I haven't tended to my blog in a while due to various events such as daily work and moving home, so here's a quick post and a free recording.

Today I went out to get some yogurt and as always I grabbed my backpack with the PCM D100 in it. Walking on the Union Canal I first heard quite a racket and then saw billowing smoke coming from one of the boats that usually just floats there tied to posts.

It turns out the boat's owner, Ian Armstrong, had just started its engine for the first time in 14 years. We're talking about a two cylinder Diesel engine that was built around 1971 and sounded absolutely monstrous. Getting closer I also noticed sparks and flames coming off the exhausts which along with the racket did an excellent job of scaring away any birds and people in the area.

I wasn't going to miss such an occasion so I took out my trusty D100 and pressed record as soon as I got near. Between trying to escape the smoke cloud and answering Ian's questions I managed to record a good 4 minutes of deafening action. Here are the best bits in 24/96 quality with added metadata as usual:

Field recording tools of the trade

At the lower end of the price spectrum, field recording equipment will yield relatively similar results. A few dB of self noise won’t make a huge difference if the recordist hasn’t mastered the other tools of the trade, the ones that can’t be bought. Let’s examine some lesser known but rather more important tools that are sure to improve your field recording practice.

Introduction to Freestyle field recording

Freestyle field recording is a flexible approach to recording nature and wildlife sounds outside of the studio or any controlled environment, developed by George Vlad. While traditional methods are prescriptive and rigid, Freestyle field recording encourages deliberate experimentation and a very organic workflow.

Listening session at the House of Lords in Westminster

I recently received an invitation to play some of my soundscapes and to tell stories about conservation. While there’s nothing unusual about that, the setting was definitely novel for me.

A collection of Owl sounds

Owls are awesome and worth learning about. What better place to start than a curated selection of owl recordings, captured by your favourite wildlife sound recordist!

The 2025 Soundscape Fund

How can field recording make a difference for conservation and environmental causes? I get this question a lot, and one of the answers is here. Once a year I team up with Thomas Rex Beverly and Andy Martin to raise money for environmental NGOs.