Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast Wind Is the Original Radio
| Titre | Date | Durée | |
|---|---|---|---|
| September Equinox 2026 with Melissa Pons | 22 Sep 2026 | 00:39:02 | |
The Earth's orbit around the sound finds itself at the point where we, from our planet, measure the sun's relative location exactly above the Equator's, making its way South. This marks the autumnal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere and the vernal equinox and the beginning of spring in the Southern Hemisphere. The mix presented today, by our curator Melissa Pons, is an invitation to celebrate - or rather to contemplate, to attune the ears and let the body-mind wander freely. Thanks to our artists, we'll listen to Earth's soundscapes from Aotearoa New Zealand to Portugal - please see the full playlist below. They have all been recorded within 7 days of the September Equinox and in this piece, they have been sculpted and twined into a cinematic dreamy travel with ambient electronic music, in some impossible place between the Earth and the Moon. Full playlist:
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| June Solstice 2026 with Stefano Arrigoni | 21 Jun 2026 | 00:41:44 | |
Solstice comes from the Latin solstitium - sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still): the moment when the sun appears to pause in its movement. A brief illusion of stillness. The longest day, the fullest expansion of light, and yet, from this very point, transformation has already begun. The brightest moment already carries the beginning of its own disappearance. Gathering recordings captured during different solstices, across distant places and years, this mix follows movements of appearance, disappearance, and return. Each recording holds a specific moment of listening, a fragment of a landscape that has already changed, a trace of something that cannot happen twice in the same way. Some recordings have been split and reintroduced at different moments, creating small cycles inside the composition. They disappear and resurface, carrying the memory of their previous occurrence while being transformed by their new surroundings. Like seasons, tides, or the movement of light, repetition becomes a way of sensing change rather than sameness. Different environments slowly orbit around each other: distant temporalities briefly aligning, moments of stillness revealing movement, and sounds returning as reminders that nothing ever truly stands still. Tracklist:
Stefano Arrigoni is a sound artist and anaesthesiologist based in Marseille whose work explores listening as an active process of transformation. Moving between electroacoustic composition, field recording, and modular synthesis, he investigates the fragile thresholds of perception. Rooted in psychoacoustics, phenomenological observation, and self-experimentation, his practice examines how sonic environments shape the way we perceive, inhabit, and make sense of the world. https://soundcloud.com/stefanoarrigoni | |||
| Five Ways to Honour Our Green Spaces with Watson Whitford | 19 May 2026 | 00:35:31 | |
Welcome to the wind is the original radio podcast! Today we have an extra special episode, in which we are sharing with you an episode from Indigenous Earth Community Podcast by Frank Weaver. This is all about honouring and respecting green spaces with Watson Withford, member of the Chippewa Cree tribe and Navajo Nation. Because here on Earth.FM, listening to natural spaces is about being in relationship with, we think that for any listener and recordist, learning how to honour the spaces we visit is fundamental. This includes learning about the issues affecting those spaces, thinking of future generations, asking permission and so much more. Our gratitude to Frank Weaver for sharing this knowledge with us and please see the episode notes to learn more about Indigenous Earth.org. Episode Summary In this powerful episode, Frank Oscar Weaver is joined by Watson Whitford (Wapanatak), co-president of UNITY and member of the Chippewa Cree tribe and Navajo Nation. Together, they explore five essential ways to be a mindful visitor in parks and natural places, weaving together traditional wisdom and practical guidance for honoring our green spaces. The Five Ways to Honor Green Spaces
Leave It Better Than You Found It
Honor Ceremonial Spaces
Respect Wildlife Boundaries
Get in the Right State of Mind
Notable Quotes "We're a part of this circle of life. I'm no higher than a ladybug. I'm no higher than a buffalo. And we're all the same. We all come from the same place." - Watson Whitford "I want this place to be beautiful. I want there to be clean water, clean air to breathe, to be healthy animals and healthy plants. Not just for my relatives that are here with us now, but for people that will be coming in the future that aren't even here yet." - Watson Whitford "Our traditional ways of ceremony are good... we don't talk down about other people's way of religion or talk down about the way other people pray. You know, because we want to be uplifting. We want to help each other." - Watson Whitford Special Offer Visit indigenousearth.org to receive an exclusive video prayer from Watson Whitford, guiding you in practicing mindful visitation to green spaces. Connect with Watson Whitford
Support UNITY UNITY (United National Indian Tribal Youth) supports Indigenous youth leadership across the nation. Your donation helps:
Donate at: unityinc.org/donate Stay Connected
Credits
This podcast acknowledges that many parks and natural areas are on ancestral Indigenous lands that have been stewarded by Native people for thousands of generations. | |||
| March Equinox 2026 with Anna Clock | 20 Mar 2026 | 00:58:11 | |
This hour long mix comprises of field recordings made on and around Spring Equinoxes of various years. It takes you down through the Northern Hemisphere – from my sitting room in East London to a cottage balcony in the tropical forests of Borneo. Listen for Slovenian jackals, Polish moor frogs, a Himalayan shepherd herding sheep, a hippopotamus getting ready for the night in Sierra Leone and choirs of birds singing across the globe. It was only in researching for this show that I realised the equinox actually refers not to a whole day but a single moment in time, when the sun faces directly over the equator, granting the entire globe with roughly equal length days and nights around it. I was captivated by this idea of a single moment of equilibrium and the impossibility of capturing that – which is much like the experience of listening itself, always dissolving as soon as you try to catch hold. And the equinox moment itself is both something of a physical reality, and pure idea, constructed entirely by an imaginary line humans have drawn and named the equator. Again, this paradox seems to resonate with the act of field recording, which both records a physical reality of a time and place through the sound waves that are imprinted through a microphone, but also creates a totally new and artificial object of its own. Whilst lines of longitude go from east to west and determine clock time, lines of latitude go from North to South and determine climate, with the suns rays becoming more intense the further south we go. Whilst enjoying one of the first sunny days we’ve had in London (where I am) in a long time, I decided to structure this mix along lines of latitude, moving from North to South through the Northern Hemisphere. I wonder if listeners will be able to feel the sun’s intensity increasing through their ears. It was a privilege to shape these extraordinary sounds into a journey. Whilst making it I found myself contemplating the equinox as a time of both stillness and motion, sameness and divergence, meeting and departure – and I invite you to listen into this space of contradiction with me. Anna Clock is a composer, sound artist and researcher. Their practice is rooted in live acts of listening and challenging audiences to listen to each other, and their world, in new ways. They play the cello and also cut hair. They are currently pursuing an AHRC-funded Collaborative Doctoral Award with the Science Museum and Royal Holloway University exploring quantum aurality and how we listen to outer space. Recent works have been heard in Barbican, Royal Court Theatre, Wellcome Collection, The Albany, 100 years Gallery (UK), Project Arts Centre, Gate Theatre (IRL), Times Square Arts, Irish Arts Centre (USA) Dresden Staatschauspiel, Staatstheater Mainz (GER), CIRKO (FIN) and on Radio 4, Radio 3, Resonance FM and RTE Lyric radio. Playlist: [01:19-03:45] A mysterious voice memo at the piano (me) [03:45-05:20] Bartlett park (me) | UK [05:20-07:16] Dawn’s Chorus: Mating Calls of Moor Frogs at Sunrise: Jakub Orzecki | Poland [07:16-10:11] Howling Jackals: Jan Brelih | Slovenia [10:11-12:01] Wood Frogs at the Library: Mike Bullock | USA [12:01-15:10] Dawn Chorus in the Early Days of Spring: Enis Çakar | Türkiye [15:10-20:05] Incoming Tide at Gold Bluffs Beach: Kelly Rafuse | USA [20:05 -25:45] Snowfall in Himalayas: Jan Brelih | India [25:45-31:59] Soft Dawn Chorus in the Jungles of Nepal: George Vlad | Nepal [30:22-35:37] Himalaya Forest Valley: Jan Brelih | India [35:37-40:36] Himalayan Shepherd: Jan Brelih | India [40:36-45:33] Dawn Chorus at Mora River: Giselle Ragoonanan | Trinidad and Tobago [45:33-48:07] Busy Dawn Chorus in the Savannah: Sounding Wild | Sierra Leone [48:07-49:38] Gentle Wind at Dusk in the Savannah: Sounding Wild | Sierra Leone [49:30-51:42] Hippopotamus Preparing for the Night: Sounding Wild | Sierra Leone [51:42-52:24] Nocturnal Pulse: Usun Apau Ancient Forest: Jan Brelih | Malaysia [52:24-53:51] Night Walk in Rainforest Discovery Center: Gina Lo | Malaysia [53:51-58:05] Bornean Anura: Gina Lo | Malaysia | |||
| Bird Ambient Mix with Thay | 24 Feb 2026 | 02:00:07 | |
We are delighted to share a special set by artist Asa 808, a 2-hour journey ideal to softly immersive oneself in the nature sounds, instruments and spoken word. Credits to Asa 808 and Ana Roxanne, Agustin Pereyra Lucena Quartet, Andreas von Wangenheim, Awakened Souls, Dead Man Winter, Djrum, 혁오 (HYUKOH), Sunset Rollercoaster 落日飛車, Felbm, Frankie Reyes, Icarus, Hana Stretton, H.Takahashi, Jeff Parker, Jordi Savall, Julian Lage, Julianna Barwick, Laurie Spiegel, Matonizz feat. Brian Kelley, Meitei, Omni Gardens, Rosie Lowe & Duval Timothy, Sohn, Sonmi541, Starling Arrow, Ted Greene, Yutaka Hirasaka, Wau Wau Collectif. Asa started making music at the age of six, first learning classical piano and guitar (despite being seen unfit by some peers due to a heredofamilial essential tremor), later specializing in music theory and composition, jazz and improvisation. As a teenager, the non-binary artist released a 5 track EP with their first solo ambient project Hasta la otra méxico!, of which especially 'Túrána hott kurdís' attracted a lot of attention, hitting almost 1 million views on vimeo & youtube. Driven by their love for electronic music, Asa started producing and DJing as ASA 808, releasing on George FitzGerald's MakeMusic, Soundspace, and their own TOYS imprint and playing at festivals and clubs across Europe and Asia. | |||
| December Solstice by Cameron Randall | 21 Dec 2025 | 00:30:00 | |
Bodies Extend Themselves Toward a Breathtaking Absence of Limits Earth.FM has the pleasure and honour to announce a new work with multidisciplinary artist, field recordist, and DJ, Cameron Randall. Cameron’s practice involves composing assemblages of field recordings, electro-acoustic sound, sampling, synthesis, AI models, and digital processing. His previous work has involved sculpture, algorithms, sound, moving image, text, and installation, while his Listening With radio series is broadcast every month on Resonance FM. In this sound piece, Cameron takes us on a journey across the planet with an evocative, intense, surprising, and utterly beautiful sound montage of Earth.FM recordings made during this Solstice season. In his own words: "This piece was created from field recordings made by a number of international field recordists around this time of the year. These recordings are so rich and diverse that I was immensely inspired by their depth and detail. I am interested in the remixing, morphing, and translation of sound—where the audio both retains its original sonic quality and also becomes something new. Every sound you hear in this piece originates from the initial recordings provided to me. The origins of some sounds are obvious; some are more opaque. This is a line I often like to blur and play with. Thank you so much to Melissa Pons for commissioning me to do the piece for Earth.FM." To work creatively with precious natural soundscapes is an exercise of affection and appreciation for our world. We truly hope that his cosmic piece will inspire you in many ways. You can also listen to the original field recordings: Jan Brelih:
Serge Bulat: Rafael Diogo: Ezra Gray: Tom Kelly: Gina Lo: Andy Martin: Phil Mill: Martha Mutiso:
Melissa Pons: Melissa Pons and Jocelyn Robert: Ivo Vicic: Gregor Vida: George Vlad: | |||
| Interview: Jakub Orzęcki | 17 Dec 2025 | 01:16:03 | |
“I try to find places that still carry a bit of this [...] feeling that [...] something might be watching me in the place I try to record, or that I may have some problems with finding my way back from the recording spot. [...] [R]ecording there [gives] a chance to capture this raw energy of nature.” In this episode of Wind Is the Original Radio, the Earth.fm podcast, site curator Melissa Pons talks with Jakub Orzęcki. An acoustic ecologist and field recording artist based in Wrocław, southwestern Poland, Jakub was nominated for the Sound of the Year Awards in 2022, in the category of Best Natural Sound. Jakub has made it his mission to highlight the noise pollution increasingly affecting acoustically sensitive areas, and to archive changes occurring in sonic environments. However, as well as exploring Poland’s remote wilderness and underground environments, his work also encompasses the acoustic heritage of the local folklore and traditions which are coming under threat from globalization. With his Polish Soundscapes initiative, Jakub records and assesses the relationship between biophony, geophony, and anthropophony within his homeland’s acoustic environment. In their conversation, Melissa and Jakub discuss a novel way of thinking about his field recording work: the notion that different recordings have flavors. For Jakub, this relates to the emotions he feels in the place where they are made - maybe a flavor of adventure (for example, in relation to soundscapes “tied to [an effortful] expedition”), or the flavor of being “the first person in a place for a very long time”. There’s even the flavor of preparation and analysis, drawing on “old descriptions of [a] place[,] [...] of settlements that once existed there” and grounded in everything from maps of topography, light pollution, and air traffic to Lidar-based terrain models. Jakub also describes a more primeval flavor - one that comes from respect for, or even fear of nature, and which “mix[es] [...] fascination and unease”. This sonic flavor reminds us that, for most of human history, natural environments were so much more unpredictable, stronger, and powerful than we were, whether in the form of forests, rivers, mountains, or swamps. Capturing that sensation tells us how “small [we] are compared to what surrounds [us]”. They also delve into topics including:
All this and much more, in a dense and fascinating conversation. You can find out more about Jakub’s work on his website. And, until next time, happy listening. | |||
| Listening With x Earth.FM | 08 Dec 2025 | 00:59:50 | |
This episode was created by Earth.FM's curator Melissa Pons for the multidisciplinary artist Cameron Randall, on his show Listening With at Resonance.FM, which aired on 8th December 2025. Melissa's words on the piece: "A sensorial journey with some of the most poetic field recordings I have encountered. They are delicate, requiring a certain level of attention. The recordings combine depth, dynamics, and space in a beautifully staggering way, allowing the wandering ear to easily attune to the different soundscapes. From the Nordic solitude of a snowy forest to the sublime manifestation of our living planet of an erupting volcano in Vanuatu. The recordings are woven with music from Patrícia Wolf, Verónica Cerrotta and me; this mix is an expansive invitation to tune in to our natural world and a plea for us to love it and nurture it." Playlist: | |||
| Interview: Endless Fields pt. 2 | 04 Nov 2025 | 01:03:39 | |
“To record well, you have to be listening well.” This episode, part two from Endless Fields 2025, features a further selection of interviews between Earth.fm curator Melissa Pons and her fellow artists-in-residence. You can listen to part one here. One of the co-founders of the event, Stefano Arrigoni, spoke to Melissa alongside Cameron Randall. Stefano is a sound artist and anaesthetist from Italy, who lives in Marseille, France. His practice explores how sound can shape consciousness and open spaces between the inner and the outer. For Stefano, field recording is a form of healing, attention, and surrender. In his compositions and improvisations, recorded sounds trace paths that question authorship and reveal what lies beyond the first layer of hearing. Cameron, a multidisciplinary artist, field recordist, and DJ, composes through an assemblage of field recordings, electro-acoustic sound, sampling, synthesis, AI models, and digital processing. Previous work has involved sculpture, algorithms, sound, moving image, text, and installation, while his monthly series Listening With is broadcasted on Resonance FM. Together, Melissa, Stefano, and Cameron discuss:
Melissa also spoke to Anna Clock, who co-founded Endless Fields with Stefano. Anna’s work as an artist, composer, and musician centers ways of listening, and encompasses theater, film, radio, installation, text, and live music. They also find the time to play the cello and offer affordable, gender-neutral hairdressing in the queer community. In their conversation, Anna talks about:
You can contact Stefano here, and follow Cameron and Anna. And check back for upcoming episodes! These will feature conversations with Jakub Orzęcki, an acoustic ecologist and field recording artist who lives in Wrocław, Poland, and the Berlin-based sound recordist and electronic music composer Gina Lo. | |||
| Interview: Endless Fields pt. 1 | 09 Oct 2025 | 01:18:45 | |
Earth.fm curator Melissa Pons was recently invited to attend Endless Fields 2025, as one of seven sound artists-in-residence at Portugal’s Estúdio Yucca, in the Algarve by the Ria Formosa lagoon. This inaugural edition of Endless Fields, organized by Anna Clock and Stefano Arrigoni, was funded by the Department of Applied Social Sciences at the School of Science and Technology (FCT), NOVA University, Lisbon, Portugal, and co-organized by its participants. Local facilitation was by Raquel Castro - curator, producer, film director, and former president of the World Forum for Acoustic Ecology - and Ivo Louro, PhD Candidate in History, Philosophy and Heritage of Science and Technology (at FCT NOVA), and “occasional” sound artist. During the residency, which involved collective listening and recording, sound performances, jams, and an open day, Melissa conducted interviews with her fellow participants. These conversations form the basis of a new two-part episode of Earth.fm’s Wind Is the Original Radio podcast. This, the first part, features Ivo, Iddo Aharony, a composer of electronic and acoustic music and environmental and multimedia compositions, and Xavier Velastín Vicencio - self-described sound designer, composer, technologist, and whale lover. Ivo Louro - who is studying the acoustemologies of Aeolian instruments, examining how they have been used not only to make music from the wind but also to monitor and forecast weather in both scientific and traditional craft settings - discusses:
Iddo Aharony is a creative musician and listener who continuously explores the myriad intersections of sound, environment, culture, and technology. His body of work spans a wide variety of instrumentations, media, and interdisciplinary collaborations, from a fully-staged opera to various experimental projects utilizing live electronics, created in collaboration with visual artists, theater directors, scientists, and other musicians. He currently lives in Colorado Springs and is Associate Professor of Music Technology at Colorado College. He talks about:
Xavier Velastín Vicencio is a performance and sound artist whose practice spans live art, sound design and composition for theatre, sound installations, sound for video games, sound poetry, algorithmic composition, and digital instrument creation. His work often focuses on utterance, agency, the environment, technology, and the physicality of sound. Xavier is a resident of the Pervasive Media Studios, Bristol, and is currently on a research fellowship with the British Library's Eccles Institute, in London, England. With Melissa, Xavier speaks about:
We hope that you enjoy this episode. If you’d like to connect with the participants, you can do so here: Iddo and Xavier. And keep an ear out for part two - coming soon! | |||
| Interview: Serge Bulat | 10 Sep 2025 | 01:24:47 | |
“I welcome every noise around me. No matter what it is: a duck, a fish, a deer farting. [...] You invite it all. And [...] this is [...] when you realize [that] every inch of this planet is occupied and we are sharing and coexisting with other species - [so] how can you ever be alone?” In this edition of Earth.fm podcast Wind Is the Original Radio, curator Melissa Pons speaks to Serge Bulat, a multidisciplinary artist whose work - which spans and hybridizes music, exhibitions, immersive games, radio, field recording, and psychological installations - explores the edges of performance, sound, perception, and identity. Serge is from a Moldovan town divided from Ukraine by a river, with family hailing from both worlds. For this reason, borders are “a prominent subject in [his] work”, which seeks to question topics around unity, differences and similarities, and the utopian aspiration of finding “ways to live in a borderless world”. Earlier this year, he released Phonomundi: Selected Recordings of Heritage Sites and Traditions 2017-2024, an album which draws upon years of recording, sharing, and contributing to projects, causes, and stories close to his heart. Phonomundi is also about engaging with “our absolutely disastrous path away from respecting our ears and respecting our culture and respecting our environment”. Against a backdrop of woozy compositions by Serge, featuring nature soundscape recordings, he and Melissa discuss the trials of having a “noisy” mind, which feels like “war in your head” and means that “it’s hard to stop the thinking process” - but which can also lead recordists to “forget about [them]self and [...] start thinking about communities, people that are affected, and [how] that [can be] such an ego drop”. Serge also talks about how ‘now’ is illusory, and his “weird relationship with time”: “I guess it might be some form of synesthesia, because I feel time; I feel its thickness and I feel its qualities.” The flow of time is “one of the driving forces behind [him] doing what [he’s] doing”, while field recording can provide “the nowest now that there can ever be”. He describes how, after experiencing difficulties with conventional mediation, he managed to develop his own system of meditation around listening, where “time stops [...] [and] you find that serenity and that absolute calmness and, for me, this is when I stop the noise”. As he says, “We're all pieces of [...] a bigger body and we're [...] made of the same substance. [...] I always struggle to put anything like that in words [...]. It's easier for me to put it in music. [...] This is what music and sound does [...] and words don't.” Together, Serge and Melissa also address topics including:
Listen to the whole interview for all this and much more (including the raw terror of Bob from Twin Peaks!). Read more on the recent discoveries from the James Webb Telescope. If you enjoyed this candid and wide-ranging conversation, you can follow Serge on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, SoundCloud, and Apple Music. | |||
| Interview: George Vlad | 06 May 2025 | 01:07:08 | |
“Sound is life for me.” The latest installment of the Earth.fm podcast, Wind Is the Original Radio, finds curator Melissa Pons in conversation with sound recordist and expedition leader George Vlad. You can listen to and read George’s work elsewhere on the site - and you may already have heard recordings of his in high-profile projects such as Dune: Part Two and Mufasa: The Lion King, as well as various documentaries, TV series, podcasts, and audiobooks. The love of George’s life, as a recordist and collector of sounds, is to be among wildlife sounds, trying to understand them, and getting to share them. Though he confesses to being initially fastidious about avoiding anthropophony, he explains that he has become more understanding and flexible, given how reductive it is to imagine that nature is separate from humans (and vice versa): “We are moving forward, whether we like it or not; progress happens: people need to travel and use power tools.” However, though he has become more open to recording people, he draws a line at combustion engines. He also shares about his journey from being a sound designer, when he originally saw field recordings as purely “tools or assets”, with no appreciation for the ecosystems they originated from. However, informed by his experience of growing up in the Romanian countryside - which taught him the value of loving nature and of living with it rather than trying to control it - he subsequently came to appreciate and take enjoyment from their beauty. Additional topics addressed during the episode include:
Plus! The importance of making jam, playing video games, and reading Jules Verne. George would be delighted if you’d like to engage with his work, so feel free to follow him on his YouTube channel. | |||
| Interview: Nahun Saldaña | 01 Apr 2025 | 01:02:52 | |
“I prefer to live in the fantasy, not in the desperation of the crisis [...], you know?” This latest episode of Earth.fm’s Wind Is the Original Radio podcast finds site curator Melissa Pons in conversation with Peruvian sound artist and ‘resilient designer’ Nahun Saldaña. In his work, Nahun explores the intersections between soundscapes and sound ecology, especially in relation to climate change and speculative sound future. Together, they discuss:
We hope that you enjoy this episode, including Nahun’s irresistible exuberance and enthusiasm! You can follow him on Instagram, and check out the work - writing, photography, video, sound art, and ambient music - on his (Spanish-language) website. | |||
| March Equinox 2025 | 23 Mar 2025 | 01:00:00 | |
For this March Equinox we have prepared a 60 minute Listening Party with soundscapes recorded in March from the North to the South Hemisphere. We're celebrating the season's transition and we want to invite you to reflect on how we can better accommodate our lives to our surrounding environment. Tracklist: 01:58 Midnight Forest Frogs - Andy Martin 09:01 Western Capercaillie Makes Vocalizations in Early Spring - Andrus Kannel 12:49 Early Spring Thunderstorm in Beech Forest - Ivo Vicic 25:57 Hippopotamoes Preparing for the Night - Sounding Wild 39:36 Dawn Chorus is Saroluk - Enis Çakar 44:00 RDC Nightwalk in Rainforest - Owl - Gina Lo 47:02 Early Autumn Bushland Dawn near the Coorong - Khristos Nizamis 52:56 Tiny Little River - Verónica Cerrotta 56:24 Between Tree Branches - Melissa Pons 57:22: Here in There - Melissa Pons You can listen to all of these soundscapes on our free mobile app at https://Earth.FM available for iOS and Android. | |||
| Interview: Andy Martin pt.2 | 04 Mar 2025 | 02:07:43 | |
“I don't feel like nature is somehow healing me - I feel as if my body is remembering what it's supposed to be like.” Earth.fm’s Wind Is the Original Radio podcast is pleased to share the second part of curator Melissa Pons’ conversation with sound designer and field recordist Andy Martin. (You can find part one here.) Here, in another thought-provoking instalment, Andy shares his thoughts about deep listening, questioning (in part because of the varied ways in which it is defined) the difference from just… listening. In the field, Andy “describe[s] [him]self as a witness”, of anything from “the trickle of water to hummingbirds which are out to kill each other” - but he refutes the idea of there being any “inherent meaning in a soundscape; it just is; it just exists”. Where deep listening often aspires to finding meaning or making a connection - “an intentional beauty or a message within the soundscape” - he asserts his conviction that there are no such intentions, beyond those of individual wildlife. “I can listen in wonder and awe”, but “there's nothing there that is a meaningful, special interaction for me; it is just life existing. If we're looking for a deeper connection, a deep meaning within the soundscape [...] we're missing the reality of what's there, and we're trying to put our own feelings, our own belief systems onto that reality - and that's not my job. [...] My job is to listen and bring forth.” What Andy sees as people’s misinterpretations of the natural world overriding the reality means that, “The moment I hear someone describe a dawn chorus as an outpouring of joy, they've lost me. Because that's what it sounds like to us - but that's not necessarily what it is.” Further topics discussed in this episode include:
We hope that you enjoy this episode. If you’d like to connect with Andy, you can do so on LinkedIn and Instagram and listen to various recordings and other interviews here. | |||
| Interview: Andy Martin pt. 1 | 04 Feb 2025 | 01:51:18 | |
In this episode of Earth.fm’s Earth Is the Original Radio podcast - the first of a two-parter! - the site’s curator, Melissa Pons has a wide-ranging conversation with sound designer and field recordist Andy Martin. The insightful and granular conversation explored the following topics:
Listen out for part two of the conversation, which will be released soon! Also, below are all of the references mentioned during this episode:
And you can connect with Andy on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/andymartinnaturesound/ and Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andymartinnaturesound/. | |||
| Interview: Chris Treviño | 07 Jan 2025 | 01:20:09 | |
A new turn around the sun and a new episode, this month’s guest being Chris Treviño, a field recordist and sound designer from Michigan with a background in anthropology and currently pursuing a Masters in Industrial Heritage and Archaeology, focusing on ways of knowing his own town through its sound across its history. We’re talking about some aspects of sound as heritage and memory as well as its cultural value in which Chris conceptualizes the notion of sonic time capsule, how we humans relate to sound in different contexts and throughout time, and we also talk about his more recent project in the Isle Royale National Park in Michigan, where Chris spent almost two weeks recording while traversing the island by foot. Please find below all the references mentioned during our conversation: Video games composers: Yasunori Mitsuda and Nobuo Uematsu (the Chrono Cross and Final Fantasy series) Steven Feld - Voices From the Rainforest; the Kaluli people UNESCO heritage designations: https://www.unesco.org/en/lists-designations The Greek practice of the memory palace: https://artofmemory.com/blog/how-to-build-a-memory-palace/ Antônio Bispo dos Santos: https://futuress.org/community/antonio/ The Tonebenders Podcast episode with Chris: https://tonebenderspodcast.com/277-field-recording-for-the-national-parks-service-with-chris-trevino/ Isle Royale NP: https://www.nps.gov/isro/index.htm Chris Treviño SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/chrisatrevino Listen to the full recording of ‘Old Man and Grandson Watch Trains’: https://soundcloud.com/chrisatrevino/old-man-and-grandson-watch-trains Chris’ official website: https://www.chrisatrevino.com/Connect with Chris on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisatrevino and on X https://x.com/ChrisATrevino | |||
| Interview: Jo Kennedy | 03 Dec 2024 | 01:09:16 | |
Say hello to December with this month's episode, in which we welcome creative sound artist Jo Kennedy, co-director of Yorkshire Sound Women Network and co-producer of the Nature Tripping podcast!. Jo is a field recordist, sound designer, and audio producer who focuses on environmental and ecological projects. Together, we discuss Jo's path between environment and sound;, what listening - whether to anthropogenic sounds or predominantly natural ones - can potentially reveal; the power of novelty and curiosity in sound; rewilded soundscapes; graveyards; and more. It isn’t necessary to experience pristine natural environments in order to fulfil our potential for connecting with other living beings, whatever they may be, and we might find small patches of land near us which are very special. In addition, Jo and Cathy's podcast, - Nature Tripping - https://www.jokennedysound.com/naturetripping -, is wholeheartedly recommended, as is the article mentioned in the episode: ‘"Initiating Ecological Change Through Sound Art – a Review and Short Manifesto" - https://www.jokennedysound.com/blog/initiating-ecological-change-through-sound-art. And see what the Yorkshire Sound Women Network is all about and how you can get involved - https://yorkshiresoundwomen.com/ Thank you, Jo, for the wonderful conversation! | |||
| Interview: David de la Haye | 05 Nov 2024 | 00:52:16 | |
Hello and welcome back to the Wind Is the Original Radio podcast! We have been longing to return and are so happy to kick-start this new phase with David de la Haye, an award-winning ecological sound artist focusing on underwater aquatic environments. This episode is a fun conversation - both uncanny and down-to-earth - about listening to underwater sounds and the fascinating experience of recording them. Plus, collaborating to create music from his field recordings and some necessary gear talk. David’s work is informed by his experience as a bassist, composer, and music technician, and by the process of cooperation with other musicians. He shares about how these processes go for some of his latest projects, and about the value of gathering people to make music.Learn more about David and his work on his website, https://daviddelahaye.co.uk/, and consider supporting him on bandcamp: https://daviddelahaye.bandcamp.com/. | |||
| Java’s Last Rainforest | 18 Oct 2024 | 00:30:00 | |
Recorded in the misty montane rainforest of Gunung Halimun National Park, this recording features subtle birdsong and the sounds of a distant mountain river. This location is one of the last truly wild places on the island of Java and home to a host of unique wildlife. Recorded by Marc Anderson at the Gunung Halimun National Park, Java, Indonesia | |||
| A Secretive Night in a Canyon | 11 Oct 2024 | 00:30:00 | |
A place dominated and overseen by large feathered creatures, acrobatic corvids and smaller virtuosos. Nearer the ground, the arched-formations of rock provide a refuge to others, from doves with their splashing wing beat sounds to mammals like red foxes, whose sounds are amplified and travel like an upwards spiral. This amplification serves as a delicacy to my ears, bringing closer to my perception many tiny movements, many of which are hair-raising. Maybe it's merely the darkness operating its dominating power over us or perhaps it's this intriguing dance between near-silence and the appearance of nocturnal creatures - both animals and rocks, for the latter feel alive on their own. The easily heard species in this recording are the tawny owl (Strix aluco) and the Griffon Vulture (Gyps fulvus). This is a specially quiet recording, so an equally quiet listening is recommended. Recorded by Melissa Pons in Spain. | |||
| Gentle Wind at Dusk in the Savannah | 04 Oct 2024 | 00:30:00 | |
The breeze bring some freshness in the evening during the hottest month of the year. This is the time when wildlife gets out of the hides to feed. Recorded by Sounding Wild in Outamba Kilimi NP, Sierra Leone | |||
| Taman Negara at Night | 27 Sep 2024 | 00:30:00 | |
Taman Negara is a large area of protected rainforest on the heart of the Malaysian peninsula and home to an abundance of wildlife including tigers, leopards and elephants. This recording features the sounds of a myriad of insects calling from deep in the forest at night. Recorded by Marc Anderson in Taman Negara, Malasya | |||
| Western Cascade Frog Pond | 20 Sep 2024 | 00:30:00 | |
Spring in the Pacific Northwest is typically a damp rainy season. Snowmelt from the Cascade mountains and frequent cloud cover causes streams, and rivulets to pop up along mountainsides swelling the rivers in the valleys. This particular valley, like many in the western cascade range, has many small marshy areas surrounded by tall evergreen trees. By April the nights are filled with sounds of the Cascades Frog and a persistent white noise from nearby flowing water. Lengthening days, a dawn chorus starts early and quiets down as a rain shower approaches. This region of Washington is the ancestral lands of the Stillaguamish People. Recorded by Nick McMahan, Washington, USA | |||
| A Very Long Chat | 13 Sep 2024 | 00:30:16 | |
I have a tradition of recording for the week around Summer Solstice every year. The long days and extended twilights draw out the liveliest and most expressive Dawn Choruses of the season. This year I’m in Sinlahekin Valley in Washington State’s Okanogan High Country. It’s a deep, long scar on the ground gouged and left behind by retreating arms of the Cordilleran Ice Sheets of the last several glaciated ice ages. Arid steppes on one side, fir-covered mountains on the other, the Valley draws a line that separates two of the major ecological regions in our State. Running much of the length of the Valley is Sinlahekin Creek, a meandering, beaver-controlled system that sustains a narrow strip of wetlands and riparian borders favored by passing migratory birds. Deep enough to not sustain strong wind, the Valley is a valuable shelter, sometimes for passing birds to rest, sometimes to stay. One of those birds is the Yellow-breasted Chat, a laconic-yet-vociferous songbird with a voice both louder and deeper than belies its small size. One of the more enigmatic songbirds of North America, the Yellow-breasted Chat is widespread across the continent but rarely found in dense numbers. It skulks about in dense riparian thickets and other shrubby habitats, nesting deep within and singing from a barely-exposed perch. More often heard than seen in late Spring and early Summer, when males produce long soliloquies in search for a mate (or sometimes two), they have a brief but explosively creative burst of song every year, only to remain silent for the rest of it. Recorded on Summer Solstice, 2024, this particular singer was a surprise. I had been hiking around one of my favorite valley campgrounds, enjoying the recent explosion of late-Spring songbirds, when I noticed a thicket that was particularly favored by local Lazuli Buntings. Nice Bunting recordings being a goal of this trip, I quickly set up a lightweight hiking recorder with a pair of small mics to leave overnight in hopes that Buntings could have time to sing as they saw fit. Imagine my surprise when listening back to the recordings and found more than an hours’ worth of a Yellow-breasted Chat singing close by, as if I’d set these microphones up just for him! Our Chat wakes up early in Nautical Twilight with a burst of whistles to rattle the neighborhood. After a brief rest, he begins his soliloquy of repeated grunts, rattles, beeps, and whistles. Soon, less than a minute later, the first distant songs of the next Chat over can be heard in the background. They space themselves out along the riparian border of Sinlahekin Creek just close enough to still be heard, far enough away to give each other space. While most birds sleep in and wait for more light, including Robins and Blackbirds, Nautical Twilight is their moment to sing. For most of the next two hours this little bird will sing from the same perch, only occasionally shifting directions as if he wants to be sure everyone has an equal chance to hear his voice. His voice grows louder and softer as he turns toward or away from the microphones. He’s so close the early reflections off the leaves of the thicket scatter his voice back to us loud and clear even when he faces away. With almost mechanical precision he continues his steady chanting song. As other birds awaken with the slowly breaking mountain dawn, the air fills with songs loud and soft behind — but never interfering with — the Chat. Soon there are cawing Crows, Black-capped Chickadees sweetly calling, “Phoee-be”, and Lazuli Buntings working out their unique and recently “crystalized” songs. A Veery sounds like a mournful flute the next hedge over. A Ruffed Grouse beats its wings with an almost too-low-to-hear “flah-thump”. Yellow Warblers, Red-eyed Vireos, Common Yellowthroats, and Spotted Towhees circle the neighborhood, calling from one tree, singing from another, never satisfied, at least not until Sunrise when everyone will disperse to live out their day foraging for meals and nesting material. Filling out the soundscape are Cedar Waxwings, Olive-sided Flycatchers, Pied-billed Grebes, Pine Siskins, rowdy gangs of teenaged Red-winged Blackbirds, and more. After Sunrise the avian community slowly disperses. The Dawn Chorus is no more, replaced in whole by daily activities. Song continues as part of that organizing behavior, but the Dawn pronouncements are over after nearly 2 hours of upwelling joy. Our chat slowly moves farther and farther from his perch, allowing daring Buntings and Towhees the chance to take over the job of songmeister. If we were to keep listening throughout the day, we’d hear the Yellow Chat come and go, ensuring his perch and his home remain his and his alone. At night he will reverse the process, singing from Sunset to Astronomical Twilight, no so much fading away but just stopping when it’s time to fall asleep, to gain back some of that spent energy to do it all again tomorrow. Recorded by Andy Martin in Okanogan High Country, USA | |||
| A Lively Spring Afternoon in the Montado | 06 Sep 2024 | 01:06:41 | |
Recorded in the Spring of 2022, this soundscape has all the indicators of a warm day: pollinators, a variety of crickets, occasional frogs and a rich multi-layered display of bird song. It's one of the quietest places I know, allowing an equally quiet observer to listen to all the layers and make up a sonorous composition of this place weaving it in one's imagination. These are the most prevalent bird species one can hear in this recording: Common Nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos), Common Quail (Coturnix coturnix), Golden Oriole (Oriolus oriolus), Eurasian Collared Dove (Streptopelia decaocto), Eurasian Hoopoe (Upupidae), Corn Bunting (Emberiza calandra), Little Owl (Athene noctua). The Montado is an unique system, existing only in the Iberian Peninsula although slightly different from the Dehesa, in Spain. As far as we know, human intervention has started during the neolithic period, favouring certain trees for their high yielding fruits that feed the animals, and others for their cork. Despite such intricate connection and millennial relationship, the Montado is in decline; this system is incredibly fragile and faces a number of grave threats today, from diseases that affect trees and wild rabbits to overgrazing, to privatization of enormous areas of land for mono-crop exploitation, leaving the soil impoverished and triggering the increase of chemical use, which will then infiltrate underground. Thus it is imperative and urgent to take care of this emblematic land. | |||
| Island Forest with High Tide Approaching | 30 Aug 2024 | 00:30:00 | |
You can hear the tide slowly approaching in the distance, with activity from all sort of birds in this patch of green in one of the busiest islands of the Bijagos Archipelago. Recorded by Sounding Wild in the Bijagos Archipelago, Guinea-Bissau | |||
| Bushland Afternoon | 23 Aug 2024 | 00:30:00 | |
Afternoon ambience from bushland in the New England tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia. A light breeze blows through the canopy of the eucalyptus woodland and in the background, birdsong drifts on the cool mountain air. Recording by Marc Anderson at the Mummel Gulf National Park, NSW, Australia | |||
| Dawn Birds in the Sage | 16 Aug 2024 | 00:30:00 | |
High and dry. There is hardly anything here. No water, no trees, just a small two-track (dirt road where people have driven enough times to form a road, but the ground has never been graded), and a distant horizon. The terrain appears endlessly flat, but after some time walking, I cannot see my car anymore. No towns, people, highways, or aircraft. A strange silence seems to be suspended in the still air. I sit down in the sagebrush and the wind calms. Looking closer I see various small wildflowers growing in clumps, thoughtfully placed near roots and sage. I lay down. It doesn’t feel dirty here. The dusty soil is cool, almost soothing. Eyes close, it is not long before a whir of wings pass not far overhead. Quickly followed by another and a hushed chirp. Something imperceptible has shifted. There is another soft chirp. Another whir, over to the left. Then a trill. Gradually building, a mesmerizing chorus of Brewer’s sparrows and a steady drumbeat of a common poorwill in the distance weave the song of this quiet sage land. These sounds were recorded on the ancestral land of the Northern Paiute people. Exceptionally low-noise microphones in various arrays capture the delicate sounds of the environment. If you would like to know more please get in touch. Recorded in the Basque Hills, Oregon, USA by Nick McMahan | |||
| Golden Mantled Howlers at Dawn | 09 Aug 2024 | 00:30:00 | |
Recorded in December 2023 on my first — but not last — trip through Costa Rica, a troop of Golden Mantled Howler Monkeys in Costa Rica’s Parque Nacional Corcovado greets the dawn and their neighbors (and the rest of the jungle) the only way they know how. Male mantled howlers have an enlarged hyoid bone, a hollow amplifying bone near their vocal cords that gives the ability to generate great “howling” calls that can heard for kilometers. Howling allows the monkeys to exercise territory and remain in contact without expending energy through movement or bearing the risks of physical confrontation. As someone who likes little more than sitting in a forest listening to nature speak, I approve of this lazing behavior. While this howling is their most well-known vocal characteristic, I’m rather fond of the popping and grunting that warms up to the howl and pads the time in between. It’s relatively quiet, and is most noticeable only when near the vocalizing howler. You can hear it throughout their first round of howling the beginning. After speaking with other recordists, I know I am far from alone as someone who loves their sound, but I may be one of the few that enjoys waking up to their calls. Every morning I heard this nearby was a morning I walked to breakfast with a big silly grin on my face. Neotropic birds come and go throughout the recording, but one persistent voice was the Yellow-throated Toucan, with a rhythmic, bouncing song that seems to carry on forever. There is at least one singing for most of this recording, and later, after the this first hour, a pair begin a duet. Also coming and going are raucous and noisy Scarlet Macaws and Red-lored Parrots, a lone Red-eyed Tree Frog, a visiting Little Tinamou, and more. I’m out of my depth when it comes to identifying neotropical birds, so I’ll let rest of the ecosystem speak for itself. Recorded by Andy Martin at Parque Nacional Corcovado, Costa Rica | |||
| Ascending Into The Night | 02 Aug 2024 | 00:30:00 | |
This segment of a dusk chorus in the summer-arid region of Vale do Côa, Portugal, is somewhat a reverse story from the dawn chorus recorded in the same period, although fading out much quicker into a windy night, when low whispering bursts take the place of the singing birds. In addition to the most audible and easily identifiable species, we can also hear the cuckoo here and there. Other species listed: Golden Oriole (Oriolus oriolus), Red-backed Shrike (Lanius collurio), Common BlackBird (Turdus Merula), Common Nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos), Common Wood Pigeon (Columba palumbus), Common Quail (Coturnix coturnix). Recorded by Melissa Pons, in Portugal | |||
| Pinsapo Forest Dawn | 26 Jul 2024 | 00:30:00 | |
Dawn chorus from a rare pinsapo (Spanish fir) forest in the mountains of Andalucia. Starting softly at first light, the song of a Eurasian Robin is the first to herald the new day. As the day brightens the songs of many other species fill the air. In the background the soft tinkling of bells can be heard from goats on a distant hillside. Recorded by Marc Anderson at Parque Nacional Sierra de las Nieves, Spain | |||
| Dawn Chorus in Zarnesti with Tawny Owl | 19 Jul 2024 | 00:29:59 | |
Recoding by Seán Ronayne, in Zarnesti, Romania | |||
| Trumpeter Swans on a Winter’s Eve | 12 Jul 2024 | 00:30:00 | |
A coveted silence drenches the deep valley. Winter at it’s finest. With closed eyes, I discern the distant white noise of a creek flowing beneath the snow. Alongside one of the small lakes, a coyote crosses the ice on the opposite shore, noticing my presence as well. As early dusk descends, a small flock of Canadian geese flies overhead, their honking resonating against the steep valley walls—a common sight during this season. The geese are nearing a lake that has a unique nearly musical echo emanating from it. The chatter of trumpeter swans who have made this pond home for the winter. Evening light fades and the swans move to various nearby water sources that have not frozen, greeting each other with loud echoing calls. Moments of silence are equally piercing in this winter valley. Recorded by Nick McMahan in the Washington River | |||
| Dawn Chorus in the Savannah | 05 Jul 2024 | 00:30:01 | |
A classic quiet Savannah dawn chorus from this part of the world. Recording by Sounding Wild at the Outamba-Kilimi National Park, Sierra Leone | |||
| Midnight Insect Chorus Near Corcovado | 28 Jun 2024 | 00:30:01 | |
Growing up in the mid-Atlantic states of the US and with roots and time lived in the Deep South, few sounds bring me to a state of transcendence like the orchestrated song of insects at night. The spectrally tight but densely-layered score of hundreds or thousands of insects pulsing, ratcheting, trilling, buzzing, and singing in concert is soothing my the ears and the best sleep-aid I can experience for myself. There’s so much life in a chorus, and it’s not only insects. Frogs occasionally beep. Bats flutter by. The occasional leaf drops from the canopy. This is my happy place. Recorded on the last night of a stay in a private lodge on Costa Rica’s Osa Peninsula, near Parque Nacional Corcovado. Recording by Andy Martin at the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica | |||
| Evening Chorus in the Amani Nature Forest Reserve | 21 Jun 2024 | 00:31:59 | |
Recently we visited a beautiful paradise in the Eastern Arc Forests of Tanzania—the Amani Nature Forest Reserve. This reserve protects the unique, biologically important sub-montane forest ecosystem of Tanzania’s East Usambara Mountains. Home to unique and endemic biodiversity, the reserve contains stunning flora, fauna, and trails to explore. Our guide suggested visiting the lesser-traveled Kiganga trail. True to his word, as soon as we left the small town adjacent to the forest, we were greeted by the quiet tranquility of the forest. The only sounds were the distant sound of Zigi River flowing through the forest and the high-pitched calls of cicadas in the canopy above. We stopped to listen for a while before choosing a tree to set up the recorder. At dusk, the loud cicadas gave way to the more nocturnal animals—crickets, bats, and hyraxes. The hyrax’s call occasionally rose above the crickets, echoing through the forest all night! Field recording by Martha Mutiso in Tanzania | |||
| Danum Valley Afternoon | 14 Jun 2024 | 00:29:59 | |
A breezy afternoon in the lowland rainforest of Sabah, Borneo. Although the birdsong is more sparse than earlier in the day, many birds are active and can be heard calling and moving about in the the surrounding forest. Recorded by Marc Anderson | |||
| Full Moon Reef at LINI Aquaculture and Reef Restoration Project | 07 Jun 2024 | 00:31:18 | |
An excerpt made from a long form stereo reef recording made at full moon in June 2018 above the reef at LINI, North Bali. LINI is an NGO dedicated to community development through sustainable fisheries in north Bali, Indonesia. Their work includes aquaculture to mitigate illegal fishing for the aquarium trade, reef restoration and capacity building in local communities to nurture sustainable livelihood. This recording was made with a pair of aquarians into a Zoom H4N, secured in a waterproof barrel on a raft tied to a buoy above the most mature reef restoration area. Amongst the sound of the shrimp, you can hear various fish chatting, grunting and farting – message me if you know who the mermaid is. Recording by Alice Eldridge | |||
| Hippopotamus Preparing for the Night | 31 May 2024 | 00:31:29 | |
Recorded in Sierra Leone by Sounding Wild | |||
| A Jittery Dawn Chorus With Golden Orioles, Red-Backed Shrikes and Nightingales | 24 May 2024 | 00:31:29 | |
What does Nature sing on a place that has seen blood spilled in behalf of kingdoms’ territory dispute, species extinction and the abandonment of land? During the whole time I spent in this region, that was on my mind. It was psychologically difficult and the rocky and dry shrubs didn’t offer much solace. I think about the attempts of land domination and how a harmonious and reciprocal relationship could reflect on the landscape. This recording invites us to listen with an open mind. The main species on this recording are: Golden Oriole (Oriolus oriolus), Red-backed Shrike (Lanius collurio), Common Blackbird (Turdus Merula), Common Nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos), Common Wood Pigeon (Columba palumbus), Common Quail (Coturnix coturnix). Recorded by Melissa Pons in Portugal | |||
| Earth Day Listening Party Replay | 17 May 2024 | 02:00:00 | |
Hello friends! This episode is a very special edition - a replay of our Deep Listening Party on Earth day in YouTube. This version is a 2 hour edit and you can follow the timestamps below. To listen to the recordings in their full length visit our page at https://earth.fm A big heartfelt thank you to all who sent their messages, named their favourite recordings and to all that contribute with their wonderful sounds. 00:00:00:00Vince Chanter - Ravens at Dusk00:01:29:16Cata's welcome message00:04:19:17Khristos Nizamis - Stirrings at First Light00:07:18:02Mel's welcome message00:07:57:14Melissa Pons - Andalusian Dawn (unpublished)00:10:53:04George Vlad - Winter Wind in Snowy Forest00:11:12:07Brother Spirit's message00:18:37:29Vladimir Archipov - Dreams of Bears00:23:04:14Seán Ronayne - Deluge at Dawn00:31:44:29Seán's message00:32:41:21Verónica Cerrotta - Florestas00:38:11:11Melissa Pons - Nocturnal Lullaby00:38:17:03Jocelyn Lauzon - Barred Owl00:39:19:23Vladimir Bocharov - Early Morning near the Village of Lnikha00:41:54:15Hannu Jännes - Capercaillie Lekking00:43:28:15George Vlad - Borneo Rainforest Afternoon Soundscape in the Jungle00:46:08:00Giselle Rooganoon - Aerial Ballett00:47:54:00Kjetil Hoidal - Osstrupen Underwater Soundscape00:51:50:00David de la Haye, Jez Lowe - Hidden Sounds (Binaural)00:53:33:15Jacob Bentz - Supersition Dawn00:53:42:16Jacob Bentz's message00:56:23:24Nick McMahan - Niobrara River00:57:44:12Nick McMahan's Message00:58:49:06Jan Brelih - Thunderstorm in the Himalayas01:00:34:00Christine Hass - Sonoran Desert Sunrise01:03:16:04Melissa Pons - Iberian Wolves01:04:34:01Mel Wolves01:07:17:27Félix Blume - Active Volcano01:10:41:05Gene Flipse - Humpback Virtuoso01:17:36:15Laila Fan - frogs at Menghuan01:17:43:23Veronica Cerrotta's message01:20:20:00Mélia Roger -Bubbles in a Pond01:23:41:26Ivo Vicic - Evening Calm Life of Birds in Spring01:24:33:04Rachel Butt's message01:30:36:08Martha Mutiso - Evening Chorus Amani Forest Reserve01:35:36:00Sam Lee01:45:33:15Mustard Lake - Dawn Chorus at Thol Sanctuary01:48:26:17Mat Eric Hart's message01:48:37:02Mat Eric Hart - Saikan Temple Rainfall01:53:56:00Isaac Amoasi Arkoh - Evening in Ankasa Jungle | |||
| Autumn Night | 10 May 2024 | 01:18:10 | |
This recording was made at night, in a valley. About 400 meters away from the recorder there is a big Fig Tree. It is a very, very big tree and every time its big heavy leaves fall, you can feel the sound they make when they touch the ground. The sounds of nocturnal insects create a homogeneous texture that highlights the stillness of the night. Silently a horse appears grazing. Recorded in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, by Verónica Cerrotta | |||
| Incoming Tide at Gold Bluffs Beach | 03 May 2024 | 01:00:00 | |
This was recorded on a cloudy evening during an incoming tide on Gold Bluffs Beach in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, part of Redwood National and State Parks, which together are designated as a World Heritage Site and International Biosphere Reserve. The beach is broad with low dunes covered in tall grass, and backed by high bluffs and lush, temperate rainforest. A gentle breeze was blowing offshore from the dense forest atop the bluffs, across the grassy dunes, and out over the crashing waves. The steady roar of big surf breaking far out was accompanied by the crash of waves breaking on the shore, which ran up the beach and washed back down. I placed the microphone atop a grassy dune at the edge of the shore, beyond the reach of the rising tide. Recorded by Kelly Rafuse, in California, USA | |||
| Pine Forest | 26 Apr 2024 | 01:00:07 | |
The sounds of a pine forest in spring in Dalarna county, Sweden. A variety of bird species sing including Common Chaffinch, Tree Pipit, Great Spotted Woodpecker & Common Wood Pigeon. Recorded by Marc Anderson, in Kullen, Sweden | |||
| Falling Snowflakes | 19 Apr 2024 | 01:00:00 | |
In the first weeks of 2024, finally, a real winter has arrived with beautiful snowfall and temperatures of -19°C. A day before that, I packed my gear and went to the location deep in the forests of Kočevski Rog, away from any settlements where I camped overnight. The night was dark and cold but I knew that the next morning, I would be rewarded with the first proper snowfall of the season. Capturing the sound of snowflakes is a very peculiar process one which requires some creative approach and experimenting techniques. Besides physically enduring the severe cold, positioning all the gear while trying to still stay focused on capturing the sound itself. Another thing to consider is that snow, unlike rain, is considerably less dense therefore even a gentle breeze spreads it all over, even beneath a protected enclosure or natural shelter. I placed my recording setup beneath the large pine tree, taking advantage of its large branches for some protection. To shield my setup from any snowflakes, that still found their way, I have snugly wrapped the tripod and other parts with a cozy woolen blanket. The blanket has gently protected all metallic parts from flakes landing on them and creating unwanted artificial clicks. It also provided some warmth to my beloved mics, staying in such harsh cold conditions. Recorded by Jan Brelih in Kočevski Rog, Slovenia | |||
| Spring Thunderstorm at White Deer Lake | 12 Apr 2024 | 01:25:00 | |
This was recorded on a spring day in the forest near White Deer Lake, a seasonal lake in Shasta-Trinity National Forest. The lake is large and shallow when full, but only lasts a couple months in spring before drying up entirely. It’s surrounded by coniferous forest of Ponderosa Pine, Lodgepole Pine, and White Fir. At the time I made this recording there were only a few small pools of water left. I arrived late in the morning and the sky was blue and sunny above, but clouds were beginning to build all around. I set up the microphone in the forest not far from the lake under a dense bunch of young White Fir trees which provided shelter from rain and wind when the storms eventually passed overhead. The clouds continued to build until the first rumbles of thunder were heard in the distance. The chirping calls of Mountain Chickadees and Dark-eyed Juncos are heard along with other birds, and frogs can be heard in the distance in the remaining pools of the fast drying lake. As the storms moved closer, gentle rain began to fall and a light breeze blew through the trees above. The thunder became increasingly loud and powerful until it passed directly overhead. Recording by Kelly Rafuse | |||
| Lake in an Ecuadorian Jungle | 05 Apr 2024 | 01:01:20 | |
Early in the morning I walk along a remote lake in Ecuador’s lower Amazon basin. Far from a city, road, or town, the sounds here are all natural. Thick foliage covers the ground and sky. Everywhere is muddy. Leaves dripping from a recent rain. Dawn approaches and the barking croak of giant frogs gradually becomes less frequent. Mysterious birds calling nearby. The jungle here is one of the most unique and pristine environments I have witnessed. Evoking a sense of magic for me anytime I listen. Recording by Nick McMahan | |||
| Pambar Shola | 29 Mar 2024 | 00:55:16 | |
To record a soundscape characteristic of this region – and attempt to encapsulate my observational thoughts and views as a soundscape recordist – I arrived at a preserved section of the forest. The Pambar Shola plantation acts as a nursery for shola trees, which grow in the shade of taller pines and eucalyptus. A visual change was provided by a few rhododendrons – a Himalayan species believed to have spread over 1,200 miles (2,000 km) during periods when the temperature and ecology of the Western Ghats and the Himalayas were similar, due to seed dispersal by birds. I stationed my equipment beside a small stream, the sound of which, to me, symbolized the larger ecological processes taking place over centuries in the Western Ghats, to create a soundscape which could become a starting point for discussing Vattakanal, as per the hypothesis I am trying to explore through this project. At a personal level, I will remember this flowing water as the sound of sunrise in a tropical forest in the Western Ghats, layered with the sounds of birds, the occasional howling of Nilgiri langurs, and the distant barks of dogs which had followed me along the trail. This excerpt is from the article Soundscapes of Lesser Nature, by Mustard Lake, a grantee of our field recording grant program. | |||
| Artist Talks: Axel Drioli | 26 Mar 2024 | 00:51:54 | |
Eight episodes went by so fast! Symbolically, this episode with Axel was the first one to be recorded. Since our conversation, Axel travelled south into the west coast of Africa and is currently in Sierra Leone, to record and tell the stories of migratory birds in the East Atlantic Flyway. So, this will be a special one! We talk about the dynamics of this impressive journey, how technology led Axel to nature and out of the studio, his crazy blindfolded experiment in the streets of London, our general will to encounter "exotic" animals and how that can deafen us to the wonders right outside our window. Learn about Axel and Ario's project on the Sounding Wild page and connect with them on Instagram and Twitter. You can listen to some of their recordings on earth.fm. Episode's references: Virtual Barbershop (listen with headphones) Book Becoming Wild: How Animals Learn Who They Are, by Carl Safina Field recording work: Songs of the Humpback Whale: Dr. Roger Payne If you have been enjoying this season of Artist Talks reach out to us, maybe leave a comment where you listen to the podcast. Until next time!
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