Four Records: Field Recordings/Nature/Animal and Human Environmental Sounds

Today I share with you pieces from my Sound FX/field recordings shelf...yes, I even have a section for those bad boys. I bring you an interesting mix of field recordings of animals in their natural habitat, as well as the sounds of humans in the city and even from inside the body.

Sometimes, we want to out on a record that isn't necessarily music, but provides us with the natural music of our everyday environment-or perhaps an environment totally unlike our usual setting. Perhaps it is good for background music, with less melodies and repetition of music that we are familiar with-perfect for getting work done without distractions. Some people like to meditate or sleep to ambient sounds or music. I have always searched for interesting records to use in mixes and for unique sample material, so I have always been fascinated by stuff like this.

Enjoy.

Roger Tory Peterson
A Field Guide To Bird Songs
1961

Here is a double record of over 300 species of birds from eastern and central North America. This is a companion to a book of the same name. I actually have the book as well and it has the same cover! On the inside and back cover there is a tracklist of all the different birds, so if you are looking for that ruby-throated hummingbird, you can find it with ease.

Dr. Hajime Murooka
Lullaby from the Womb
1974

This record contains "field recordings"from within the womb that's will supposedly stop the baby from crying-or at least to sooth them, I guess by tricking them to thinking that they are still in the comfort of their mothers womb, and not trapped in the harsh and unfair reality of the real world. This is the only clip I could find, but it does show a real world use case(and the comments seem to agree the record worked on their kids)...so, you be the judge! Please leave a comment if you have and history with this record!

Roger S Payne
Songs of the Humpback Whale
1970

This is a great record with different recordings of, you guessed it, Humpback Whale sounds. Recorded underwater with a special microphone called a hydrophone, he had a cable well over a thousand feet and just happened to pick up a whale song, which made him want to record more, leading to this record. There are several tracks on this record, including a whale family, a whale from a distance, and even slowed down whale songs. This record is a must-truly a whale of a time.

A Journey Into Stereo Sound
1958

"Stereo demonstration records" were a popular method to demonstrate the newest technology of the day. No doubt some salesman wanted you to throw away that old monophonic turntable and experience something closer to real life! One has to wonder why they never made Dolby 5.1 demonstration discs, but that's another story. Here we have a good mix of urban sounds, music and narration...and don't forget that sample from coldcut/rakim 7 minutes of madness remix! I'll leave a link, just for fun.

Thanks for reading...I hope you liked my post!