Total audio time: 69:18 minutes Number of songs: 5 Songs loop for continuous play. Song List: A Moment of Silence (0:04) Crickets Calming (18:03) A Sticky Cricket (10:02) Wall of Crickets (17:26) Katydid? or Katydidn't? (4:17) Creeking Crickets (19:28) (Song Descriptions and free samples are below)

Put this on and it is instant summer! A perfect recording to use to take a break from winter and be transported to a warm cosy summer night! Buy the CD for $4.90 plus $8.00 S/H = $12.90 Shipping is via air mail from Canada. Price is in US dollars. "Crickets Calming" is designed to provide the auditory stimulus that winter and urban living lacks, to help people find their "organic grounding" that they seem to lose in the winter months. The rhythmic elements are complimented by a randomness that is relaxing, soothing and refreshing. This combination best stimulates the auditory sense, while the lack of bass frequencies means it won't distract the attention. These characteristics also make this CD ideal as an aid to meditation, to give relief to depression and stress, and to aid insomniacs and light sleepers. When played in the background, the peaceful sounds of a summer night brings an organic grounding to one's self. Special care was taken in choosing the recording location of each song. Discriminating attention was paid in order to find locations with a variety sound sources that were spread throughout the soundscape. Also, the use of binaural recording techniques has yielded a sonic landscape with clearer and more precise stereo imaging then most other recordings. And finally, the skillful use of advanced noise reduction software has yielded incredibly pristine, natural and spacious audio images. The songs are long, and are constructed to be played individually and looped, in order to provide a continuous background ambience. For this reason there is no fade in or out on the songs. Each song has it's own distinctive character, and this character is a result of being recorded in different areas with different topography and environmental factors. These songs are free of music and contain only nature sounds. Song descriptions and free samples, are below. Buy the CD for $4.90 plus $8.00 S/H = $12.90 Shipping is via air mail from Canada. Price is in US dollars.

Crickets Calming Nature CD Song Descriptions

A Moment of Silence (0:04)

The first cut on any CD has to start with at least two seconds of silence. However I wanted all the cuts on this CD to be "loopable" so that each cut could be played in a loop with no silence between the beginning and end. Hence this cut of 4 seconds silence uses up the beginning silence that is required to be at the beginning of every CD. Otherwise when looping the Crickets Calming cut one would hear a pause when it restarted. I didn't want that. And actually this cut started out with the minimum possible cut size on a CD, which is 2 seconds. Then the CD burner adds the manditory 2 seconds on the beginning. We learn something new every day.

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Crickets Calming (18:03)

Crickets Calming has crickets up-front and center... in the foreground, in the midground, and in the background. A few other species of insects sneak in for variety. A soundscape perfect to use as a sleeping aid for insomniacs. It covers or masks the sounds of voices in nearby rooms or hallways.

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A Sticky Cricket (10:02)

A Sticky Cricket was recorded on a wet dewy misty night. Up above a moon is surrounded by high hazy clouds. A number of different insect calls fade in and out which create slow waves of varying textures.

Sticky Cricket Sleep MP3 is a specially produced hour-long version of "A Sticky Cricket" from the CD "Crickets Calming" meant to be used as a background ambience for sleeping. Unlike this CD, the beginning and the end of the MP3 fades in and out slowly, so it will not disturb the listener. The MP3 download is available here.

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Wall of Crickets (17:26)

Not a product of the production studio, this Wall of Crickets is created by the recording location. The binaural baffled microphones were placed at "eye level" in front of a 15 foot (5 meter) high bank which had crickets and other insects spread throughout it.

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Katydid? or Katydidn't? (4:17)

Featuring a variety of night time insects, drones, "zeeps" and crickets. A few tree frogs make themselves heard.

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Creeking Crickets (19:28)

Creeking Crickets © was recorded by a creek in the summer of 2004. The creek sounds are very sparse and in the background and are not audible to the casual listener. (it is a very small creek!) This soundscape was recorded during an unusually wet and cool summer. Tree frogs were in their element, as you can hear in the latter few minutes of this soundscape. Surprisingly, this was recorded in the exact same spot as the "Frog Mantra" and "A Froggie went a Wooing" were recorded 2 years earlier (featured in the Spiritual Serendipities CD). At that time there were practically zero insects. Now there are zero frogs. On those usual hot dry mid-summer weeks this creek almost dries up. Not this year! Comparing the two recordings illustrates how every moment is unique in nature. Differences in climate variation, as well as cycles of animal populations can create totally different ecological niches for species each year.

The Preview features a part of the song that has heavy participation from the treefrog population.

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More Comments

I am quite astounded by the production results of these recordings! When wearing headphones, there is such a clarity of space and depth of insect sounds, (two cuts also have tree frogs) that the soundscape draws you in deeper and deeper into the landscape - in a way that only binaural recordings can do. (For more information on binaural recording see the Nature Sounds.ca "About" page.) When listening with speakers better than average depth and stereo imaging is present. With this much content and detail, each song will stand up to repeated listenings and still sound fresh and interesting!

The songs are long, and are constructed to be played individually and looped, in order to provide a continuous background ambience. Each song has it's own distinctive character, and this character is a result of being recorded in different areas with different topography and environmental factors.

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