We all dream of working in far off exotic places. There's no denying travel is enriching, but what about all the stuff that's in your own back garden? Have you ever really looked around you? Or more importantly, stopped and listened? Wherever you live, there is someone else in the world who sees your home as exciting and worthy of discovery. Even if you live in Wolverhampton.

This week I've been focusing on what I can hear around me, both from an enriching point of view, and a practical library-growing angle.

So without further ado, I give to you, My Back Garden... (or a few miles radius from my house)

I wanted to encompass some varied atmospheres, as well as finer sounds to be edited and stashed in the library. When I arrive to a location I like to start with atmospheres and then record more specific sounds afterward. Because, I can guarantee that only by sitting in silence for quite a while will you hear the most noteworthy. For example, maybe on arrival to a beach location you plan on recording lapping waves, seagulls and the sound of water hitting the rocks from varying distances. But if you take time out first of all, you might instead notice the patter of a tiny crab across the sand, or how the grass between the dunes sounds from different locations, or the dull thud of distant footprints when you lie on the ground.

This doesn't only apply to mystical empty beaches, or rural locations like my own. In a factory there will also be less obvious sounds that are worthy of recording, it only takes a little patience to find them, and then isolate them so they can be preserved as best you can manage given your circumstances and equipment. You can also make a note of these details and recreate them in the studio later.

The examples given in this post are all country-side based, but I implore you to apply the same mindful method wherever you are- there's always something hidden!