What is: Field Recording?

What is: Field Recording?

Field recording is the term used for an audio recording produced outside a recording studio. It involves using a range of microphones to capture natural and human-produced sounds, such as wildlife, environmental sounds, voice recordings, electromagnetic fields and so on.

Field recording is a popular technique used in film and television production, radio broadcasting, and music production. Field recordists often use specialized equipment like portable recording devices and hydrophones to capture sounds in a variety of environments.

 

Well, what do we do with it?

First, the world is full of sound that wants to be explored. You can find sound sources even in your home, such as a washing machine, coffee machine or simply a squeaky door, and you don't have to look far.

But of course, the real fun is nature with its organic, ever-changing rhythms.

Already the course of the stream in a forest in combination with the birds singing brings out all the frequencies and rhythms that are needed for an individual track.

But also cities with their construction noise are wonderfully suitable as sources. Just sample the sounds of construction machines and you have deep, pulsating sources for drones and beats.

And these are exactly our sources for our instruments. This means "naturally artificial soundscapes".
We take these sources and process them so that they become playable instruments with dynamic, natural energy. 

Mainly all sounds are recorded with Zoom H6 or F6 Field Recorder and leveled with Izotope RX10 Advanced according to EBU R128 recommendation and cleaned from interfering impulses. Subsequently, all sounds are documented according to UCS standard.
Now, after the idea and the roadmap is set for a new instrument, these are processed further with Native Instruments Kontakt. Pitched, stretched, compressed and provided with effects.

As a recommendation, check out Ezcety. This is an Native Instruments Kontakt instrument that consists mostly of natural sound sources, but also mixed with synthetic synthesizers.
Here you can hear very well the dynamics, the deep pads and the (dark) energy of nature.

Or Blacksteel what includes 200 instruments filled with metallic sounds from various places like factories, metal canisters, barrels, rusty doors, etc.

 

Zoom H6 Field Recorder

Field Recording in the Forest

Field Recording on the Water

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