The Great Animal Orchestra: Finding the Origins of Music in the World's Wild Places

"Sure. As you say, Bernie Krause has had quite a career. He’s 85 now, and started his working life as a recording engineer and musician. He played Moog synthesiser on the Monkees’ song ‘Star Collector’ in 1967, but from the end of the 1970s he turned increasingly to recording sounds in the natural environment. Krause has become an influential figure in the world of soundscape ecology—the practice of using the best equipment available to record the sounds of the natural world, sometimes to use for artistic purposes but mainly for scientific purposes, to understand what’s going on. And, of course, trying to protect it. “While I was working on a book about the sense of wonder, I was entranced by the sound of thousands of birds flying overhead” Kruase’s been recording in the same places since the 1980s, and there’s a diminution and degrading of the natural sound environment as species have diminished or been eliminated altogether. He has made an important contribution to documenting that change, and The Great Animal Orchestra is an excellent introduction to his work. As a by-the-way, for anyone in or travelling to San Francisco, there’s an exhibition based on the book, with many of Krause’s recordings being played in these big spaces with beautiful accompanying visuals. So if you are anywhere near the Exploratorium up until 15 October, get there and have a listen."