Nature Sounds CD's

Although not particularly relaxing I think Chris Watson (of Cabaret Voltaire fame) does some EXTREMELY well recorded field recordings. He's held in the highest regard. His album Weather Report has three 15-20 minute sections...14 hours in Kenya's Masai Mara, a Scottish valley using recordings over a four month period & a ride through an Icelandic glacier aboard a creaking wooden boat. He puts you right there in the thick of it all.

Nature is the only place for authentic sound. Virtually everything else is edited, distorted, compressed, amplified, accompanied, thickened, sweetened, etc. Audiophiles only have to go outside to hear a perfect original performance. An infinite variety of natural sounds exist. If you want a hobby, collect only recordings of one type of fauna (insects; frogs; whales; etc.) or location (shorelines; national parks; rain forests; etc) or weather (thunderstorms; rain; wind; etc).

The technology to make broadcast quality CDs is now more accessible but suitable locations are disappearing rapidly. I generally discard anything that sounds like a cassette recording or lacks “recorded on location” clues. The soundscape producers, in particular, are very passionate about quality and the effects of man-made noise.

The demand for Nature Sounds died in the late-90s. Some more names to research are:
· Jonathon Storm
· Bernie Krause
· Ruth Happel
· Peter Acker
· David Lumsdaine (Australian)
· Chris Watson
· Steven Feld
· “Sounds of Nature” Chuck Plaisance Suzanne Douchet

Another research entry point is the “field recording” clubs. Generally the most prominent members are also producers of their own recordings. I am always delighted to discover new material that indicates that someone is still “out there”.

For background sounds you might check out:

www.birdsongradio.com

link to stream:

http://chill.wavestreamer.com:8062/

A rewarding nature sounds style is “soundscape”. This is what you hear at a location, when sitting on chair, with your eyes closed. If you want to be transported to a place or time or season then seek out the appropriate recordings. There are CDs for many national parks, beaches, rivers, forests, and other desirable locations around the globe.

Generally field recordists who are passionate about quality will explore binaural recording. Get a binaural nature sounds CD and you should be astonished. With electrostatic headphones, every raindrop can be located in space. This may be a novelty but it is impressive. There are many sub-genres of binaural like nature, machinery, transport, cities, crowds, street noise, etc. The extra attention required for binaural recording normally indicates that the CD is also a superior recording in stereo mode. I wish artists would indicate if their CD is binaural. An artist of superb nature sounds binaural CDs is “Walter Tilgner”.

To add to my earlier postings, some of the discoveries you will make:
1. ‘Superb’ nature sounds overdubbed with ‘ordinary’ music. Obviously a famous name sells the outtakes to others.
2. CDs with half of the tracks as nature sounds and half sounds+music. Caters to all markets with one CD.
3. Nature sounds with a few non-natural sounds (chimes, etc) to make the CD a ‘creation’ for copyright.
4. People offering reseller rights under your own label. What was the original source ?
5. CD-R issues. I get annoyed when sellers pass off CD-Rs as stamped CDs.
6. Avoid anything claiming subliminal or therapeutic benefits.
7. Some recommended artists issue boring CDs. Who wants an hour of uninterrupted surf ? They should have gone to pebble, sandy, rocky, and cliff beaches on calm, normal, and stormy days for a bit of variety.
8. Wind noise is very distracting. The extraordinarily sensitive (high quality) mikes are easily overwhelmed by wind and this pops your speakers.
9. Creative overdubbing is irritating if you are knowledgeable about nature. eg. Activity during thunderstorms; combining species from different regions; having ground cover and high-flying birds together; hearing day and night species together; getting seasons and species mixed; insects can’t fly in gales. An example when less interference is more rewarding.
10. CD label claims to enhanced stereo or full-surround sound are just marketing ploys. On my system, the playback quality for these is usually worse than for normal CDs.
11. All assessments of quality is relative to past experience. Most Amazon site CD reviewers are incorrect when making claims of relative quality. Be wary of “this is the best, most authentic, absolutely realistic” claims until you have listened to some of the recommended names. eg. A quality thunderstorm CD should send a tingle down your spine and rock the foundations, anything else is a con.
12. Your favourite artists are born and die but nature is eternal. This is an open-ended hobby for collectors.

Two more producers worthy of investigation are Jean Roche(with 70 nature recordings) and Lang Elliott. My apologies to other producers of quality not yet purchased and named.

A perfect binaural recording would sound odd in stereo so most binaural recordings have blended sound fields to get a compromise effect.

Since the content is timeless, a CD may be reissued with updated covers or with different ownership.

Over time, nature sounds will become historic documents because of species extinction, global warming, deforestation, urban expansion, drought, etc. The location may be destroyed but we can still hear it.

The limited combinations of words like NATURE NATURAL SOUNDS REFERENCE SEA OCEAN RAINFOREST SERIES etc creates identical titles with completely different contents.

Don't bother purchasing in mall record shops. You will have more luck in the throwout bins, pawn shops, thrift shops, eBay, Amazon, etc. Look in the ambient/new age category.

Eventually you will become discerning and start discarding. I suggest starting the absurd like whales singing to orchestra; the impossible like an orchestra in the rain; the out of context like wolves in a jazzclub; the doodling of free-range musicians; the insulting of maestros like Bach at the beach; the overlay of classic warhorses in inappropriate settings (Pachelbel Canon is common), etc.

If you like the music, then I suggest you go to the sources of high-quality ambient music like Windham Hill.