Synthesized Field Recording V9.1

upon first listen, this may sound like a traditional field recording of nature sounds. but that’s not the case. no microphones were used in the making of this audio. every sound you hear is made completely from scratch using synthesizers.

for this piece, each sound started from either a basic waveform or white noise. these raw tones were generated and manipulated using an array of synthesizers to form individual sounds you may recognize from the natural world. birds are sine waves with quick descending pitch envelopes. ocean waves are white noise with a filter. the sounds were then performed, recorded, and layered in ableton. editing such as volume adjustments, equalization, splicing, reverberation, and other treatments were applied.

the result is a “field recording” that is completely handmade. a hyper-realistic audio landscape painting.

over the course of the 9 minute piece, there are 4 scenes. each one made either from memory or by sitting at my open window mimicking what i heard. trying to pick out the different types of bugs in a chorus of insects. their unique rhythms, durations, tonality. when do they come in? when do they rest? i would do the same for the birds. i learned to recognize how they each claimed different frequency ranges. much like people do with radio communication.

• summer night
• rain storm
• spring day
• gloomy beach 

over the upcoming year, i plan to officially release this work along with video content to provide more insight into the creation of the piece. in addition to this i hope to perform it live in gallery & performance spaces in the new york area. thank you for considering my work!

(click here for a hi-res version of the piece)

- matthew