Episode 44: Mustang Love

This is what the 12-cylinder, 1,490 horsepower Merlin engine sounds like in a P51 Mustange vintage fighter plan, starting up then doing close passes. I recorded this plane, as well as a Stearman biplane and a Trojan T28, at a small air show in Valle, Arizona. It was a great opportunity to record right by the runway and capture the exhilarating sound of the Mustang roaring by.

The P51 was a crucial fighter plane for both the US and Britain in WWII - and they were also flown by the US in the Korean War. You can learn more about them on this informative video:

https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/how-the-p-51-mustang-became-a-legend

Episode 43: Postcard From Patagonia

These are field sound recording samples I put together from an adventurous riding holiday I went on, some years ago. Our group rode 400km across southern Patagonia in Argentina and across the border into Chile. Billed as an ‘Across the Andes on Horseback’ trip it didn’t disappoint. Wonderful 6-8 hour days in the saddle, through marvellous scenery. The photo is a shot taken riding towards the Lanin volcano, which sits right on the border between Argentina and Chile.

Sounds in order of appearance: Galloping horse, Chilean hueso (Aldo) playing the accordion; flock of parakeets; horse whinnying & grazing grass; setting off & meeting cattle being herded by gauchos; big river crossing; description of the day’s scary ride; washing in a chilly mountain stream; mounting my horse on day 8; Chilean trip leader & expert horseman Rodolfo Coombs giving riding tips; last morning sunrise commentary; Black-faced Ibis.

These were tricky conditions to record in. I used a cheap recorder & mini mics, which I wore. But an audio postcard like this evokes memories of a trip in a totally different way from images alone.

I hope that it inspires you to try making an audio postcard on your next holiday adventure.

Episode 42: Pansori

Pansori (판소리) is a dynamic and historic form of Korean musical story telling that has been designated as ‘Intangible Cultural Heritage’ by UNESCO. In many ways it encapsulates several centuries of Korea’s history in one heady audio cocktail.

Invented in the 17th century, pansori was originally sung only by men. Then in the 1850s along came a woman called Jin Chae Seon - who dared to sing pansoiri so well that she trail blazed a path for many women singers to follow. There’s a 2015 Korean film about her called ‘The Sound of a Flower’

Listen with headphones for the full immersive experience.

Photo: Brian Negin https://www.flickr.com/photos/bdnegin/

Episode 41: Space Invader Frogs

As I continued by nocturnal explorations through the tropical rain forest on Barro Colorado Island in the middle of the Panama Canal, I was on the trail of a remarkable sounding creature.

Anyone remember the 1978 arcade game Space Invaders? I couldn’t help feel there were some similarities!

Further research revealed that the simple story of how the female frogs of this species chose their mates is actually more complicated than I’d thought:

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aab2012

Episode 40: Surrounded by Sapphires

The dense cacophony of the Panamanian rain forest during the rainy season after dark is an intense experience. Join me as I go into that tropical night … and take a walk along a forest trail that appears to be surrounded by sapphires…

Episode 39: Monster Munch

Its rare to get the chance to record wild animals close up without them being disturbed by human presence. But this was one of those occasions - I love these scary little monsters’ breathy grunting, chomping - and teeth clacking.

Contact me for information and pricing on bespoke sounds and sound packages.

Episode 38: Mangrove Manoeuvres

Latitude 9.40 degrees N Longitude 78.86 degrees W.

Take a audio tour with me from the outskirts of the busy Panamanian port of Colon through the mangrove forest to the Smithsonian Tropical Research Instutes’s coastal research station at Punta Galleta where we dive beneath the waves to hear the lively underwater soundscape too.

Photo: STRI

Episode 37: Osprey Dawn

The dawn chorus on the Colorado Plateau of the southwest US is punctuated by the cries of nesting ospreys, anywhere there’s a river or lake nearby.

This soundscape was recorded very early and so there’s fabulous reverb across the high altitude meadow surrounded by pine trees.

Photo by Andrew Orr: https://www.andrew-orr.com/

Episode 36: Neptunes Tresses

This is Posidonia oceanica - which forms undersea meadows … important in protecting Mediterranean beaches from erosion during storms.

Go to Instagram: @inthesoundfield to see the video of this seagrass being washed by sunset waves and glistening like gold.

Episode 35: Sardinian Sheep Chase

Why was I chasing sheep around Sardinia? Because they wear bells which tinkle charmingly when the flock is on the move.

It turned out not to be a simple task. The flocks are typically on private land, guarded by a sheep dog. And then, if I could get close enough, there was the challenge of making a recording free of passing traffic and overflying planes…

Episode 34: Seagull Town

This episode was recorded in the most notorious ‘seagull town’ in the UK. Can you guess where? There are some clues in my narration.

The shrill repeated piping you can hear towards the end are the cries of juvenile seagulls calling for food to parents who are rapidly leaving them to fend for themselves among the rooftops.

Episode 33: Heatwaves

Excerpts of hot weather soundscapes are mixed here with insights from fellow scientists when I worked at Arizona State University. in the Global Institute of Sustainability.

The message is how little has changed in 20 years - despite our capability to switch to techmology that reduces CO2 emissions to a fraction of their current levels. Metro Phoenix is sadly, a superb example of extreme long-term unsustainability.

Episode 32: Life in Ancient Teotihuacan

What might a stroll through the streets of Teotihuacan have sounded like in its heyday, around 300AD when it was the largest city of the entire Americas?

Find out in this episode….

Episode 31: Binaural Freight Train

Use good headphones for the best listening experience - and you’ll be standing right in front of the crossing gates as an enormous BNSF freight train thunders by.

You can learn all about how and why American freight train horns came to sound this way in this feature I made for BBC Radio 4: https://on.soundcloud.com/b6WGmcq8Q9JqEAft9

Episode 30: Mockingbirds

Especially in the spring in many American suburbs, mockingbirds often sing right through the night. Their beautiful everchanging songs are typically made by piecing together imitations of other bird callls … and other sounds around them - like car alarms!

How they compose these songs is intriguing - learn more here: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/06/210603171153.htm

and by listening to this episode…

Episode 29: The Hidden Voices of Rocks

These are not my own recordings but were made with seismometers by researchers at the University of Utah, then sped up 25 times to bring them into the human hearing range. Best appreciated on good headphones.

Unbelievable that crashing waves on the coast of California can be picked up in vibrations in rock formations as far away as Utah!

Episode 28: A Thousand Bicycles

This was recorded on the Han River bike trail towards the end of the first big firework display in Seoul since the Covid pandemic restrictions had ended.

I’d never seen … or heard so many bicycles in one place at the same time!

Episode 27: Ravens

In this episode I focus on ravens of the American West - very different in their behaviour from ravens further east and in Europe, they’ve adapted to a more communal lifestyle.

You can hear a piece I made about them for Arizona Public Radio here: https://on.soundcloud.com/fPC9UtfMXpo58sDQ7

Photo: Heckle & Jekyll by Eyal Shochat

Episode 26: Forest Bathing

Forest bathing or 森林浴, 森林 (shinrin, "forest") + 浴 (yoku, "bath, bathing”) is the Japanese therapeutic practise of relaxing in nature.

Often its the soundscape that is the most relaxing element. In this recording, waves of wind play over the canopy of the world’s largest ponderosa pine forest.

Episode 25: Singing Sands

There are singing sands in several locations around the world. I recorded these on the Kelso Dunes in the Mohave Desert of California, using a combination of a Rode NT4, a pair of DPA 4060s and a hydrophone buried beneath the surface of a dune face.