Sonic Journal - Accounts of field recording trips, audio experiments and sonic adventures

Sonic Journal EP33: Orchard Crows at Dawn [Binaural]Old apple and pear orchards can be the homes to many animals and unsurprisingly this often includes crows. It seems logical that such an intelligent species would not miss out on the delicious ripe fruits in early autumn, but with the crow being an animal steeped in folklore perhaps there are other darker reasons for them choosing to be amongst the pear trees! For this recording I placed the binaural head in the middle of an old Perry pear tree orchard in deepest Herefordshire (UK), and was especially taken by the intense corvid conversations that i picked up in the early morning after a moderate amount of fresh night rain.> Thanks for listening!For more info on the Sonic Journal Podcast including accompanying blog and location pics from each recording session head over to https://sonicjournal.tumblr.com/ or follow on Instagram: https://instagram.com/recordinguk/— Sonic Journal is now also featured in the top 25 Best Field Recording Podcasts list by Feedspot, take a look: https://podcasts.feedspot.com/field_recording_podcasts/Nice one:)

Sonic Journal EP31: Snaefelsness Spring ChorusIn Western Iceland, late May time, the dawn chorus is less an intense build and fall (as it is in the UK) and more of a rich plateaux of continuing bird calls. I was on the edge of a large wild bird nesting area bordering a campground and the sounds of Whimbrel, Redwing, Snipe, Arctic Tern and many others were creating this rich and angular textured soundscape. Headphones on, I gradually drift off to sleep after pressing record at around 8am, leaving the recorder running until the batteries finally run out... I'll never tire of spring chorus time in Arnastapi. > Thanks for listening!For more info on the Sonic Journal Podcast including accompanying blog and location pics from each recording session head over to https://sonicjournal.tumblr.com/ or follow on Instagram: https://instagram.com/recordinguk/— Sonic Journal is now also featured in the top 25 Best Field Recording Podcasts list by Feedspot, take a look: https://podcasts.feedspot.com/field_recording_podcasts/Nice one:)

Sonic Journal EP30: Snowy Winds on Midsummer Hill [Binaural]It was a cold Wednesday in March 2023 and there had been an unusually large dump of snow in recent days meaning i finally had an opportunity to get over to a favourite woodland to assess the sonics and record some weather. Unsurprisingly there were few people about when i was hiking up the valley side to my chosen microphone spot, although the winds were picking up meaning i had to seat the tripod legs solidly into the snow to keep the binaural head from toppling over. I sit it out on an insulated mat for an hour or so, listening carefully as the icy gales ripped up the valley, tearing past me and the microphones without a care... > Thanks for listening!For more info on the Sonic Journal Podcast including accompanying blog and location pics from each recording session head over to https://sonicjournal.tumblr.com/ or follow on Instagram: https://instagram.com/recordinguk/— Sonic Journal is now also featured in the top 25 Best Field Recording Podcasts list by Feedspot, take a look: https://podcasts.feedspot.com/field_recording_podcasts/Nice one:)#bass #thunder #meditation #nature #soundscape #fieldrecording #nofilter #binaural #dpamicrophones

Sonic Journal EP29: Queen Elizabeth Muffled Bells [St Matthias Church, Malvern]It is only on the rare occasion that church bells are chimed with mufflers on. Bells are half-muffled for Remembrance Sunday, but it seems only fully muffled when a king or queen dies. This recording was made on September 11th 2022. Muffled bells were heard around the country for ten days from September 9th to 19th 2022, sounding out a more solemn tone as a mark of respect. For more info on the Sonic Journal Podcast including accompanying blog and location pics from each recording session head over to https://sonicjournal.tumblr.com/ or follow on Instagram: https://instagram.com/recordinguk/— Sonic Journal is now also featured in the top 25 Best Field Recording Podcasts list by Feedspot, take a look and listen: https://podcasts.feedspot.com/field_recording_podcasts/Thanks for listening :)#churchbells #queenelizabeth #soundscape #muffledbells #fieldrecording #binaural #dpamicrophones

Sonic Journal EP28: Bees on Blueberry BlossomThis year the blueberry bush in our garden in early April was so full of blossom, and with blossom comes bees! I tucked an ORTF pair of Scheops CMC6 into the buzzing action and left it there. The bees certainly didn't seem to mind! For more info on the Sonic Journal Podcast including accompanying blog and location pics from each recording session head over to https://sonicjournal.tumblr.com/ or follow on Instagram: https://instagram.com/recordinguk/— Sonic Journal is now also featured in the top 25 Best Field Recording Podcasts list by Feedspot, take a look and listen: https://podcasts.feedspot.com/field_recording_podcasts/Thanks for listening :)#bees #springtime #blossomtime #nature #soundscape #garden #fieldrecording #nofilter #schoeps #malvernhills

Sonic Journal EP27: Fire Gong MeditationThis episode is a created/curated soundscape rather than a straight recording. A year or two back I experimented with a gong recording idea using a metal bowl placed on the binaural dummy head and played with my finger tips to see how the sound surrounded the head. From the recordings some layers of other sounds were added and the result is what you hear. I don't work on much of this type of thing, but quite enjoy the pairing of different textural recordings and processing chains to draw out particular mood or feel. I'm only really scratching the surface with this idea so I'm sure there will be more to come in future. For more info on the Sonic Journal Podcast including accompanying blog and location pics from each recording session head over to https://sonicjournal.tumblr.com/ or follow on Instagram: https://instagram.com/recordinguk/— Sonic Journal is now also featured in the top 25 Best Field Recording Podcasts list by Feedspot, take a look and listen: https://podcasts.feedspot.com/field_recording_podcasts/Thanks for listening :)#Gong #fire #soundscape #meditation #fieldrecording #binaural #dpamicrophones

Sonic Journal EP26: Early May Woodland at DawnA favourite woodland spot nestled into the side of the Malvern Hills is the location for this episode dawn soundscape. I've heard Cuckoo here for many years, and so it brought a smile to my face when again i heard that distinctive call. It is May 4th 2025 and I am trying out a 2x2 channel recording rig comprising of a binaural head plus a pair of Schoeps CMC6 (cardioid) mics spaced, as a comparison between the 'spatial' nature of the binaural and the warmer feel of the Schoeps. This audio is the Binaural stereo pair, but I may post the CMC6 pair in the future, lets see.For more info on the Sonic Journal Podcast including accompanying blog and location pics from each recording session head over to https://sonicjournal.tumblr.com/ or follow on Instagram: https://instagram.com/recordinguk/— Sonic Journal is now also featured in the top 25 Best Field Recording Podcasts list by Feedspot, take a look and listen: https://podcasts.feedspot.com/field_recording_podcasts/Thanks for listening :)#woodland #owl #springtime #cuckoo #nature #soundscape #meditation #fieldrecording #nofilter #binaural #dpamicrophones #malvernhills

Sonic Journal EP25: First Blackbird of spring - at 0445amEarly March, and each year there is one thing I look forward to hearing early in the morning, the sound of solo Blackbird song. This tends to start around 5am, gradually creeping earlier as we move into the season. I will open the bedroom window to let the Blackbird song in, and sometimes I record the song too, using a little A-B T bar rig with a small clamp, taking in the distant early morning traffic murmurs and general dawn soundscape. If I'm lucky the Blackbird will sit on the porch roof and sing, often for almost an hour.For more info on the Sonic Journal Podcast including accompanying blog and location pics from each recording session head over to https://sonicjournal.tumblr.com/ or follow on Instagram: https://instagram.com/recordinguk/ — Sonic Journal is now also featured in the top 25 Best Field Recording Podcasts list by Feedspot, take a look and listen: https://podcasts.feedspot.com/field_recording_podcasts/Nice one:)#blackbird #nature #soundscape #meditation #fieldrecording #nofilter #dpamicrophones #smalltown