“Earth Sound” (CD)
Right here, right now, the solid Earth is moving under your feet. Earthquakes, storms, and ocean surf on a distant shore: each contributes a note to the restless chorus of vibrations that echoes across the planet’s vast interior.
This CD includes three 20-minute recordings of these slow natural vibrations, captured by a global network of digital seismographs and transposed into high-quality stereo.
The CD is accompanied by a 16-page full-color illustrated explanatory booklet (not available separately). An excerpt from this work was featured on National Public Radio’s “Sound Clips” series in 2006.
Erratum
Since I published the CD in 2007, a production error was brought to my attention:
The text in the illustration on the inside center panel of the CD sleeve says that surface waves circumnavigate the globe “in about one hour”. In fact, surface waves that travel through the crust and upper mantle would typically take 2.5-3 hours to make this trip. [Thank you, Lane Johnson.]
If you have any other errors to report, I’d be grateful if you’d let me know so I can correct them in time for the next reprinting.
i really enjoyed these recordings – this is in past tense because i can no longer listen to my copy because the piece of foam that held the cd in the cardboard case kinda failed. the glue came loose and slid down the cardboard, exposing the bottom of the cd to the outside world – producing scratches. also, when the cd was stored because the foam allowed the cd to spin and scratch against the cardboard. perhaps you might re-think the packaging. good album though
Adam, thanks so much for the feedback. As it happens, I’m currently working on a second edition of that CD — same sounds, different packaging. I’m taking your advice to heart and will definitely use sturdier packaging this time around. And, once it’s done (probably mid-September), I’d be happy to send you a copy to replace your old one. Just send me your physical mailing address (via direct email — not via a post on this blog).
Thanks!