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Soundscapes · Martha’s Vineyard
What the island sounds like when nobody is talking
Four long field recordings from summer nights in 2025, and four short loops: crickets from the end of summer 2026 and birdsong from June. No music, no sound library.
Set one · 2025
Summer nights, 2025
Four long recordings, about eighty minutes end to end. Recorded on a Zoom H2n in mid-side stereo, no edits beyond a fade at each end.
Wind through the pines
·A soft, steady low-frequency wash, like wind through pines or waves folding over sand. Almost no high end. The one to put on and forget.
The long ebb
·Deeper low-end surges with a slow ebb and flow. Sparse high frequencies, which is what makes it work against traffic noise or a noisy hallway.
Through an open window
·A stable low bed with small shifts in it. This is what the island sounds like from a bedroom with the window open.
Crickets
·Crickets stitch a high layer over the low base. The closest of the four to what people actually mean when they say summer night.
Set two · loops
Short loops: crickets and birds
Three cricket recordings from the end of summer 2026 and one of birdsong from a June day, each edited into a seamless loop. Start one and it runs until you stop it.
Late August crickets
loop ·The night of August 29, 2026. Crickets over a fuller low bed than the September pair, so it sits closest to the 2025 set. A three-minute loop, edited to join without a seam; start it and it runs until you stop it.
September crickets, close
loop ·A September 2026 night with almost nothing under the crickets: the chirp and very little else. The driest of the three loops, and the one to try if the low end of the others is too much for a phone speaker.
September crickets, wide
loop ·The same month with more of the night underneath: a soft low bed fills in what the close recording leaves out. Three minutes, looped.
Birdsong, June 21
loop ·Birds for a change: several calling over a quiet low bed, recorded on the island on June 21. A ninety-second loop, edited to join without a seam, so it runs as long as you leave it.
Field notes
The first four came from the same stretch of summer nights on the island in 2025, recorded on a Zoom H2n in mid-side stereo. No sound libraries, no added layers. What you hear is what was there, including the occasional distant car.
The three cricket recordings were made on the island at the end of August and in September 2026 and cut into three-minute loops that join without a seam. They are crickets, not birds, whatever the chirp sounds like through a laptop speaker. The birdsong is a June 21 recording cut the same way. Left alone, each loop plays until you stop it; in the play-all run they take one pass each.
Headphones and a low volume get the most out of them. The low end is where the island actually lives on a still night, and phone speakers throw it away.
Listen, then watch
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Four free downloads · 2026 The Beach Guide, the Fall Guide, Where to Stay and What It Really Costs Every beach decoded, the fall season date by date, every town and price band for sleeping over, and the honest budget guide: four PDFs, free with the island letter. No spam, one click to leave. See a sample first Island prices, hours and details change often. Please verify with businesses before you go. Full disclaimer
The island right now
5:48 PM island time
Four free downloads · 2026
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