Natural Soundscapes

The world is your field-recording oyster – here’s how to take advantage!

Though different endeavours, field recording and found sound recording are dealt with as one topic for much of what follows, but what is the difference?

Field recording refers to audio captured in its natural ON environment, be that a secluded forest or a church crypt; the recordist as an observer. Found sound refers to a more intentional recording of non-musical objects (rather than environments) with the intent to use them in a musical context, as epitomised by musique concrète. Just think of the world as one giant, evolving modular synth with an infinite array of outputs (points in space/time) ready for sampling by anyone equipped with a mobile recording device.

As with modular synthesis, most of the sounds are uninteresting, but there is always audio gold just waiting to be discovered. The results, from ambient soundscapes to percussive hits, can be original source materials for rhythm tracks, sampled-based synthesis, post-production work and so on. The rich timbres and unique (in)harmonic structures that occur outside the musical world can provide (poly)rhythmic loops, tones for stretching/pitching, and noise for impulse reverbs. It’s a cliché, but your imagination is the only limitation.