Lazy afternoon in the African bush – Nature sounds – Von George Vlad

The sound of the African bush on a hot afternoon is pretty relaxed. Gone is the lush dawn chorus as most animals are avoiding the scorching midday sun. Birds are taking refuge in trees and bushes, hippos have retreated to their patches of river or oxbow lake, and lions are hanging out in the shade.

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A river in the savanna – Sounds of Africa

It’s a calm morning by the river Kapamba in South Luangwa National Park, Zambia. A few cicadas are winding down their night calls, making room for the daytime sounds of the savanna. The ever-present call of the Cape turtle dove instantly anchors you in the African bush.

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Leafcutter ants in the jungle – Rainforest sounds – Von George Vlad

The rainforest comes alive with sound and motion at night. Listen to the sounds of the jungle for a few minutes and you’ll notice a myriad subtle changes. Shine a light on the forest floor and you’ll see it literally crawling with life.

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Dusk in the rainforest – Army ants marching – Von George Vlad

Army ants march on the jungle floor as dusk falls in the rainforest. On my sound recording expeditions I often like to walk slowly and then stop every few minutes to listen. This is an excellent way to find interesting sound sources, reflections, wildlife etc. It allows me to focus on details instead of the big, overwhelming picture and to better immerse myself into the soundscape.

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Calm waterfall in the rainforest – George Vlad

When I arrived at this location in Costa Rica’s rainforest hills, I was struck by the constant water flowing and falling that permeated the soundscape everywhere I would go. Trying to record anything but the water would have been nearly impossible so I decided to focus on the water sounds themselves.

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Chromatic rain in the Namib desert – Nature sounds – Von George Vlad

Rain in the Namib desert is incredibly rare and sounds fascinating. Sometimes it evaporates even before it reaches the ground due to the scorching heat and lack of humidity. It isn’t unheard of though, and I was fortunate enough to capture 5 minutes of it on my expedition to Namibia last year.

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What does an active volcano sound like? – Von George Vlad

Boiling lava, gases escaping, mini earthquakes and lava bombs create a surreal soundscape inside the volcanic caldera at Erta Ale in Northern Ethiopia. I’m sitting on the edge of the crater, trying to avoid stepping over big cracks and on to overhangs that might drop into the 600m/2000 feet chasm below. At the bottom there is a lava lake that occasionally spews volcanic bombs and boiling rock. The magma can barely be seen through the thick volcanic gases though. The mixture of smoke, dust, sulphur, chlorine, brine steam, silica particles, poisonous gases and many other compounds is thick and suffocating…,..

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Serengeti sounds – Lions and hippos calling in the African savanna – Von George Vlad

Night falls in the Serengeti-Mara savanna. The deep calls of lions resonate through the plains while a hippo lazily moves in the water hole nearby. A thick insect chorus creates a constant background while distant Eagle and Scops owls can be heard occasionally. This is the typical sound of the African savanna at night. Oh, and of course you can also hear the hippos pooping.

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Rain in the forest – Von George Vlad

Listen to gentle rain falling in a British forest. I recorded this soundscape using small microphones that I placed on trees under thick branches the middle of a British forest. This way I made sure no water drops hit the microphone directly (which would result in unpleasant thumping sounds) and the microphones were kept dry even through downpours. – https://mindful-audio.com/

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