A Reflection on Field Recordings and Nature Boy Sean Ronayne's "Wild Silence"

With Wild Silence, a deeply immersive album, we get a glimpse into the world of Irish ornithologist and sound recordist Seán Ronayne, who captures the sound of nature without human noise. This immersive album precedes his memoir, Nature Boy: A Memoir of Birdsong and Belonging.

Since its release in 2013, Silencea quasi-documentary by Cork-born filmmaker Pat Collins has drawn me in time and again. Ireland’s vast, dramatic landscapes and widescreen cinematography make the life and work of Eoghan, a sound recordist who returns to Ireland after 15 years in the hope of capturing the sounds of places free of human noise, seem like an insignificant speck in the vastness of it all – both landscape and time. The film is unhurried and warps your concept of time, drawing you into moments of quiet and contemplation – a perfect companion to equally transformative favourites: the recent Perfect days and Ben Rivers Two years at sea. For reasons that will become obvious, Silence This is the film that came to mind after reading the story of an Irish ornithologist and sound recordist. Sean Ronayne.

I learned naively a few years ago how difficult it is to avoid anthropogenic noise in recordings. My youngest son had started working in the stables and once a week I would drop him off at dawn and, on the way back, stop for a walk in the woods of the Quantock Hills in Somerset, armed with my field recorder, my tripods and my microphones. It is easy to see why field recording is often a solitary activity; microphones are not cognitive, so while an aeroplane flying overhead or the sound of tyres on tarmac from a car passing in the distance would distract me, the biggest challenge was to eliminate my own presence – my breathing, my movements – the sound of rain hitting waterproof fabric, which in my mind warmly evokes teenage years spent sheltering from the rain in a tent on a hill at the weekend, is nothing like the soft sound of rain hitting moss. It was much easier and more rewarding to intentionally place myself in the recording—walking along a forest path, brushing past ferns, stopping to listen to a tawny owl—my recordings felt more like a non-vocal audio diary. Even though I was light years away from mastering the art of completely disguising my presence—a habit that seems natural to Cabaret Voltaire founder and sound engineer Chris Watson—I still enjoyed the experience. Anything that brings you closer to nature is a good thing, and it also left me with a greater respect for those who spend many hours and days patiently making these recordings.

Listening to field recordings affects us all in different ways. Although sound is ephemeral, it has the power to transport us and alter our reality. Sound activates our neural pathways, activating different parts of our brains, leading to very individual and unique experiences – yes, we all experience sound differently. In David Toop Ocean of sound (ambient sound and radical listening in the age of communication), he describes how sounds altered his reality during his hospital stay: “…sitting quietly in a fantasy land… In truth, I am lying in an intensive care unit. Wired, plugged and electronically connected, I have passed from a coma into a sonic simulation of life past and gone.”

Reading a recent Bandcamp editorial will give you an idea of the magnitude of these “field recordings from around the world, made by musicians and sound artists as well as professional field recordists.” It was on Bandcamp that I first discovered Seán Ronayne.

Seán Ronayne is a young Irish ornithologist and sound recordist who enjoys “…bringing the sounds of nature to those who can’t venture outside…”. His album, Wild Silencefeatures recordings of wild Irish soundscapes recorded in a variety of habitats. Like Eoghan in Pat Collins’ film, Seán’s recordings are also free of anthropogenic noise sources (hence the title). Listening to the album, you feel like a man who has travelled many, many miles – from the sound of “the wild Atlantic – a brute force of nature to be reckoned with” to the sublime sounds of a peat bog and a summer dawn choir performance.

Silence by Sean Ronayne

The album also reflects his passion and dedication to nature, which is also evident in the RTÉ interview below, in which he talks to Tommy Tiernan about his goal of recording every species of Irish bird and shares a special story about a migratory bird that mimics the sounds of others, bringing the songs of Senegal to Ireland.

Sean’s Memoirs, Nature Boy: A Memoir of Birdsong and Belongingwill also be published by Hachette Ireland in October.

Birdwatcher Seán Ronayne always knew he was different. While he struggled to fit in at school, when he was surrounded by nature and listening to birdsong, he felt a sense of calm and could truly be himself. His happiest moments were spent walking in the woods with his father and grandfather, learning to identify the plants and birds around their home in Cork. The other children called him “the nature boy”.

Seán went on to qualify as an ornithologist and devote his life to studying and photographing birds. When he discovered he was autistic at the age of thirty-two, his life began to make sense. He came to recognise that his difference was a gift, allowing him to use his passion to help raise awareness of the beauty of the natural world – and the dangers it currently faces.

In 2021, Seán set out on a mission to be the first to record the sound of every bird species regularly found in Ireland: a journey of discovery and wonder that took him to all corners of the country.

Order the book Nature Boy: A Memoir of Birdsong and Belonging – Amazon | Librairie.org

Order the album Wild Silence: Band Camp