Field Recordings

“My father and I got into the car and hurried to the railroad crossing, willing to get there in time to record: just minutes earlier we heard the distant sound of a train about to leave town. We got there seconds before the locomotive rushed past us saturating the microphone. The freight cars picked up speed as they pulled away from the station but everything went silent at the peak of this...

“Every year in September and October is the deer mating season, you can hear them all over the natural park. It is something unique, especially when you are fortunate enough to also see them.”

“It’s the rainy season now, and at night frogs would show up and start making sounds—somehow it was like they’re talking to each other, forming a busy temporary town under the dark landscape of tall bushes. Rain caused high streams of water flowing, joining the crowded soundscape. I stood at a distance enough to observe, while a few motorbikes passed by, and the smell of the abat...

“Here is a recording of snow falling on the recorder and into a small stream that feeds into the River Dart. Plus a bonus call from the Jay that nests nearby!”

“I made it around dusk as I wanted to get the call of the  Baja California  frogs that live on this stretch of the river… it’s a part of the river which hasn’t completely been trapped in concrete as the water table is too high, and as such, the concrete bottom was never able to stick here. It’s a peculiar, but in my opinion stunningly surreal part of LA.”

“Walking around Walthamstow Wetlands in late October, moments before the area was shut down due to a threat from an armed person.”

“I made this crappy phone recording late one evening, passing through Shadwell on my way home. I was admiring the quaint docklands architecture along Cable Street (and the clear skies – I think it was a full moon that night) when I approached a stationary London bus. The sound coming from it was so peaceful and unexpected. I inspected the bus; it was empty, and the driver had propped h...

“The sound of birds, constantly falling leaves mixed with very light rain, some forestry work in the background and the odd plane above.”

“A field recording of Melbourne city from a cyclist’s perspective. This is the combination of two recordings that were made simultaneously. One was made with a contact mic attached to the seat post of my bicycle just in front of the chain. This was to record the sound of the operation of the bicycle. The atmos was recorded with the inbuilt microphones of a Zoom H5 portable recorder cov...

“We rented a small boat for the day to explore the island. We found several coves only accessible by sea. While anchored at one of these coves I noticed how wonderful the sound of the water hitting the boat was and had to capture it.”

“After all the day tourists have left and the evening starts to set in Haworth becomes very quiet and eerie. With the church and Brontë parsonage to one side and fields to the other the beautiful cemetery stands deserted. Just birds and livestock populate the area. This is my favourite time for a visit.”

“Cobh, February. A slimy slipway with uncertain footing. A microphone collects a rasping tone as the tape, holding it to a barnacle encrusted hand-rail, gives way. Secured, it reveals a metallic, reverberant, sonic world, brought forth by the percussive action of waves. The rail-end slips below the green, foam-topped water, and seeks to convey the holder to the depths.”

“Here I’m at a late night tennis match. I think it started just before 8 PM and went until around 10:30. It was at a tournament in North Carolina”

“Recording taken from the streets of the Old Town in San Sebastian after the final race of the Bandera de la Concha rowing regatta. This day was the final race of the summer and, to celebrate, all the local towns in the Basque region descend on San Sebastian to cheer on their local skiff boat and then pack the bars of the old town to celebrate/commiserate (mainly celebrate).”

“Recorded on a Sunday morning at the glorious Tooting Bec Lido where swimmers were enjoying the last of the summer sun.”

“A metal tube, maybe 30cm long, 3cm diameter, is threaded by a weathered rope whose hair-like filaments protrude in multiple directions. The rope sags in places and is taut in others as it describes a tired quadrilateral. Here and there hang other lengths of pipe. They used to form a handrail around a deck of sheared and twisted planks. The deck ends in a set of treacherous wooden stairs, wh...

“From October 2023 to May this year, the Government issued over 100 new licences allowing UK companies to sell arms to Israel. On the 2nd September David Lammy revoked just 30 licences of the 350 currently granted. The licences revoked did not include the continued supply of spare parts for F-35 fighter jets, a key part of Israel’s military operations. On Saturday afternoon 300,000 peo...

“An early morning wander through RSPB Lakenheath Fen, Suffolk, on a bright May morning. According to my bird identification app, throughout the recording, you’ll hear sedge warblers, blackbirds, a pheasant, a great tit, rooks, chiffchaffs, a wren, and the unmistakable call of the cuckoo.  A little bit of sonic sunshine for these grey afternoons.”

“Please find attached a recording and image of an amateur men’s football match in Sheffield on a very wet and gloomy Sunday. If the date in the calendar said 22nd September, everything else said that British Summertime had unceremoniously ground to a halt.”

“The autumn equinox fell on Sunday 22nd of Sept 2024 at exactly 1:43 pm. In the northern hemisphere, this is the moment when the sun is exactly above the equator; when day and night are of equal length. This moment marks the beginning of autumn, when the nights begin to draw in and daylight hours diminish.”