The Listening Field - Reflections on Field Recording

The quietest episode yet. (Pls. use Headphones)Room tone is the sound of a space when nothing is happening - the acoustic fingerprint that every room carries. It's what film sound recordists capture on set to make dialogue feel natural, but it's also something we're constantly processing in our daily lives without realizing it. Our brains use these subtle audio cues to understand the size, shape, and character of the spaces around us.This episode is an exploration of the dimensions of sound in enclosed spaces.Followed by a recording of a quiet mountain lodge, the silence covered by a layer of noise, as its just to quiet for the gear to capture. Nevertheless, interesting to listen to:TIMESTAMPS:00:00 Exploring Room Tone06:45 The quiet room tone of a shared Mountain LodgeExtended listening without narration on the Youtube Channel.More thoughts on Field Recording and each Episode at: https://thelisteningfield.substack.com

In this episode, I invite you into my studio in Vienna on a stormy September morning. While heavy rain and wind rolled through the city, I prepared my daily tea session: Chinese sheng pu’er, brewed in the mindful way of Gong Fu Cha.The first part of the episode is simply the storm itself — one of the heavy thunderstorms that swept through Austria on September 15th, 2024 and on my windows. Midway through,the recording I begin my tea session. You’ll hear the metal hotplate expanding with heat, the clay kettle coming to a boil, and the tiny teapot opening and pouring, again and again, through many steeps.Pu’er tea has become an important part of my life, a time away from the spinning world. I hope you can imagine the cozy room, the rising steam, and the rhythm of the rain outside as you join me in this session.TIMESTAMPS03:00 Thunderstorms25:00 Tea session startingEpisodes without Narration on Youtube:https://www.youtube.com/@TheListeningFieldPodcastMy Blog with Exploration on Pu'er Tea: https://tealog.net

In this episode, we delve into the quiet nature sounds of a Sunday morning from our cozy little house tucked away in the mountains of Austria.The early morning was bathed in the glow of a full moon, accompanied by a gentle and chilly breeze that rustled through the bushes in the garden and the pine trees on the distant mountains.However, as the episode progresses (at 33:15), the strong winds that had been present throughout the night begin to pick up again, creating an eerie atmosphere.Recorded on December 15th, 2024, 06.30 A.M. with a DIY SASS, from my balcony.Part of Season 2: The Sound of Space — a podcast about field recording and the art of conscious listening.

Episode 5 of Season 2 explores how sound behaves in enclosed, moving spaces. Featuring field recordings from three different trains: a dampened carriage from Sarajevo to Mostar, an early morning tram in Prague, and the small Alpine Murtalbahn railway. Listening through headphones reveals how these contained spaces filter and shape both interior sounds and the passing world outside.TIMESTAMPS:00:00 Narration03:40 "Dampened Train" in Sarajevo10:00 Early Morning Tram in Prague18:00 Little Alpine TrainFor the pure soundscape without narration, visit the YouTube channel "⁠The Listening Field.⁠"

A winter night recording from Vienna's Wienerberg - an elevated plateau where the city reveals its acoustic wholeness. From 60 meters above, all those individual sounds of urban life - traffic, heating systems, distant conversations - merge into one continuous drone. The city becomes a single breathing presence, a foggy cloud of sound hovering in the darkness.Recorded December 29th, 2023, with stereo ambient sampling microphones.For the pure soundscape without narration, visit the YouTube channel "The Listening Field."

You know those winter mornings when everything feels impossibly quiet? This episode captures one of those rare moments - a Sunday morning recording from the Austrian mountainside after fresh snowfall. Snow acts like nature's most effective acoustic treatment, absorbing sound waves, leaving just the feel of a muted field in front of you. Extended listening without narration: ⁠YouTube channel "The Listening Field"⁠ The Listening Field - Season 2: The Sound of Space

Those hidden pockets scattered throughout cities - spaces where the public-facing world blends into the private lives of people.This episode explores three different backyards at different times of the day, in different cities.From a November morning in Prague where artificial light melts with the waking day, to a Viennese residential yard where fragments of life fall like musical notes from windows, to a cobblestone square where hard stones reflect the city's awakening.Timestamps: 04:00 - Prague Dawn Passage 10:00 - Vienna Residential Evening30:00 - Vienna Cobblestone Yard MorningThe space becomes an acoustic instrument, shaping and reflecting the sounds that pass through it. These are threshold spaces - not quite inside, not quite outside - where the city shows its softer side.Extended listening without narration: YouTube channel "The Listening Field"Next episode: How spaces sound when muted by the first snow.The Listening Field - Season 2: The Sound of Space

Field recordings from a fourth-floor window in Vienna, where city sounds bounce between walls and gradually fade. Three recordings from the same courtyard show how the acoustic character of a space changes throughout the day.TIMESTAMPS:Dawn - The city slowly awakening - 4:50 Morning - Traffic and early risers - 11:00 Evening- The courtyard comes alive - 20:30What might sound like background noise reveals quieter details when you listen closely.Also, if you prefer to listen to the sound without any narration, i put the an extended Version on Youtube.

A new season of field recordings is coming up. This time it's all about: The Sound of Space.I will share selected recordings from the last few years where you can experience minimal natural soundfields, for listening, relaxing and contemplating.With each episode I will also share my thoughts on why I find field recording so exciting, and how sound relates to our human existence.New episodes every Sunday. If you want to listen solely to the field recordings without any narration, you can find that on a new YouTube channel called: The Listening Field Podcast.Sidenote: This podcast was once called Sunday Silence, but I found it time to give it a new, more appropriate name, hence The Listening Field.

For the last Episode of the season we'll enjoy busy street sounds from a crowded early morning market in Yangon Myanmar's Chinatown. The vendors are selling all kind of exotic and unfamiliar fruits and vegetables as well as hunks of meat straight from the animal. The street is already crowed and bustling by 6am, when this Recording was made. Later you'll hear monks walking by, speaking into megaphones (04:15) and a line of young monks chanting (05:45) as they walk down the street in a line.

Today’s episode is a tranquil soundscapes on the countryside of Portugal. I recorded those near Torres Novas a little town north of Lisbon. There are early morning soundscapes mingled with some thunderstorms and a nightly concert of croaking frogs.

Today we're headed back to Nepal, to a little village called Bandipur. I stayed for a few nights at a cozy family run guesthouse which sat atop a hill. The view from there was magical. From my balcony I had a panoramic view of the lush green valley surrounding me (filled with trees, birds, and an entire bustling eco system). At night i would wake up to the sounds of thunderstorms descending down from the mountains. This is a recording of one of those nights.

This episode is a mix of the sounds I collected while walking through the medina in Tanger, Morocoo. It's a shop owner playing old vinyl records, the local kid gang playing on the streets, and of course the call for prayer (recorded from one of the many rooftops).

When going through my archives the other day I noticed how many of my Field Recordings, both in the City and out in the Countryside have the sounds of animals in them. Birds take center stage and are especially prominent and lively in today's recordings. In this Episode I put together a mix of Recordings with Bird Sounds from Morocco (01:25) India (04:10) and some very strange Nepali (13:52) Birds.

While exploring Kathmandu, one of the guesthouses where I stayed was cornered by 3 Tibetan Monasteries. Luckily I am an early riser, because each day, as the sun rose, the monks would begin their daily meditation with drums and horns. And sunrise means between 5-6 o'clock in the morning. These are the sounds I recorded back then and am sharing with you today.

In this Episode we will walk through a bazar in the beautiful old Medina of Fes in Morocco.

Eager to get away from the grit of Kathmandu I took a bus south to a tiny village called Pharping. It's a quiet town with only a few small shops, local restaurants and two or three guesthouses. Despite that, I was surprised by how lively the town is during the day. Especially on the main square. These country people really seem to enjoy music, so here is what i captured.

Today's episode is going to be peaceful. An early morning walk around the beautiful Phewa Lake in Pokhara, Nepal. The city has yet to awaken, whereas nature already has.

For 6 months now I am travelling. Starting in Delhi, India over to Nepal, Malaysia, Thailand and right now: Myanmar. This Episode was recorded while I was staying at a Buddhist Monastery in Nepal. On Friday evenings the Monks would gather to debate and proof their knowledge of the Dharma. Listen to this lively sounds in the northern hills of Kathmandu.

Music I encountered while strolling through the vibrant and narrow streets of Lisbon.