i have two reasons why i generally only want to include nature sounds in my recordings.
the first is aesthetic. the sudden roar of a car or plane is invasive, intrusive. they disrupt the tranquility of the place and time, and of the gentle melodic music that will eventually be paired with those nature sounds. very occasionally i’ll use parts of a noisy recording as accents, or after heavy processing and sampling for e.g. rhythmic beats. but mostly, i find human-produced noise to be detrimental, clashing with the rest of a song, and would rather present, in sound, the delicate fragility of a beautiful natural place, before it vanishes.
the second is practical, related to deafness & disability. as my hearing loss progressively worsens, it’s extremely difficult to distinguish one sound or frequency from another. leaving everything “as-is” in a recording, without any attempt at on-location isolation, makes it impossible for me to perceive and understand the quieter, more delicate, nuanced sounds of nature – a bird calling softly, leaves falling, the crunch of dirt, a rustle of wind, tiny raindrops. the broad-spectrum sounds of human activity & traffic wash out all the moments i really want to focus on and share with the listener.
