The Sound of Summer
What sounds communicate to us the arrival of Summer?
Some of you may recall a post I wrote recently detailing the diverse soundworlds of the humble cicada (check it out below if not…)
The above recording was made last week on a sleepy and very hot afternoon. The foreign yet familiar croaking, grating kkshh kshhh drifted in through my window with the breeze, the source hidden deep in the shelter of the cypress trees across from my balcony.
Across the Mediterranean, the sound of the cicada is the sound that signifies the start of the Summer. Traditionally here in Provence the cicadas, or cigalles to give them their French name, begin to sing just after the French national day for celebrating music known as Fête de la Musique — the cicadas sing as if summoned by the musician’s themselves who take to the streets to preach and perform to any and every passer-by in an effort to make, well, as much noise as possible. It is, like the cicada’s song, quite a cacophonous phenomena!
But today I’m not going to talk about the cicada, again…
Today I want to share with you a sound that signifies summer to me personally,
and it’s this…
https://earth.fm/recordings/north-sea-waves/
Deep, rolling waves.
Carrying the ocean’s song to the shore
Smooth pebbles caressed by time
This recording was made on Overstrand Beach in North Norfolk, Great Britain.
It’s a place very dear to my heart as it is where my mother has been a resident for some time. A quiet, humble, magical village that sits on the extremity of Eastern Britain facing out towards the North Sea.
When I hear this recording, I am transported back to Summers spent there on the beach. Chasing tennis balls with my mother’s dog Rufus as his shaggy fur spits and sprays salty water onto my calves. I remember the long walks down towards Cromer, miles of perfect sand timelessly carried and carved by the tide. The joy of eating hot fish and chips by the pier, ice cream and warm radient orange sunsets…
The peculiarity of the sounds of waves — so familiar, yet so mysterious. The sounds of the seas have fascinated me ever since I began recording nature. I have always been lured towards the shore, lost in the melodious wall of noise that seems to hold some kind of hidden message — a healing mantra? a secret to the universe? Perhaps it is fair to say, that in our human condition we are guilty of searching for explanations where perhaps explanations are not due.
For me, nothing says Summer more than lying on a beach somewhere and listening to the sound of the waves…
Ye Ocean-Waves! that, wheresoe'er ye roll,
Yield homage only to eternal laws!
— Samuel Coleridge - France: An Ode
What sounds signify Summer for you?
Got your own stories and sounds you’d like to share…?
I really dig hearing other people’s sounds — the challenges, joys, trials and tribulations, however simple, arbitrary or convoluted your process is I’d love to hear about it - so please feel free to get in touch!
Sonic Tapestries is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, please consider becoming a free subscriber.
If you do like reading along and want to help support my work further, please consider sharing this post with your friends, family and followers.
Your kind support helps me to grow my audience and continue on my creative path.
Feel free to write me directly or leave a comment in the comments section below.
It’s a pleasure to have you here with me.
🌻🌻🌻
Mat
