SoundBlog: Excerpts from Ambient Field Recordings
A few years ago, building on a long career in music, broadcasting and corporate media production, I decided to tackle an entirely different challenge: capturing the awesome complexities of the natural and man-made soundscapes in the world around us.
I soon came face to face with a host of technical and creative hurdles that I had never confronted in decades of studio work. Through much trial and error, and with help from the great folks on the Nature Recordists e-mail forum, I slowly came to grips with many of those new challenges. Just as importantly, I began to appreciate the fact that ambient soundscape recordings are, at best, imperfect illusions of fleeting realities.
Armed with these new understandings, I set my sights on becoming an excellent "illusionist" in this rare category of media content. It is, most definitely, a journey... a work in progress.
- 192kbps MP3 files
- newest recordings on top
- archives of previous SoundBlog clips >>>
- brief discussion of stereo microphone techniques >>>
- for better or worse... except where noted, the photos are mine
WARNING: This material won't grab you by the ankles and swing you around in circles the way you might expect from some of your favorite popular music. If you decide to listen, be prepared to slow yourself down just a bit and let these stereo soundscapes establish themselves and settle over you in their own good time. If you're willing to do that, there's a good chance that you might enjoy a rewarding listening experience.
Curt Olson
Track Seventeen Productions, Inc.
Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota, USA
Copyright © Track Seventeen Productions, Inc. All rights reserved.
Romanian Mountain Valley <NEW>
In August 2010, I accompanied the Jason Harms Quintet, a Minneapolis-based jazz ensemble, on a ten-day tour in eastern Romania. The group performed in several churches and a handful of public venues.
We took a break one day and hiked into the mountains above the small town of Comanesti. Joining us were several young people from the Victory Baptist Church of Comanesti, where we enjoyed gracious accomodations for the first half of our time in Romania.
Just below the crest of the hill, I found a pine tree where I could hang my stereo recording rig.
I was able to orient it away from town and down into a small valley where a herd of cattle was grazing -- each one sporting its own bell. The local farmer calls to some of his critters to bring them in.
After a picnic lunch, we hiked back into town along a gravel road that followed a mountain strream. Below are a few sounds from that walk.
I'll link here to a more detailed report ASAP >>>
Sound Portrait: 2010 Midwest Nature Recordists Campout at Crex Meadows
On Friday Aprl 30, 2010, I was among a handful of nature sound recordists who converged on Crex Meadows Wildlife Area, just outside Grantsburg, Wisconsin, for a weekend gathering that has become an annual event for some.
Friday evening offered specatcular lightning displays from distant thunderstorms. Saturday was mostly cloudy, cold and exceptionally windy. Conditions began settling down after susnet, and by Sunday morning, when we all had to leave, the weather was absolutely beautiful. The photo below was taken mid-morning on Saturday.
I ended up spending most of that day with participants Paul Dickinson, from Chicago, and David Michael, from New York. And while they were busy recording interesting natural sounds, I was busy recording them.
Here's a heavily-layered sound portrait featuring some of Paul's and David's thoughts as they set up overnight recording stations an hour or so before sunset. Rob Danielson, from LaFarge, Wisconsin, who helped organize the event, frames the piece for us with some insights about the "nature" of nature recording. Special thanks to Rob and David for providing some of their great material, captured with unattended rigs Saturday night into Sunday morning:
Click here for a more detailed review >>>
Note: I found it strangely comforting to watch other nature recordists, some much more experienced than me, fidgeting endlessly with armfuls of unwieldy cables, connectors, tripods, microphones, digital recorders, batteries, blank media, headphones, fleece fabric and fake fur -- just like I often do!
Cruisin' for Babes
Springtime is mating season in the north woods, and that makes for some interesting natural sounds!
On Sunday evening April 18, 2010, I positioned a recording rig on the south side of Wagner Lake in the Chippewa National Forest of North Central Minnesota, USA. Skies were mostly clear; winds were dead calm; the temperature was an unseasonably warm 64 degrees Fahrenheit.
As the sun set, an American Woodcock began "cruisin' for babes" near my setup -- alternately "peenting" (this species' mating call) and making short display flights around the area. Here's an excerpt from the proceedings:
The next evenening, about four miles to the east, I was targeting the Wilson's Snipe and its "winnowing" sound, which is generated by air flowing over the male's outstretched tail feathers in an aerobatic display aimed at defending territory and attracting a mate.
To my happy surprise, one generous snipe performed his nifty maneuver almost directly over my microphone array, giving me the finest close-up recording of this behavior that I've yet been able to capture:
"If You're Wondrin' " -- Music from Easter Sunday, 2010
Easter Sunday is always a big deal at Bethlehem Baptist Church, a large multi-campus congregation in the Twin Cities where my wife and I are members, and where I serve part-time on the technical/media staff.
Jason French, one of our worship leaders, opened the services at our North Campus that weekend with an original work titled "If You're Wondrin'." I thought it was interesting enough to post here (with permisison, of course -- thank you, Jason!).
I captured this recording with a stereo microphone array near the sound mix location. There were about 1,100 people in the congregation and 70 or so on the platform. I was at the controls of the Yamaha M7CL-48 Digital Mixing Console.
A Bit of Tasty Dinner Music
The Naniboujou Lodge is located 15 miles northeast of Grand Marais, Minnesota, just 26 miles from the Canadian border. It's probably the most remarkable place to stay, and dine, anywhere on the North Shore of Lake Superior. Originally built in the early 1900s as an exclusive private club for the rich and famous, today it caters to a narrow niche of ordinary folks who value a really quiet getaway. And I do mean quiet... no TVs, no phones or internet (except at the front desk), and no clocks in the guest rooms during the summer tourist season.
From January through mid-March, the proprietors offer all-inclusive weekend packages, which my lovely bride and I have enjoyed several times, most recently the weekend of March 5-7, 2010.
Among the two dozen or so guests that weekend was professional harpist and vocalist Amy Kortuem. She was there from Mankato, Minnesota with her mother and an aunt, along with her hand-made Celtic harp. As part of her preparation for an upcoming concert, Amy decided to grace the Saturday evening meal with some tasty live music. It took only few minutes before I surrendered to temptation and dashed out to the car to fetch my light-weight recording rig.
The Naniboujou Lodge's dining room is a visual and acoustic delight, matched perfectly by the chef's exquisite menu. Here's a short snippet from more than 40 minutes of sweet sound captured during this fine dining experience.
Gooseberry Coast: Gentle Lapping Waves
The morning of February 1, 2010 was cold and calm on the North Shore of Lake Superior. Traveling to a race checkpoint on the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon, I decided to stop at Gooseberry Falls State Park, site of the "Winter Surf" recording I captured a few weeks earlier (see below).
The sun shone thorugh a light haze; a fog bank covered the Wisconsin shoreline across the big lake; the temperature was a couple degrees above zero (F); winds were calm inland, but light with occasional gusts along the water's edge. I positioned a recording rig on the icy rocks, just a few inches from the water. Talk about contrasts! The morning was so quiet that I couldn't avoid capturing traffic sounds from State Highway 61, a half-mile away.
Gooseberry Coast: Winter Surf
On December 9, 2009, a winter storm came roaring across Iowa, southern Minnesota and Wisconsin, delivering heavy snow and blizzard conditions along its path of highest impact. Hundreds of miles to the north, winds from this massive storm were stirring up the cold waters of Lake Superior.
Marine weather forecasts anticipated waves as high as 16 feet along MInnesota's North Shore. So I grabbed my field recording gear and headed for Gooseberry Falls State Park, about 40 miles northeast of Duluth. Unfortunately, the waves didn't reach 16 feet, but the big lake was impressive nonetheless.
Temperatures were in the low teens above zero (F). Winds were 20 mph, gusting to 35, which generated sub-zero wind chills that whole afternoon.
Capturing good recordings of heavy surf is difficult. Conditions are often adverse to microphones; the soundscapes themselves tend to be somewhat "flat" and, of course, seriously "noisy" -- with relatively little detail to interest the ear. Still, there's something awesome and strangely soothing about the sound of these mighty waters.
Note: The clip currently linked above is my third attempt at mixing this difficult material. It's probably time to move on and try again down the road with new raw recordings.
Quiet Mid-October Afternoon
By mid-October each year, most migratory birds have left their summer ranges in northern Minnesota, which seems to leave the entire region sounding pretty quiet -- until you stop to listen more carefully.
This clip is condensed from a longer recoridng captured in the early afternoon of Tuesday October 13, 2009. Skies were mostly sunny, with a few fair-weather cumulus clouds passing by; temperatures were in the low fourties (F); winds were light and variable. The recording site was along the edge of a pine plantation, surrounded by new deciduous forest growth.
Notice the beating wings of an unidentified large bird in flight at about 1:00; a Pileated Woodpecker calls occasionally from a distance and comes closer for a short solo at about 5:40; a "V" formation of ducks flies overhead with a jet-like sound shortly before the end of the clip.
Other brief appearances include Chickadees and a White-Throated Sparrow. An unidentified small bird flits about the microphone rig occasionally throughtout.
Sound Portrait: Desiring God National Conference
This is a proof-of-concept piece developed in cooperation with my friends at Desiring God, the resource arm of Bethlehem Baptist Church, a large Twin Cities congregation where my wife and I are members. I captured this material at the 2009 Desiring God National Conference, September 25-27, at the Minneapolis Convention Center.
Lazy Late-August Sunday
Nature recording is mostly a fair-weather pursuit, though the hours can sometimes be brutal. But on Sunday August 30, 2009, with the the weather just about as pleasant as it can ever be, I was feeling mighty lazy as we visited a family member in rural Springbrook, Wisconsin, about halfway between the towns of Spooner and Hayward.
Around 9:30 AM, I yawned, shuffled out to a grassy meadow near the house and let my recording gear do all the work. And just like that, with almost no effort at all, I managed to capture a sweet slice of coutry life.
Late that afternoon, before heading back to the Twin Cities, I positioned my gear next to the neighbor's small herd of beef cattle. I you have fond memories of the farm, you might appreciate this one. Certain city folk will most definitely not.
A Little Drought Relief, Please?
By mid-summer 2009, the Minneapolis/St. Paul area was experienceing a severe drought. The most extreme draught area extended 150 miles northeast from the Twin Cities into a large portion of northwestern Wisconsin. On Tuesday July 21, afternoon thunderstorms developed, but delivered only some wind, lightning and thunder, and scattered brief showers.
Here's a twelve-minute clip, recorded on the front steps of my home about ten miles north of downtown Minneapolis. There is a row of tall pines to the left, and a private drive in my neighborhood to the right.
Note: The University of Nebraska--Lincoln posts regular updates at its U.S. Drought Monitor page.
"Big Bombers" Weekend at Anoka County Airport
The weekend of July 17-20, 2009 brought three vintage WWII aircraft to Anoka County Airport in Blaine, MN. The event was part of the Collings Foundation's 2009 Wings of Freedom Tour, and was hosted locally by the Golden Wings Museum.
The first audio clip, below, is a layered composition featuring comments by aviation historian and airshow announcer Tom Lymburn, along with sounds from the Collings Foundation's Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress. During the commentary, the B17 flies into the soundscape from the east, crosses over the airport mid-field and enters a wide pattern for runway 36. After landing, it eventually taxis to the display area where it stops with its right wingtip just a few feet over my head. As the plane's giant radial engines spin down, you'll hear the sound of metal wheel chocks being set into place.
This B17 was accompanied by a Consolidated B-24J Liberator and its crew, along with a North American TP-51C Mustang flown by Reno Air Race pilot Will Whiteside. Here, the P51 makes a fly-by over runway 36 and then lands:
A few minutes later, the P51 taxis just beyond the viewing area, turns off the taxiway and powers to a stop:
The B24 Liberator, returning from a demonstration flight, makes a fly-by over runway 36 and then lands:
The following clips were recorded July 20th, as the three aircraft departed for Sheboygan, WI, the next stop on their tour:
P51C Mustang -- takeoff from runway 18, and then a fast fly-by over 36 :: Listen (1:45) >>>
B-24J Liberator -- takeoff from runway 18 and departure to the east :: Listen (:48) >>>
B-17G Flying Fortress -- takeoff from runway 18 and departure to the east :: Listen (:40) >>>
Finally... that same day, folks from the Golden Wings Museum were doing some testing on the museum's beautifully restored Ford Tri-motor. Here are three recordings of some of those activities:
Engine run-up :: Listen (4:07) >>>
Startup and taxi toward runway 18 :: Listen (4:46) >>>
Test flight takeoff from runway 18 :: Listen (1:26) >>>
Note: A few of these clips have seemingly long intervals between the more interesting portions. I chose to edit them that way to preserve the actual timeframes of some of the events.
Chance Encounter with a Grumman HU-16 Albatross
In mid July 2009, I visited Lake Superior for another round of shoreline recordings, following up on my previous attempts below -- this time at the Twin Points public water access. I was busy recording wave action with an experimental microphone array when a Grumman HU-16 Albatross, a heavy twin-engined amphibious aircraft, flew low and slow past my location.
I sure do love the sound of those big radial engines!
Mystery Solved: It's a Merlin
In early May 2009, I was making experimental shoreline recordings at a partially sheltered bay on the North Shore of Lake Superior. The place is called Pebble Beach, the location for most of the classic photos of Minnesota's beloved Split Rock Lighthouse.
While I was recording, a small bird of prey swooped into view and landed on a tree branch about 20 feet above my mic rig. It perched there for a minute or so, then flew down and landed on the pebbles about 20 feet in front of my mics.
I didn't have binoculars with me, but I could see that this bird was slightly smaller than a crow. It did not seem to perch straight up and down like a buteo, but rather leaning slightly forward. After checking my bird books, and asking members of the Nature Recordists e-mail forum to listen to this clip, the mystery bird has been confirmed as being a Merlin.
Some of the background sounds in this clip include a 2-3' surf hitting rocks a couple hundred yards away, toward the right, and gusty winds in the surrounding cedar and pine trees. Unfortunately, you can also hear some wind disturbance in my microphones and some vehicle traffic on a heavily used state highway about 1/4 mile back from the lake.
Stolen Moments from Walt Disney World
Can I get away with this? I suppose I'll find out soon enough. Below are three recordings I made at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom Park during a February 2009 family vacation trip.
Cinderella's Royal Saxaphonists :: Listen (1:58) >>>
"It's a Small World" Attraction* :: Listen (1:35) >>>
"Celebrate a Dream Come True" Parade :: Listen (15:50) >>>
* Don't blame me if that dreadful ditty gets stuck in your head for the next three days!
Flying Raven Mocks Sled Dog Team
At the end of January 2009, I spent a few days following the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon -- 374 miles from Duluth, Minnesota to the Canadian border and back again. Temperatures were sub-zero (F) most of that week. Such extreme cold handed me two opposing challenges: 1) keeping my batteries warm while recording outdoors for hours at a time; 2) keeping my micrphones cold while traveling between checkpoints.
On day three, after most of the field had dropped out, I hiked out onto the frozen expanse of Devil Track Lake, a few miles up the Gunflint Trail from Grand Marais, MN. It was just past noon. The temperature had risen to slightly above zero (F). Winds were about 10 mph from the southwest. The sun was shining brightly. Teams that remained in the race were beginning their down-bound run back to Duluth, after resting a few hours from mushing through the night in -30 degree cold.
I set up my recording gear on the west end of the lake, near the marked race trail, and walked a couple hundred yards beyond, in the direction from which the teams would be coming. After a long wait, John Stetson, the first musher to leave the Devil Track checkpoint, approached. His dogs barked when they saw me. Little did I know, but at that exact time a raven was flying right over my mic rig. It responded directly to the dogs barking -- almost mocking them.
More clips from the 2009 Beargrease race:
Highlights from the Gala Dinner :: Listen (3:28) >>>
HIghlights from the Cutest Puppy Contest :: Listen (2:31) >>>
HIghlights from the Opening Ceremony :: Listen (2:36) >>>
Jason Barron on the trail just off Devil Track Lake, downbound :: Listen (:54) >>>
Colleen Wallin at Devil Track road crossing, downbound :: Listen (1:09) >>>
Crowd Welcomes Second-Place Finisher John Stetson :: Listen (1:14) >>>
Winner Jason Barron Crosses Finish Line :: Listen (1:31) >>>