I recently came across Project AVoCet, a database featuring thousands of bird sound recordings from around the globe, sorted by species, habitats and more.
It’s an amazing resource and it’s well worth checking out – but do remember to get clearance by the copyright holder if you intend to use any of the recordings yourself.
Visit the site right here!
Posted by Asbjoern Andersen, Epic Sound - Contact
recording 
bird recordings, bird sounds, field recording, sound databases, sound resources — 
The Sounddogs blog has posted a 10-step guide for recording crowds. Here are the first five tips for getting great crowd recordings:
1. Be clear as to what type of crowd you need. Crowds who clap at a golf tournament have a different sound than those who cheer at a football game or applaud at a swimming competition. Watch your production and decide according to the setting.
2. It’s very important to contact the organizer before the event you wish to record for proper permission and or permits. Make sure you emphasize the fact that it’s just you (and maybe an assistant) and that it won’t be noticed by the crowd*, this will help people say yes to you.
*in the case you want to record unnoticed.
3. Always prepare and test your sound equipment beforehand. Never wing it, always be prepared.
4. Prepare a list of specific crowd sounds you need: yelling, clapping, cheering, shouting, hooting, whistling etc.
5. If you will be directing the crowd, plan on how you will communicate what you need from your crowd TO your crowd. Some options are: Bring an assistant to orchestrate the crowd, bring a bullhorn and give the crowd directions yourself, or prepare your crowd with pre-set hand signals.
Check out the remaining tips for crowd recording here.
Posted by Asbjoern Andersen, Epic Sound - Contact recording crowd recording, field recording, recording, recording tips — SoundCloud is featuring a selection of recordings from their binaural group – so put on your headphones and check out these cool recordings:
Want to learn a bit more about binaural recordings? Check out the details over at Wikipedia and see the video below on how binaural recording works:
Finally, if you feel inspired to doing your own recordings, you’ll find instructions on building your own dummy head here.
Posted by Asbjoern Andersen, Epic Sound - Contact recording binaural recording, field recording, recording, recording techniques, soundcloud — Check out the brilliant Aporee sound map, featuring user-submitted recordings from across the globe. It’s easy to upload your own recordings – but if you just feel like listening, stop by as well for an aural journey across the planet.
aporee maps has started 2006, based on former artistic research on mapping, spatial conditions and the navigation between the real and the virtual. It develops from the insight that it is basically impossible to map the complexity of todays public spaces.
Against the background of an increasing awareness of spatial aspects in media and the popularity and presence of visual geographies like google maps, the idea was to connect sound and space, and to create a cartography which focusses solely on sound, and open it to the public as a collaborative project.
Meanwhile it contains 1000s of recordings from numerous urban, rural and natural environments, showing the sonic complexity of these environments, as well as the different perceptions and artistic perspectives related to sound, space and places.
Go explore the Aporee sound map right here!
(via @timprebble)
Posted by Asbjoern Andersen, Epic Sound - Contact recording aporee map, field recording, recording, sound design, sound maps — Designing Sound has a detailed feature on planning and carrying out a gun recording session, featuring sound designer Chuck Russom:
In this article I’m going to share the approach I have used to plan and conduct gun sessions. I rely on professional, private party resources to provide weapons and locations. While others may have had success with police or military, I prefer working with the private sector as I can ensure that I can get the weapons I need, work in the locations that I choose, and work under my timeline. To get the results that I am after, I need to control as much of the process as possible. It takes a lot of effort to record guns and I want to be sure the effort pays off.
Read the full feature on recording guns here.
Posted by Asbjoern Andersen, Epic Sound - Contact recording field recording, gun sounds, recording sessions — The Smalls Street Sound has launched a project to map the US in sound – hop on over to the site to hear the recordings.
Posted by Asbjoern Andersen, Epic Sound - Contact recording field recording, sound maps, soundscapes — Field recordist Colin Marshall has done an atmospheric, 60-minute audio recording of his adventures in New Zealand. Read his background details on the project, and hear the whole thing here.
(via @peoplelikesound)
Posted by Asbjoern Andersen, Epic Sound - Contact recording field recording, soundscapes — The BBC has launched a great project called ‘Save Our Sounds’, dedicated to capturing and preserving sounds from all over the world in one big map of sound. Here’s the concept:
The eye is attracted by change, the new and the flashy. Our ears, by contrast, are seduced by the familiar. Yet, all the time, the sound of the world is changing. Precious sounds are dying while new ones enter our lives. So here at the BBC we want to build a sound map of the world – and save endangered sounds from extinction. And who better to help than avid audio consumers like you?
Hop on over to the BBC site to listen in and participate.
Posted by Asbjoern Andersen, Epic Sound - Contact recording field recording, sound maps — 
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