Field Recordings

“Alcoutim sits on the shore of the River Guadiana, which acts as a natural border between Portugal and Spain. While having a drink nearby the wind picked up and the boats and Jetty started making a wonderful noise. Note how the local Church bell rings 3pm and, a couple of minutes after, the Church in Sanlucar De Guadiana (across the river in Spain) rings 4pm! Marking the time difference between the two countries.”

“About 300 people watched the Euro’s final at MOTH club in Hackney, London. It ended with a tense penalty shoutout and joyous celebrations (at least from the Lionesses’ supporters).”

“Hundreds gather outside Downing Street banging pots and pans as Israel’s blockade continues to cause the starvation of Palestinians in the Gaza strip. 120 people – 80 of them children – have been confirmed dead from famine as of 26th July. In the last 24 hours two babies have died from malnutrition. Nearly 1000 Palestinians have been shot to death by Israeli soldiers whilst queuing for food.”

“Binaural recording made on Samsung Galaxy S20 using Roland CS-10EM earbuds.”

“This is from February, so not very current at all… But I still love the sound. The snow was delightfully squeaky and I took every chance I could to stomp around during my wonderful stay there this past winter.”

“An emergency protest hours after parliament voted 385 to 26 to proscribe Palestine Action as a terrorist group. Palestine Action are a direct action protest group who target Israeli weapons factories in the UK and their supply chain. This vote happened on the same day that MPs – including Yvette Cooper who drafted the order to amend the Terrorism Act – dressed up in sashes to celebrate 97 years since the suffragette’s direct action tactics helped secure women’s right to vote. 111 Palestinians were killed by Israeli airstrikes on 2nd July in Gaza.”

“What a joy to stand in the rain alongside neighbours and elders on a day of protest!” An intergenerational singalong at the Brooklyn No Kings Protest, Prospect Park. Saturday, June 14th.”

“Here’s a recording I made on the sidelines of my son’s soccer (call it football if you want!) game in Brooklyn in May.”

“A lovely circular walk along the river where the ancient clapper bridge known as “The Tarr Steps” is located. A beautiful forested area with plenty of wildlife.”

“As part of the EBU International Audio Storytelling Festival, I organised a communal drone performance using skudučiai. Skudučiai (usually plural) are traditional Lithuanian folk instruments, simple wooden pipes, each producing a single pitch, meant to be played together, with or against each other, listening and arriving at shared melodies through connection in the moment. Each participant received a randomly selected pipe (kindly lent by my former high school music teacher, Ingrida) and joined in, following a few loose instructions. In the end, more than 80 people joined in and created beautiful textures and harmonies, idiosyncratic to the moment. The drone took place on 27 May 2025 in Vilnius. Thanks to Tėja and Mykolas for taking care of the recording.” Photo by Edvardas Blažys

“Last Sunday, I went field recording at Lerderderg State Park on Wurundjeri Country, about an hour away from my place. I recorded this from the dry creek bed as people walked the trails back to their cars at the end of their Mothers day activities. I love how they integrated into the soundscape”

“On route to Annapurna Basecamp which is a 12 day trek, we came across this vast waterfall, called a cascade as it features a series of small falls, all connecting to each other. Next to the waterfall was a Buddhist stupa that had memory bells adorned to the outside, each carved with a memory. As the bells rang, the waterfall rushed down the rocks to soundtrack them; it felt like the memories were brought back to life in that moment, carried by the flowing water.”

“I was recently in the Pacific North West of the USA. I captured the dawn chorus from a remote forest on Lopez Island – the third largest of the San Juan Islands off the coast of Washington State. Photo by Todd Stevens”

“It was lovely yet windy Saturday. I was enjoying the sounds of the trees moving at a small wooded area in front of the village church, with the village noises in the background.”

“…from my camp out at the Knepp estate last week – managed to creep up pretty close to a nightingale singing in the shrubby hedgerows. Absolutely gorgeous to fall asleep to them calling out to each other through the night.”

“I placed a hydrophone at the bottom of a large well-used saucepan and part filled it. The recording was a little disappointing, then I started playing with the speed and frequency of drips from the tap and managed to approximate a driving, but rather bass-free beat with a hint of melody.”

“Every morning, specially in the fine weather we are currently enjoying, I come out to listen to the birds, which all seem to be specially loud, managing to almost drown all the city noises.”

“Galloping Ghost Arcade in Brookfield, Illinois, claims to be the largest video game arcade in the world. They have over 1,030 arcade games, dating back to the 1970s. When I went on a recent Thursday night around 7pm, for a friend’s birthday, almost nobody else was there.”

“Thousands of people gathered on Saturday, March 22nd at Macy’s in Philadelphia, PA to hear the last performances of the Wanamaker Organ – possibly the world’s largest pipe organ – as the department store marked its final weekend in business. This is an excerpt from the final recital by John Wanamaker Grand Court Organist Peter Richard Conte. My wife gave this piece the unofficial title: ‘an elegy for in-person shopping’.”

“This recording is taken just off of the pier around midnight. The sea was so full of character I was completely enthralled and if you listen carefully you can hear the strong tide pulling the lava rock out to sea with it. I completely fell for its whispers and it was a real struggle to pull myself away to sleep.”

“I took myself to Derbyshire for a few days in early February. I walked up to Stanton Moor with my dog Rosie (not named by me!) looking for a Bronze Age stone circle called the Nine Ladies. Nearby were silver birches with their dead brown leaves rustling in the wind.”

“A morning recording outside Curious Fox Books, Berlin. Children and adults voices, passing bicycles. General ambience from people socialising, children playing. An S-Bahn train arrives to the nearby Gorlitzer Bahnhof.”

“It’s quiet time at the Fulton Fish Market — though the forklifts still move fast and beep loudly. A fish hook is an extension of oneself, used to sling tuna, black sea bass, and salmon, from crates to weighing stations. The market moved from the South Street Seaport to the Bronx in 2005. Now, it’s in an industrial part of the borough, next to the city’s floating prison Vernon C. Bain Center and Rikers Island. It’s mostly wholesale buyers here from restaurants and gourmet markets in the early hours of the morning (open from 2-7 am). There have been less tourists, “cash people,” as they call them, since the market moved from Manhattan.”

“The wonderful steam train arrives at Haworth station. I love how the arrival is reasonably quiet but upon departure you hear the power of the steam engine echoing around the valley.”

“A group of organizers had distributed flyers in our neighborhood for a timely cathartic moment atop the large mountain park that overlooks the city of San Francisco and the bay. It was organized to coincide with the swearing-in of the newest conservative American regime on Inauguration day. But one’s rage can’t be limited to whoever is in the presidential office. We scream for a litany of injustices—an endless list that cannot be exhausted here. Many rages filled my lungs that day and escaped my mouth in an inarticulate howl. Beneath the rage was a yearning for:Justice for Palestinians everywhere. Justice for trans folks everywhere. Justice for refugees everywhere.” Photo credit: Josh Loring

“This morning I was delighted to find that, after quite a few months, this woodpecker has returned! Back to the very same tree. I love how the sound echoes around the garden.”

“Here is a little recording of our local spring. We hiked through 2ft of snow in the -10 temps to the head of our local creek. Due to the deep cold we are in, the ice formations around the spring are spectacular. The quiet babble of the creek makes this such a special place.”

“It was a lovely, bright morning. The birds were loud, trying to compete with the sound of passing planes heading to Heathrow airport.”

“Recorded using a contact microphone at Queen’s Park pond on the Southside of Glasgow, during a cold snap in January. The pond had frozen over (which doesn’t happen often), and people were walking and skating on it. One person asked if I was measuring the thickness of the ice. I handed my headphones round a group of kids, and it was fun to watch their reactions to the sci-fi noises. The faint mechanical sound at the end is a boy driving his remote-control truck across the pond.”

“From a country town called Deniliquin. We stayed at a caravan park down by the river, and at about midnight, I snuck out with my mic and went down to the bank.”

“As soon you walked into the park it was like someone was playing the noise out over massive speakers… It was like a giant congregation point before they headed off for their final resting place of that evening, which is usually under the pier.”

“The surf was about 2.5m with a strong on shore breeze. The beach we recorded on was protected from the wind and made wonderful recording conditions. The beach is in Ecola State Park next to Cannon Beach. I recorded this clip with a stereo pair of Clippy lapel mic’s and a zoom H5. This was recorded Jan 11 2025.”

“The drones are from the enormous petrochemical plant that dominates the skyline of the Immingham docks on the Humber.”

“Lovely quiet winter morning, next to one of the two water mills.”