Traveling Without Moving: The Field Recording Thread

[innerspaceboy]

It doesn't look like this community has a dedicated thread for field recordings so I thought I'd create one and share the sonic resources I've discovered in my journey this year.

rostasi on MB pm-ed me a wealth of field recording resources from around the web and I've been steadily adding to it in the months that followed. I'll share a comprehensive list of the library I've assembled to date below.

The Conet Project - Shortwave Numbers Stations archive (free on the Internet Archive)
https://archive.org/details/The_Conet_Project-1681

And use websdr.org to tune in to those frequencies live.

framework radio:
https://frameworkradio.net/
(if you join as a patron, you are sent voiceover-free shows)

Cities and Memory:
https://citiesandmemory.com/
This interactive global map was an instant favorite!

Headphone Commute:
https://headphonecommute.podbean.com/

The Lake Radio:
https://thelakeradio.com/

low light mixes:
https://lowlightmixes.podbean.com/

Slow Radio:
https://podcast.app/slow-radio-p394487/

... and this may have more talking than you're looking for,
but they are generally only one hour long:

Sound Propositions:
https://soundpropositions.com/podcast/

I Googled more and found this list:
https://player.fm/podcasts/Field-Recording

There I found several from WFMU -

WFMU Field Recording-Themed Podcasts:

Sinner's Crossroads with Kevin Nutt | WFMU
https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/110790

Ken's Last Ever Radio Extravaganza | WFMU
https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/111137

Do or DIY with People Like Us | WFMU
https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/PL

Airborne Event Dronecast | WFMU
https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/DC

Note - I tried these briefly. Most were either not actual field recordings, and the only one that appeared to be, (the Dronecast), is from 2009 and doesn't work anymore.

Further research yielded something of note so I thought I'd share for any interested parties.

While searching the nearly 79,000 field recordings in the audio category on The Internet Archive, I found that most of the results were tagged as "radioaporee." Googling that expression led me to this -

radio aporee ::: global soundmap project
https://aporee.org/maps/
(Effectively the RadioGarden of field recordings)

And Wikipedia's page for "sound map" cites the same URL under "External Links."

The site offers an interactive map of the world with field recordings sourced from each location, playable directly in a mobile or desktop browser.

And from the r/fieldrecordings subreddit I found...

https://earth.fm/
Another global map with searchable properties

and I also found...

Sleep Music - Headspace
https://www.headspace.com/sleep/sleep-music

Ambient Sleeping Pill
https://ambientsleepingpill.com

Calm
https://www.calm.com/app/music

Ultima Thule
www.ultimathule.info/listen.html

Sleepbot
sleepbot.com

Ambient-Sounds
https://ambient-sounds.com

SomaFM
somafm.com

myNoise
https://mynoise.net/

and

George Vlad
https://soundcloud.com/georgevlad
https://mindful-audio.com

with honorable mention to:

Radio Garden
radio.garden/

Please feel free to add reviews of any of the sites above or inform me of other similar sites you enjoy and I'll add them to the parent post. Share the wealth!

[Lexi Darling]

Wow, what a wonderful resource, ISB! 

Some of the music I have made (and am currently making ) has used samples I recorded myself or sampled from various obscure sources. I've technically been doing this for over 20 years, some of my earliest music included sounds I sampled from video games. All of that stuff is sadly lost.

I still want to try to sift through my music archives and post some here once life calms down a bit.

[larsvsnapster]

I've got a super fondness for Touch Music's catalog.  My favourites are the Ritual compilation series and if it's got Chris Watson's name on it I'm there.  My favourite of his was his audio recollection of visiting the south pole. 

[Guybrush]

I've also been out sampling, always around the ocean, trying to catch the sound of waves lapping on a shore or maybe the creaking of a boat being gently rocked.

On a couple of occasions, I've gone out at night so as to avoid any traffic noise that might otherwise pollute my recordings.

I just used a relatively cheap Zoom H1 with a windscreen / foam cap and hooked up to my phone by USB.

My general purpose was to mix it with music, though, like at the start of this track.

[grindy]

More Musique Concrete than straight field recordings, but I guess the styles are kinda intertwined.
This is beautiful and mysterious.

The Tower (The City) by Vanessa Rossetto/Lionel Marchetti

[grindy]

Currently on a bit of musique concrete/field recording binge, so I'll just post stuff I'm enjoying atm.

Eric La Casa – Barri�è�res Mobiles

A series of sound impressions and an audio documentary of metal barriers placed at entrances to public buildings after the coordinated 2015 Paris attacks by ISIS; 29 compositions recorded and mixed between 2018-2023 by Eric La Casa, wondering what the barriers protected Parisians from, and answering the question of what Paris sounds like to the barriers themselves.

[grindy]

Graham Lambkin & Jason Lescalleet - The Breadwinner

Absolutely deserves its classic status. Cozy, scary, familiar, alien. Made for headphones and late nights.

"The material for The Breadwinner was recorded at Lambkin's house in upstate NY, over two recording sessions. The duo treated the entire building and its surrounding grounds as a studio, welcoming in outside sounds, which were later kept or eliminated as they felt appropriate. The subtitle on the front cover is "musical settings for common environments and domestic situations", layering numerous submerged fragments to find beauty in everyday life.

[innerspaceboy]

Thanks so much for sharing! And from my neck of the woods no less!