Wind Is the Original Radio

Solstice comes from the Latin solstitium - sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still): the moment when the sun appears to pause in its movement. A brief illusion of stillness. The longest day, the fullest expansion of light, and yet, from this very point, transformation has already begun. The brightest moment already carries the beginning of its own disappearance. Gathering recordings captured during different solstices, across distant places and years, this mix follows movements of appearance, disappearance, and return. Each recording holds a specific moment of listening, a fragment of a landscape that has already changed, a trace of something that cannot happen twice in the same way. Some recordings have been split and reintroduced at different moments, creating small cycles inside the composition. They disappear and resurface, carrying the memory of their previous occurrence while being transformed by their new surroundings. Like seasons, tides, or the movement of light, repetition becomes a way of sensing change rather than sameness. Different environments slowly orbit around each other: distant temporalities briefly aligning, moments of stillness revealing movement, and sounds returning as reminders that nothing ever truly stands still.

Tracklist:

[00:00 - 03:18] Melissa Pons - The Griffon Vulture Cliff | Portugal

[03:04 - 03:37] Vladimir Bocharov - Altai Kuyus (part 1) | Russia

[03.53 - 05:28] David Woje - Mountain Thunderstorm | USA

[04:11 - 14:33] Andy Martin - A very long chat (part 1) | USA

[04:17 - 05:25] Jocelyn Robert - Thousands of Kittiwakes Calling | Faroe Islands

[05:09 - 06:39] Rafael Diogo - Under the Stream | Kosovo

[05:34 - 09:49] Melissa Pons - Here be Dragonflies (part 1) | Portugal

[08:59 - 11:55] Axel Macke - Nature is Waking Up in the North Sea Island Juist | Germany

[11:21 - 15:45] Melissa Pons - Stream in the Summer Mediterranean Forest | Portugal

[13:41 - 21:06] Andrius Mack - Night Time in a Great Cormorant Colony | Lithuania

[17:00 - 18:10] Vladimir Bocharov - Altai Kuyus | Russia

[19:04 - 21:20] Ivo Vicic - Thunderstorm and DC | Croatia

[20:51 - 24:42] Seth Seeway Willamette -Wetland Oregon (part 1)

[22:55 - 30:33] Melissa Pons - Here be Dragonflies i (part 2) | Portugal

[24:12 - 30:07] Jan Brelih - Middle Andaman Mangroves | India

[29:28 - 40:39] Andy Martin - A Very Long Chat (part 2) | USA

[35:02 - 40:12] Vladimir Bocharov - Altai Kuyus (part 2) | Russia

[39:10 - 41:59] Seth Seeway Willamette - Mojave Thunder (part 2) | USA

Stefano Arrigoni is a sound artist and anaesthesiologist based in Marseille whose work explores listening as an active process of transformation. Moving between electroacoustic composition, field recording, and modular synthesis, he investigates the fragile thresholds of perception. Rooted in psychoacoustics, phenomenological observation, and self-experimentation, his practice examines how sonic environments shape the way we perceive, inhabit, and make sense of the world. https://soundcloud.com/stefanoarrigoni

Welcome to the wind is the original radio podcast!

Today we have an extra special episode, in which we are sharing with you an episode from Indigenous Earth Community Podcast by Frank Weaver.
This is all about honouring and respecting green spaces with Watson Withford, member of the Chippewa Cree tribe and Navajo Nation.

Because here on Earth.FM, listening to natural spaces is about being in relationship with, we think that for any listener and recordist, learning how to honour the spaces we visit is fundamental. This includes learning about the issues affecting those spaces, thinking of future generations, asking permission and so much more.

Our gratitude to Frank Weaver for sharing this knowledge with us and please see the episode notes to learn more about Indigenous Earth.org.

Episode Summary

In this powerful episode, Frank Oscar Weaver is joined by Watson Whitford (Wapanatak), co-president of UNITY and member of the Chippewa Cree tribe and Navajo Nation. Together, they explore five essential ways to be a mindful visitor in parks and natural places, weaving together traditional wisdom and practical guidance for honoring our green spaces.

The Five Ways to Honor Green Spaces

Become a True Steward

Connect with the issues affecting natural spaces

Educate yourself about environmental challenges

Take action in your community

Leave It Better Than You Found It

Take responsibility for keeping spaces clean

Think of future generations

Protect the beauty of our lands

Honor Ceremonial Spaces

Recognize the sacred nature of many parks

Respect ongoing ceremonies

Seek permission and guidance

Respect Wildlife Boundaries

Avoid disturbing animal behavior

Maintain appropriate distances

Remember every creature has its place

Get in the Right State of Mind

Ask permission before entering natural spaces

Practice mindful visitation

Show gratitude through offerings

Notable Quotes

"We're a part of this circle of life. I'm no higher than a ladybug. I'm no higher than a buffalo. And we're all the same. We all come from the same place." - Watson Whitford

"I want this place to be beautiful. I want there to be clean water, clean air to breathe, to be healthy animals and healthy plants. Not just for my relatives that are here with us now, but for people that will be coming in the future that aren't even here yet." - Watson Whitford

"Our traditional ways of ceremony are good... we don't talk down about other people's way of religion or talk down about the way other people pray. You know, because we want to be uplifting. We want to help each other." - Watson Whitford

Special Offer

Visit indigenousearth.org to receive an exclusive video prayer from Watson Whitford, guiding you in practicing mindful visitation to green spaces.

Connect with Watson Whitford

Email: copresident@unityinc.org

Instagram: @watson_whitford05

Role: Co-President of UNITY

Support UNITY

UNITY (United National Indian Tribal Youth) supports Indigenous youth leadership across the nation. Your donation helps:

Support Indigenous youth programs

Preserve traditional knowledge

Foster environmental stewardship

Develop future leaders

Donate at: unityinc.org/donate

Stay Connected

Subscribe to our newsletter: indigenousearth.org

Follow Indigenous Earth Community on Instagram at @frankoscarweaver

Credits

Host: Frank Oscar Weaver - Pai Tavytera - Tribe of Paraguay

Guest: Watson Whitford -Navajo/ Chippewa Cree 

Sound Engineer: Jake Kelch 

This podcast acknowledges that many parks and natural areas are on ancestral Indigenous lands that have been stewarded by Native people for thousands of generations.

This hour long mix comprises of field recordings made on and around Spring Equinoxes of various years. It takes you down through the Northern Hemisphere – from my sitting room in East London to a cottage balcony in the tropical  forests of Borneo. Listen for Slovenian jackals, Polish moor frogs, a Himalayan shepherd herding sheep, a hippopotamus getting ready for the night in Sierra Leone and choirs of birds singing across the globe.

It was only in researching for this show that I realised the equinox actually refers not to a whole day but a single moment in time, when the sun faces directly over the equator, granting the entire globe with roughly equal length days and nights around it. I was captivated by this idea of a single moment of equilibrium and the impossibility of capturing that – which is much like the experience of listening itself, always dissolving as soon as you try to catch hold. And the equinox moment itself is both something of a physical reality, and pure idea, constructed entirely by an imaginary line humans have drawn and named the equator. Again, this paradox seems to resonate with the act of field recording, which both records a physical reality of a time and place through the sound waves that are imprinted through a microphone, but also creates a totally new and artificial object of its own.

Whilst lines of longitude go from east to west and determine clock time, lines of latitude go from North to South and determine climate, with the suns rays becoming more intense the further south we go. Whilst enjoying one of the first sunny days we’ve had in London (where I am) in a long time, I decided to structure this mix along lines of latitude, moving from North to South through the Northern Hemisphere. I wonder if listeners will be able to feel the sun’s intensity increasing through their ears.

It was a privilege to shape these extraordinary sounds into a journey. Whilst making it I found myself contemplating the equinox as a time of both stillness and motion, sameness and divergence, meeting and departure – and I invite you to listen into this space of contradiction with me.

Anna Clock is a composer, sound artist and researcher. Their practice is rooted in live acts of listening and challenging audiences to listen to each other, and their world, in new ways. They play the cello and also cut hair. They are currently pursuing an AHRC-funded Collaborative Doctoral Award with the Science Museum and Royal Holloway University exploring quantum aurality and how we listen to outer space. 

Recent works have been heard in Barbican, Royal Court Theatre, Wellcome Collection, The Albany, 100 years Gallery (UK), Project Arts Centre, Gate Theatre (IRL), Times Square Arts, Irish Arts Centre (USA) Dresden Staatschauspiel, Staatstheater Mainz (GER), CIRKO (FIN) and on Radio 4, Radio 3, Resonance FM and RTE Lyric radio.

Playlist:

[01:19-03:45] A mysterious voice memo at the piano (me)

[03:45-05:20] Bartlett park (me) | UK

[05:20-07:16] Dawn’s Chorus: Mating Calls of Moor Frogs at Sunrise: Jakub Orzecki | Poland

[07:16-10:11] Howling Jackals: Jan Brelih | Slovenia

[10:11-12:01] Wood Frogs at the Library: Mike Bullock | USA

[12:01-15:10] Dawn Chorus in the Early Days of Spring: Enis Çakar | Türkiye

[15:10-20:05] Incoming Tide at Gold Bluffs Beach: Kelly Rafuse | USA

[20:05 -25:45] Snowfall in Himalayas: Jan Brelih | India

[25:45-31:59] Soft Dawn Chorus in the Jungles of Nepal: George Vlad | Nepal

[30:22-35:37] Himalaya Forest Valley: Jan Brelih | India

[35:37-40:36] Himalayan Shepherd: Jan Brelih | India

[40:36-45:33] Dawn Chorus at Mora River: Giselle Ragoonanan | Trinidad and Tobago

[45:33-48:07] Busy Dawn Chorus in the Savannah: Sounding Wild | Sierra Leone

[48:07-49:38] Gentle Wind at Dusk in the Savannah: Sounding Wild | Sierra Leone

[49:30-51:42] Hippopotamus Preparing for the Night: Sounding Wild | Sierra Leone

[51:42-52:24] Nocturnal Pulse: Usun Apau Ancient Forest: Jan Brelih | Malaysia

[52:24-53:51] Night Walk in Rainforest Discovery Center: Gina Lo | Malaysia

[53:51-58:05] Bornean Anura: Gina Lo | Malaysia

We are delighted to share a special set by artist Asa 808, a 2-hour journey ideal to softly immersive oneself in the nature sounds, instruments and spoken word.

Credits to Asa 808 and Ana Roxanne, Agustin Pereyra Lucena Quartet, Andreas von Wangenheim, Awakened Souls, Dead Man Winter, Djrum, 혁오 (HYUKOH), Sunset Rollercoaster 落日飛車, Felbm, Frankie Reyes, Icarus, Hana Stretton, H.Takahashi, Jeff Parker, Jordi Savall, Julian Lage, Julianna Barwick, Laurie Spiegel, Matonizz feat. Brian Kelley, Meitei, Omni Gardens, Rosie Lowe & Duval Timothy, Sohn, Sonmi541, Starling Arrow, Ted Greene, Yutaka Hirasaka, Wau Wau Collectif.

Asa started making music at the age of six, first learning classical piano and guitar (despite being seen unfit by some peers due to a heredofamilial essential tremor), later specializing in music theory and composition, jazz and improvisation. As a teenager, the non-binary artist released a 5 track EP with their first solo ambient project Hasta la otra méxico!, of which especially 'Túrána hott kurdís' attracted a lot of attention, hitting almost 1 million views on vimeo & youtube. Driven by their love for electronic music, Asa started producing and DJing as ASA 808, releasing on George FitzGerald's MakeMusic, Soundspace, and their own TOYS imprint and playing at festivals and clubs across Europe and Asia.

Bodies Extend Themselves Toward a Breathtaking Absence of Limits

Earth.FM has the pleasure and honour to announce a new work with multidisciplinary artist, field recordist, and DJ, Cameron Randall.

Cameron’s practice involves composing assemblages of field recordings, electro-acoustic sound, sampling, synthesis, AI models, and digital processing. His previous work has involved sculpture, algorithms, sound, moving image, text, and installation, while his Listening With radio series is broadcast every month on Resonance FM.

In this sound piece, Cameron takes us on a journey across the planet with an evocative, intense, surprising, and utterly beautiful sound montage of Earth.FM recordings made during this Solstice season.

In his own words:

"This piece was created from field recordings made by a number of international field recordists around this time of the year. These recordings are so rich and diverse that I was immensely inspired by their depth and detail. I am interested in the remixing, morphing, and translation of sound—where the audio both retains its original sonic quality and also becomes something new. Every sound you hear in this piece originates from the initial recordings provided to me. The origins of some sounds are obvious; some are more opaque. This is a line I often like to blur and play with. Thank you so much to Melissa Pons for commissioning me to do the piece for Earth.FM."

To work creatively with precious natural soundscapes is an exercise of affection and appreciation for our world. We truly hope that his cosmic piece will inspire you in many ways.

You can also listen to the original field recordings:

Jan Brelih:

‘Cave Entrance in the Balkans’

‘Dusk Cicadas: Usun Apau Ancient Forest’

‘Falling Snow in the Forest’

‘Frog Echoes’

‘Gentle Waves of Black Sea’

‘Talking Bamboo’

Serge Bulat:

‘Winds of Onemo’ 

Rafael Diogo:

‘Where the Wild Things Whisper’ 

Ezra Gray:

‘Crook tn the River’ 

‘Night Time in Sloe Copse Wood’

Tom Kelly:

‘A Sandstorm in Death Valley’

Gina Lo:

‘Rolling Pebbles at the Glass Cove’

Andy Martin:

‘Golden Mantled Howlers at Dawn’

‘Midnight Insect Chorus Near Corcovado’

Phil Mill:

‘A Very Close Wolf’

Martha Mutiso:

‘Amphibian Chorus’

‘Chorus in the Amani Nature Forest Reserve’

Melissa Pons:

‘In the Valley – Countryside of Santo Antão’

Melissa Pons and Jocelyn Robert:

‘Ebb Current in Rocky Shore’

Ivo Vicic:

‘Snow Storm with Powerful Thunder’

Gregor Vida:

‘Wind, Squeaking Tree and Light Birds’

George Vlad:

‘Morning in Zimbabwe Village’