But customers often ask; what is the difference between these recordings – surely a beach is a beach? So this is a good opportunity to discuss the variety of moods that nature presents on our wild coastlines.

‘Call of the Ocean’- album sample by Listening Earth

‘Call of the Ocean‘ was our first coastal album, recorded at various locations from Phillip Island in Victoria to the north coast of NSW. It features a diversity of recordings, taking the listener on a walk along an ocean beach, up into the dunes and coastal woodlands, and onto rocky headlands.

During the course of the album you will hear waves washing up on a sandy beach, gurgling in and out of rockpools, breaking on distant rock platforms and, more spectacularly, whooshing from a blowhole. The calls of shore birds like Silver Gulls and Sooty Oystercatchers are heard against the surf.

The album wanders from shoreline into dunes and coastal hinterland. Dawn birdsong is heard in heath country, with grassbirds, coucals and wrens creating a delicate chorus, while from overhead come the calls of a majestic pair of White-bellied Sea Eagles. Drifting across a coastal freshwater lake comes the distant chiming of Bellbirds, and later the soft, braying calls of Fairy Penguins carry on the night breeze as they come ashore to their nesting burrows.

So ‘Call of the Ocean’ is quite a diverse coastal album, blending wave wash and birdsongs into a portrait of our wild coastlines.

‘Surf, Beach & Shoreline’- album sample by Listening Earth

‘Surf, Beach & Shoreline‘, by contrast, features pure wave and surf sounds.

It consists of three extended recordings, each taking around a third of the album time. The first is waves breaking on a sandy beach, rolling in from the ocean and hissing up on the golden sand. The second comes from a beach of smooth ocean-worn cobbles. As each wave breaks and recedes, the stones can be heard softly rattling with the retreating waters. The final recording comes from a late afternoon on a sheltered beach, with small waves, their fury already spent, finally collapsing on smooth sands.

‘Surf, Beach & Shoreline‘ is a recording for those who find the sounds of the sea relaxing and soothing.

‘Moonlit Pebble Bay’ – album sample by Listening Earth

The same can be said of ‘Moonlit Pebble Bay‘.

This recording came about unexpectedly. Night is a good time for recording the ocean, as any sea breezes have often abated, allowing clear recording. And of course waves sound the same by day or night – or so I thought.

One evening I was at Mimosa Rocks on the NSW south coast, recording around the rockpools. After several hours I was getting sleepy, and sat down on the cobbled beach of a sheltered bay to listen before heading back to my camp. Maybe it was just me, but I found the lazy sound of the waves, washing into the bay and up onto the stones, deeply relaxing. Each wave would wash in, starting at one end of the bay and break cleanly around to the far side. Sometimes waves would arrive in small groups, with interludes of gentle lapping between.

‘Moonlit Pebble Bay‘ contains the hour-long, unedited recording, just as I had heard it that evening. It is a beautiful meditation, which we’ve included in our ‘Nature at Rest’ collection.

The more I record by the seaside, the more I come to appreciate the subtle sounds of the ocean, and find ways of capturing that beauty.

A beach is not just a beach!

‘Call of the Ocean‘, ‘Surf Beach & Shoreline‘ and ‘Moonlit Pebble Bay‘ are each available as either CD or for digital download, directly from our website; www.listeningearth.com

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