One of the projects I've been working on during the lockdown is throwing away all our old cassette tapes. Most of the cassettes have long since been replaced and we don't listen to those that weren't, but there are a few recordings of family performances and the like that can't be replaced. So I've been copying those to the computer to turn them into MP3s. After this project is over, the cassette player is being recycled.
One of the cassettes I picked up in the 80's is "Environments 1 - Slow Ocean" which was one of the first sounds of nature recordings, created in 1969, and really the forerunner of the ambient sounds genre. I always loved this tape (very relaxing) and even though I can play ocean sounds on my phone or through my Amazon Echo, I wanted to capture these specific sounds. It occurred to me today that rather than record the tape, I should see if I could buy it digitally. Turns out, a few years ago someone converted the entire Environments series (which has all kinds of different nature sounds) into an app which costs only $3 and has all eleven of the albums. Awesome! So now I have not only the one I already owned, but all of them.
While I was searching for the album today, I stumbled across a really interesting article about the Environments series of recordings and its creator, Irv Teibel. Even if you know nothing about the recordings, it's a good read.
Natural Selection: How a New Age Hustler Sold the Sound of the World
Check it out.
2 comments:
Thanks for the memory! Firstly, that website has such an interesting setup. Very cool.
I bought the crickets one on cassette. I also have a TDK tape of Optimum Aviary, which I taped off of your tape!
Yeah, I didn't mention Optimum Aviary, but that was the primary reason I bought the app! I also loved the article's enhancements. Very cool.
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