MATA ATLÂNTICA
It’s curious how the material of this work has been in the drawer for 3.5 years since it was harvested. I didn’t really realise I had recorded some incredible soundscapes. In the summer of 2020, I revisited the files as I was tidying up hard drives. I can’t remember now what I listened first, but it’s very clear in my memory my absolute joy upon realising I had a few recordings of the Solitary Tinamou. I heard it once, only wearing my ears, in one of the farthest regions of the national park in São Paulo. It was about a 25-minute drive from the main entrance. And it seemed much wilder somehow.
It was very early in the morning. Thanks to the wonderful staff who welcomed me with open arms they allowed me to come in much earlier then the public opening hours. I walked up guided by the decreasing antropophony, as that was always my main concern. It was in a very muddy area where I heard it. In fact it was so muddy that I didn’t dare to cross it – and I don’t ‘don’t dare’ very often. Unfortunately, I was just walking up and even if I was really fast with the equipment, I didn’t hear it a second time, which sadden me a little bit.
However, I had more recordings of the tinamou, that I wasn’t aware of. That is one of the reasons why I opened up the album with its beautiful call.
I hope you enjoy this album. It’s about 2 hours long and sometimes I wish it would be endless. This time in Brazil was actually life changing. Hopefully it will change you too a little bit. If you consider supporting my work, you’ll be helping to make more works like this possible. Already I am conjecturing my next field recording trip, while anxiously awaiting news for the lockdown dismantle here in Portugal.
Thank you for your support!
Artwork by Pedro Peres
All sounds recorded by Melissa Pons.
All rights reserved.
Any commercial use is strictly forbidden.
credits
released February 28, 2021
WOLF SOUNDSCAPES
Here’s the Iberian Wolf.
These recordings took place in the beautiful region of Picão, Portugal. The forests over the hills are full of life, and there, in the Rehabilitation Center, the Iberian Wolf lives. They spread over an 18 ha area where much more wild life is heard and seen.
It was a very challenging field recording trip, in which I explored the region observing the wolves, and left with over 100 hours of recordings. This album features some of the most interesting soundscapes collected there and definitely some of my best so far.
I hope you love this work! If you purchase you’ll be supporting me making more recordings like this possible, and 50% of the purchases will go towards the Center. You can read about them here: www.grupolobo.pt
A sincere thank you to those who contributed to make this possible through donating via my Ko-Fi page.
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These recordings have a high dynamic range but are mostly very quiet. Please enjoy your listening with a very soft level.
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Beautiful Cover Artwork by Pedro Peres
All sounds recorded by Melissa Pons.
All rights reserved.
Any commercial use is strictly forbidden.
credits
released November 28, 2020
Melissa Pons
SWEDISH FOREST TEXTURES
As I was reaching the area by car I saw a large group of swans illuminating the big dark late, like a celestial vision, with the promise of beautiful soundscapes.
These field recordings had the approach of experiencing the forest for a first time. The snow was still melting and it was deep in spots where the sunlight barely touched the ground.
Beautiful lakes – large and small – make the acoustics like a mirror and call a variety of wildlife that we can listen to sometimes at the distance, other times much closer.
All kinds of weather have been pouring into the microphones: heavy rain, strong evolving winds in the strong trees, warm and soothing sunlight and cold quiet nights.
During the difficult hikes, with equipment heavy on my back, I encountered beautiful and almost mystical sights such as the whole skeleton of a young female elk and tracks from large animals in the snow, but my ears detected more than my eyes. This album contains a selection of the awe-inspiring soundscapes and ambiences that I captured during my time here.
Tragically this area was chopped dead less than a year after the recordings took place.
I’m hoping to bring not only a sense of admiration but one of belonging in the nature that we often fear and have become increasingly distant as urban spaces advance and separate us from the essence of life.
Between tracks there is a very high dynamic range and I encourage you to listen to the quieter tracks at a lower volume, as the night time is in fact very silent.
14% of the profit made from your purchases is going to be donated in equal parts to Mongabay and Amazon Watch and as a new initiative starting on the 18th of May, 15% will go towards Survival International.
Thank you for helping with their cause!
Artwork by Pedro Peres.
Text edited by Elizabeth Carlyon.
Thanks to Carl Rasmussen for making these recordings possible.
Dedicated to my friends Sérgio, Peres, Adriana.
license: all rights reserved
Nocturnal Sounds of the Atlantic Forest
Participation in “Forests Of The World”: an international field recording project started by Tony Oudaimy in March 2016 aiming to capture the sound of forests around the world.
Sound professionals and artists from different countries submitted their recordings and the first compilation album was released on the 31st of July 2016
For more information, visit the official website.
Melissa Pons 