"Owl Sounds In The Forest 10 HOURS LONG. Relaxing Owl Sounds" is regarded (rightly) by owl sound aficionados as a classic. Historically this piece served as a bridge between mass-market rain– and cricket-soundscapes and the recognizably modern owl sounds recordings; it might still serve as such a bridge for the owl sounds neophyte.
The piece begins as a standard early-aughts rainstorm recording. The owl sounds come in low, slow trills; they do not draw attention to themselves but are undeniably beautiful. These are punctuated at regular intervals by a cluster of seven hoots. This regularity would be regarded today as stale or unnatural, rather than as a sign of neat and careful craft. Indeed, what is distinctive about "Owl Sounds In The Forest..." is precisely its embrace of its own artifice. At about 4:02 the rain sounds abruptly cut out, leaving us to just the owls and the crickets. No natural rainstorm could quiet suddenly enough to foreground the owls in the way "Owl Sounds In The Forest..." does. This was, of course, a revolutionary moment for relaxing natural soundscapes and the birth of owl sounds as a genre unto itself.
That today's owl sounds recordings strain so hard to appear "natural" (while retaining the 2+ hour looped format that has become standard) is, ultimately, a betrayal of the ambition of this classic piece. Returning to listen to "Owl Sounds In The Forest..." should remind us that owl sounds recordings are an occasion to celebrate a dynamic collaboration between owl and man, and that artifice must play its part in bringing the richness of these majestic animals' song to our living rooms or workday commutes.
