Sólheimar in Grímsnes is a fabulous place. There is an eco village that was founded in 1930. I stayed there for one night on August 16th, 2021 and of course I let the recorder run overnight.
What is remarkable about this place is that it is located in a small shallow valley in the landscape, so there is not much man-made noise from the surrounding countryside.
When I first visited this place 45 years ago, it was not different from many other places or farms in this county. Just several houses and unique tall trees in open moorland.
Today, the landscape and the previous horizon have disappeared by forestry and new houses have been built. The place is therefore unrecognizable from what it was 45 years ago. The natural soundscape has also changed. Previously, this was a favorite land for peacocks, but with the advent of trees and vegetation, it has changed and the number of sparrows has increased.
The silence is interesting in this place. It’s extremely quiet so people can call each other at a considerable distance. Over the night in calm weather, nothing is audible with bare ears. Even though the recording gain has been increased by 70dB. The only occasional sounds come from vegetation, trees or bugs.
But, there is also some background noise at mid-low frequency that slowly changes the pitch during the night. I have noticed this in many quiet recordings and it seems to be slightly different from place to place. It is not possible to tell if it is related to moisture in the air or temperature. In this recording it might be a light breeze in the leaves on the top of the trees or maybe air conditioners in nearby houses. One thing is for sure, this recording was not disturbed by traffic, not even traffic somewhere far away in the county.
However, this „ultra silence“ part is not what can be heard here. Recording begins at a quarter past five. The sun seems to be warming the area, because fly swarms are buzzing in the background.
Birds started to call and sing half an hour earlier and people were clearly waking up.
Quality open headphones are recommended while listening at mid or low level.
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(mp3 256kbps / 60Mb)
Recorder: Sonosax SX-R4+
Mics: Lewitt LCT540s (IRT cross setup)
Pix: LG G6
Location: 64.066517, -20.642249
Weather: Calm, partly cloudy, ca 10°C
HLJÓÐMYND - SOUNDIMAGE 