well as a bit of EQing to remove some of the mid-range traffic noise. 

Headphones recommended. Captured on a Zoom H6 with stereo capsule at 96k WAV. All sounds and artwork property of R.J. Stefanski 2021.

Archival Ambiance Vol. I

Night Cricket Chorus (08-20 V1) Relaxing HD Field Recordings

Archival Ambiance Pt. I - Michigan (recordings made during the first two weeks of August in 2020)

Pool Hyrdrophone Drone (Excerpt Pt One)
This is an excerpt from an extended 10+ minute hydrophone recording of a large above ground pool while the filter was running. The filter seems to roar almost like an engine, giving the soundscape the feel of capturing a submarine or perhaps a space rocket launch. Other than trimming this piece down, adding the fade in/out and increasing the volume of this mono recording - no other edits have been made. The full recording will be used in the near future for the foundation of a new original dark ambient production.

Headphones recommended. Captured on a Jez Riley French Series D Hydrophone attached to Zoom H6, mono WAV. All sounds and artwork property of R.J. Stefanski 2021.

Archival Ambiance Vol I

Pool Hydrophone Drone (Excerpt Pt One) HD Underwater SFX

Archival Ambiance Pt. I - Michigan (recordings made during the first two weeks of August in 2020)

Deep Woods Ambiance (Watershed Preserve Pond)
This single take recording was captured at the Addison Township Watershed Preserve, located in a remote part of rural southeast Michigan. This 229 acre nature preserve features four kettle lakes, wetlands, and hiking trails that snake through the forest and meadows. The Zoom H6 recorder was set up in a clearing near the pond and captured water spillover into a drain, creating a very calm atmosphere. There is also a unique bird call I am not sure of, please comment if you know what species this is. Filling out the rest of the frame are a variety of birds, crickets, flies/bees, and more to be discovered with a good pair of headphones. No editing besides (partial) fade in/out, and increased volume. I liked the way this soundscape drops the listener straight into the scenery without the complete fade in. Maintained and presented as an HD 96k WAV file.

Headphones recommended. Captured on Zoom H6 with stereo capsule. All sounds and artwork property of R.J. Stefanski 2021.

Archival Ambiance I

Deep Woods Ambiance (Watershed Preserve Pond with Birds and Crickets) Relaxing HD Field Recordings

Archival Ambiance Pt. I - Michigan (recordings made during the first two weeks of August in 2020)

Morning Birds with Small Town Ambiance
This single take recording was captured in late morning in a backyard in Romeo, MI (small village an hour north of Detroit). The Zoom H6 w/ stereo capsule was set up in the middle of the yard, able to capture a full soundstage with birds, crickets, the more distant hum of lawnmowers, and lots of smaller details woven into the mix. The overall effect is a very relaxing morning in a small town. 
The only edits were a little bit of trimming in the fade in & out and volume was increased.

Headphones recommended. Captured on a Zoom H6 with stereo capsule at 96k WAV. All sounds and artwork property of R.J. Stefanski 2022.

Morning Birds with Small Town Ambiance (Relaxing HD Field Recording) Zoom H6

In early August 2020 I made a trip to rural Michigan and captured dozens of recordings with my Zoom H6 and it's different capsule attachments. This soundscape is built from three different field recordings I made in a backyard while a Cooper's Hawk chased a crow through the trees.

The soundstage is full of details including nearby church bells (telling us the bulk of the audio was made at 10 AM), cicadas, dogs barking, and other small creatures. Stay tuned for an EP of material from my Michigan trip.

All sounds captured by Zoom H6 in audiophile WAV lossless format. Headphones highly recommended.

Property of R.J. Stefanski, all rights reserved. 2020.

Cooper's Hawk Chasing Crow(with church bells, cicadas, and more) Zoom H6 Stereo Soundscape

Brooklyn NYC + Detroit | Message directly for inquiries about sampling recordings, bookings, collaborations, or questions | Since releasing a series of diverse mixtapes in 2011, Stefanski has slowly turned his focus to his own ambient productions, often built entirely of original field recordings. He has released a wide array of original soundscapes ranging from brief, high-def clips of thunderstorms to extended sound collages, each project sharing a hazy, psychedelic glow. Before moving to Brooklyn, Stefanski curated the chill out room for infamous Detroit after-hours rave BAK DØR. After relocating he released an LP of short field recordinged ("20 X 2"), a podcast for an experimental NYC label (Metamorph) and an album for Bivouac's "60 Minute Cities" series. His relaxing rain soundscapes are some of the most popular on soundcloud, with one clip nearing 14 million streams as of late 2020. More recently Stefanski expanded his productions with visual components, including a new website which hosts the unique travelogue "The San Diego Tapes" and photography prints for sale.

~FEEL FREE to use my field recordings/original tracks in any of your own works, I only ask you cite me as a source and please send me a link of the finished product.  MESSAGE ME for questions, I won't see questions in comments.

#ambient #fieldrecording #soundscape #relaxing #fieldrecordings #sounddesign #meditation #soundeffects #drone #yoga #studying #study #newage #experimental #audiophile #foley