While all the possible sounds are within your reach with all digital tools, field recordings contribute something else-the unique quality. They give that ruggedness and genuineness that sometimes can elevate your music. Whether you just started on your local scene, or discovering new ways to evolve your sound, real audio can easily become the missing element in your production.
If you are serious about making electronic music, you should check out field recordings. Then, they would allow you to construct soundscapes breathing like a life entity and would use them to make your scores richer and deeper. But how to capture, process, and utilize them? Let's break this down step by step.
Why Use Field Recordings in Electronic Music?
If you're one of those brave souls who reverse engineer chaos and fears of the natural world, you can never go wrong with field recording, which is actually much easier to invent than reproduce by any preset or synth. Here are some appealing benefits:
Authenticity: Organic sounds make music feel more real and connected to the listener’s environment.
Texture and Atmosphere: Field recordings add depth, making tracks more immersive.
Personalization: Instead of using stock sounds, you create something uniquely yours.
Inspiration: Sometimes, a field recording sparks a whole new idea for a track.
Experimental Edge: Unusual sounds break the predictability of electronic arrangements.
Whether you want subtle ambient textures or heavily processed samples, field recordings can completely transform your music.
Choosing the Right Gear for Field Recording
You don’t need expensive equipment to start capturing sounds. Even a smartphone can do the job, but for higher-quality recordings, consider these options:
1. Portable Recorders
Devices like the Zoom H5, Tascam DR-40, or Sony PCM-D100 offer high-quality audio capture with built-in mics. They’re ideal for recording nature sounds, urban environments, and spontaneous sonic discoveries.
2. Lavalier Microphones
Small and discreet, lav mics work well for capturing subtle details, like the rustling of clothes, whispering wind, or even tapping on objects.
3. Shotgun Microphones
If you want to isolate specific sounds from a noisy environment, a shotgun mic is a great choice. It’s directional, meaning it picks up sound from where you point it while rejecting background noise.
4. Contact Microphones
These mics pick up vibrations instead of airborne sound. They’re perfect for recording deep, resonant textures from metal, wood, and even water.
5. Your Phone
If you’re just experimenting, use your phone’s built-in mic. Apps like Dolby On or RecForge II can improve the sound quality, making them viable for sampling and processing later.
Capturing the Best Sounds
A great field recording isn’t just about having the right gear—it’s about knowing what to record and how to record it.
1. Scout Interesting Locations
Think beyond the usual city noises. Beaches, forests, train stations, and even abandoned buildings can provide unique sonic textures. Experiment with different times of day for variations in sound.
2. Record in Different Conditions
A quiet street at night sounds different from a busy street at noon. Wind, rain, and even echoes from buildings can create intriguing audio environments.
3. Use Different Microphone Positions
Placing a mic close to a source gives a dry, intimate sound, while stepping back captures a wider ambient field. Try different angles and distances to get varied textures.
4. Capture More Than You Need
Recording longer clips ensures you have enough material to work with. Unexpected sounds—like a passing bird or a distant conversation—can add magic to your track.
5. Avoid Handling Noise
If you're using a handheld recorder, minimize accidental bumps and rustling. A tripod or mic stand can help keep things stable.
Processing and Editing Your Field Recordings
Once you’ve gathered some recordings, it’s time to shape them into something usable. Raw audio is great, but refining it can make it more musical and fit your track’s vibe.
1. Cleaning Up the Audio
Use an EQ to remove unwanted frequencies. If there’s too much background noise, tools like iZotope RX or Audacity’s noise reduction feature can help clean things up.
2. Chopping and Layering
Instead of using a recording as one long clip, chop it into smaller parts. Layer different segments together to create something fresh.
3. Applying Effects
Reverb & Delay: To add space and atmosphere.
Granular Synthesis: For turning recordings into playable instruments.
Pitch Shifting: To create eerie or dreamy textures.
Distortion & Saturation: To make organic sounds more aggressive.
4. Turning Recordings Into Instruments
You can load recordings into a sampler (like Ableton’s Simpler or Kontakt) and play them like a synth. This is an excellent way to create custom pads, percussive hits, or experimental bass sounds.
Integrating Field Recordings into Your Tracks
Now that you have processed sounds, how do you incorporate them into your electronic music? Here are some ideas:
1. Create Atmospheres and Background Textures
Low-volume ambient sounds—like a distant cityscape or a forest breeze—can fill the empty spaces in your mix, adding warmth and depth.
2. Make Percussive Elements
Field recordings can replace traditional drum sounds. A slamming door, footsteps on gravel, or raindrops can be layered to form unique percussive hits.
3. Add Transitional Effects
Whooshes, swells, and reverse sounds from recordings can create dynamic movement between sections of your track.
4. Use Human Voices and Found Sounds
Fragments of conversations, laughter, or even whispering can add an organic, human element.
5. Design Lead and Bass Sounds
Processing mechanical noises, animal sounds, or other unexpected recordings can result in deep, growling bass lines or eerie lead textures.
Final Thoughts
Field recordings afford unique sonic possibilities that can really make your electronic music stand out. Whether you're producing deep ambient soundscapes or layering real-world textures onto dancing beats, just experiment.
Record anything and everything that sounds at all interesting, process it in some mightily creative way, and blend the result into your production in unexpected means. You could even find that the most mundane of noises fair quite extraordinarily in your tracks.
