Splice Explores: The American West
Our engineers and sound designers set out to explore some of the awe-inspiring geographies of the western United States using its large-scale geological features to capture truly unique audio that would lend itself well to sound design.
It took them two hours of off-road driving to get to the remote Deep Creek range of Utah, where they were the only people around for miles and able to capture the pristine sounds of the great West. There, they found an abandoned 19th-century rock mine which created a unique natural amplification and ambiance. The sound of rocks banging against the old iron railway within the mine created particularly powerful booms and echos.
In Yosemite, they captured sounds among the rock climbers as they scaled the iconic El Capitan and Half Dome rock walls. They discovered a massive hollow tree at the edge of a ridge near Half Dome in Yosemite. Banging a rock against this natural instrument created huge a huge low tom sound enhanced through the substantial echo through the canyon.
They used a Zoom H6 with various attachments—the X/Y and shotgun—to capture audio in both locations. While they recorded a variety of natural textures, bird sounds, and waterfalls, they found that the most compelling sounds came from the percussiveness and echoes against the rocks in both environments. They used rocks and sticks to bang rhythmic patterns against the surfaces, creating music inspired by the natural beauty.
The sounds in this pack are presented both raw and with sound design to demonstrate how they can be transformed into music. Splice producer umru took the raw sounds recorded and used creative filter sweeps, EQ, gating, and more to sound design incredible loops and one-shots using this material.
We hope these sounds inspire you to find rhythms and textures within their own natural environments. We didn’t use any man-made instruments, mallets, or drum sticks to create rhythms from the environment. Whether it’s a bedroom or a large landscape, music can be made anywhere.
