Field Recordings

“I recorded this snippet from the window of my room as I was lying in bed and listening to the Organ being played in the church next door and people walking by.”

“A concrete structure built 100 years ago to detect the sound of aircraft flying over the channel. Did it work? No! But it still stands despite this, and despite the years and the weather since (today: 30mph winds).”

“Five minutes out of the wind while walking along the Kent coastline.”

“Captured from the bridge above the station. You can hear trains passing by, coming into the station and going out, as well as people coming and going. A small, busy station full of London life.”

‘Hold On’ was written by Heidi Wilson, in the wake of a tragedy in Walden, Vermont six years ago. In 2026, people have begun to sing this song in cities around the world, most poignantly in Minneapolis – as groups began singing in the face of ICE’s devastating presence. This recording was made by Will Coley at a Resistance Sing In in New York, a collaboration between Resist...

“At the New York City Resistance Sing In on March 19, activists from several groups shared and taught protest songs to a packed Riverside Church. Claire from Singing Resistance Minneapolis brought this song that was written to encourage ICE agents ‘to walk away from the path of violence and take accountability for harm they’ve caused.'”

“ere’s a field recording of a scrap metal man who comes round my village; Bream, The Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, UK. I had been trying to catch his call for months, and when he drove up my lane I only had my phone at hand. It was recorded in the summer of 2025. You can hear his call as he passed my house, then the chatter of sparrows and the hum of bees, and finally his call from...

“It was a sunny but windy day, with the wind constantly picking up and stopping. The fence kept moving with the wind and banging, along some creaky garden decorations.”

“The intermittent field recordings series of hedges filled to the brim with birds continues… This is the sound of a mobile phone held inside a hedge that was singing.”

“For the past month I keep being woken up around 4am by (what I think is) an exuberant blackbird. Finding myself awake in the early hours, I’ve been reading about their nighttime singing on birdforum.net (which is honestly delightful). As the seasons change and the light shifts, apparently they can often be heard doing ‘midnight serenades’. Two nights ago I had my recording...

“At the beginning of the year the ponds in the park near where we live froze over. One morning we took a hydrophone to a shallow, frozen reflecting pool – pushing the microphone through a hole in the ice. You can hear tinkling fragments, squeaky creaks and the sound of us taking turns to throw large blocks of ice across the frozen surface. Next to us a little boy was having fun smashin...

“This field recording was made at 7:00am on a peaceful August morning on Bois Blanc Island, Michigan, in Lake Huron.  Taken from a cozy, rocky shore, it’s marked by the sounds of lapping waves and early morning bird calls. I used the remaining 12 minutes of the field recording as background for the other 3 tracks on my EP, The Island, which can be heard at thenewrunes.bandcamp.com and...

“Sharing a recording from Naarm/ Melbourne, at the annual Invasion Day rally, held on the steps of Victoria’s Parliament House today, 26 January.  In the recording, Arrernte woman, Celeste Liddle, delivers a statement from Warriors of the Aboriginal Resistance (W.A.R.) calling among other things for 26 January to be declared a National Day of Mourning.”

“To me, the sound of bagpipes playing is like being healed from the inside out. Outside the temperature was 14 degrees, inside the air warmed by the comfort of poetry, scotch, and music — a roomful of people gathered in midwinter.”

“I’ve been doing a tonne of cross-country skiing just north of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada in Gatineau Park, Quebec.  One spot, at the intersection of 2 wide trails is popular for stopping for a chat, and has been nicknamed ‘Gossip’s Corner’. Under ‘Gossip’s Corner’ passes a stream which continues to flow most of the winter, often under layers of ice and snow....

“Towards the end of a lunchtime walk I paused for the sounds that were jostling with each other: an intermittent building-site drill, passing planes, water flowing, and some combination (maybe – I’m not an expert!) of parakeets, a robin, magpies, and a crow or two (??)…. Hoping another listener might correct / help on that front.”

“I went to a WSL game last week – Arsenal vs Man Utd at the Emirates in London and took a few recordings in the 37’000 strong crowd. It was 0-0 but still pretty fun. It’s like being at an enormous panto. My 74 year old Man U supporting neighbour came and sat amongst us Arsenal fans – you can hear him quietly singing about midway through. You can do that at women’s games wit...

“On 16-18th of December 2025 tens of thousands of Lithuanians gathered by the Parliament in protest against plans to politicise the public broadcaster, LRT. Over 143,000 people also signed a petition, making it the most popular online petition to date. The list of those calling on the lawmakers to step back included national and international media watchdogs and NGOs, the European Broadcasti...

“My friends and I were told by our hotel host that this is one of the most remote villages in Slovenia, that tonight was a rare opportunity to see many of the mountain-dwelling residents in one place. We decided to make our way to the Midnight Mass at the old church up the hill. And these propulsive, polyrhythmic bells ushered everyone in from the cold.”