About

My name is Des Coulam and I have been recording sound on and off for the last fifty years. The digital age has made sound recording easier than ever before with smaller, affordable, high-quality sound recorders and a plethora of good quality microphones to suit every application some of which are more affordable than others. The old adage remains good – spend as much as you can afford on a good quality microphone! But hardware is not everything, it’s simply a means to an end. Unforgettable sound recordings are limited only by one’s imagination.

I live in Paris and this blog is dedicated to my recordings of the street sounds of Paris … and some other things too.  I specialise in street recordings mostly in binaural stereo. I take my inspiration from the great twentieth-century street photographers who walked the streets seeking that elusive ‘decisive moment’.

For most of our history we have used artefacts, architecture, pictures and words to create a vision of our past. It’s only in the last thirty seconds or so on our historical clock that we have been able to capture and record sound. Almost all our sonic heritage has passed by unrecorded. That is why I, and many others, are dedicated to recording and archiving the sounds around us so that future generations will have the sounds of our time to explore, to study and to enjoy.

Courtesy Note:

I have published the sound clips in this blog for the enjoyment of those who choose to listen to them.

Excerpts from this blog may be used for non-commercial purposes, provided that full and clear credit is given to Soundlandscapes and soundlandscapes.wordpress.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.