The Myanmar Atmospheres Sound Archive contains more than 90 minutes of audio material in High Definition 24 Bit / 96 kHz and Surround Sound, recorded in the rural parts of Burma. The Myanmar Atmospheres Sound Archive comprises sound recordings from the rural parts and the deepest Burmese jungles -- far away from the traffic noise and tourist streams. The Myanmar Atmospheres Sound Archive is part of the Burmese Soundscapes Sound Archive and can be downloaded as a package with the City Soundscapes Myanmar sound archive.
Myanmar Atmospheres is an Avosound product.
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The Myanmar Atmospheres Sound Archive contains a collection of typical Burmese sounds, including atmospheres with Burmese birds and crickets recorded in the jungle or near a forest. All sounds come with detailed information as well as metadata for administration software like Soundminer in order to search sounds.
This list is merely an overview. Please refer to the online sound archive or the track sheet for more information.
The blue-throated barbet is a typical element of the Burmese ambient soundscape. This jolly little bird belongs to the sparrow family and makes a unique cooing sound that can be heard in Burmese forests and cities. This bird generally is part of a very vocal flock that enjoys cooing all day long. If you actually manage to spot a blue-throated barbet, you can count yourself lucky, as it is bird that is often only heard, not seen.
Picture Source: CC BY 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=431193
This recording features a Great Barbet, a rather common bird whose lamentations can be heard all over the forests of Myanmar. The Great Barbet is mainly found in the tropical forests of Asia as well as in tropical parts of China, Nepal, Laos, Cambodia, Northern Thailand and Vietnam. You can find out more about the Great Barbet's range here. This recording was made in the jungle near Hispaw. This bird too is often heard but rarely seen.
Picture Source: By Prateik Kulkarni - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=47444369
The Asian Koel is a relatively big bird (46cm) that is easily identified by its high-volume, swelling cry. I heard the Asian Koel several times in different places in Burma. According to the map, it is supposed to live all over the Asian region. The recording was made in a forest near Mandalay.
Recording crickets and cicadas is one of my favourite elements of field recording. Crickets lend a country or a place its very own atmosphere. Their sound suggests both sweltering heat and otherworldliness.
Even in Myanmar, deforestation has become an everyday reality. Thick jungles were turned into dusty slopes in a matter of only a few years. What remains are bushes, sun-scorched earth and dry grass. These cleared areas dry up in the summer and turn into arid fields of brown grass; due to erosion, the fertile ground is then swept away during the rainy season. So if you wish to see a jungle, you will probably have to hike across dusty plains for few hours (and in burning heat).
The Burmese jungle is not a steaming rain forest (at least not in March), but a hot and dry place. In places where nature is still intact, Burma features an incredible variety of birds and animals (which is evident in the forest and jungle sound recordings). One can imagine, though, that the Burmese people are probably not that enthusiastic about the many poisonous snakes that inhabit the jungles. But even in Burma the natural habitat of these animals is getting smaller every year, yielding to pastures, meadows and plantations. Teak wood is highly sought after and is therefore harvested quite ruthlessly -- an indicator of the environmental damage done to this country (and many others).
If you are traveling in Burma, you should definitely take a trip into the jungle. If you are afraid of dangerous snakes and disgusting spiders (or other creepy-crawlies), we can assure you that you are not alone. These little critters, however, rarely jump out at you (even though the jungle is probably filled with them).
We recommend that you take a trip to Hsipaw. Spend a few days in the nice hotel Lily's and ask Lily about a trekking trip into the jungle. You can book group tours or individual trips with a local guide ($25 for 2 days for 2 people, all inclusive). Lily will even guarantee that you won't see any other tourists during those two days. Please read our Field Recording Burma Travel Report for more about our excursion into the jungle.
All Myanmar sound effects are also individually available for download. You can preview all the tracks in mp3 quality in the Avosound Online Sound Archive and then order and download them instantly.
In addition to the mp3 preview, all sounds in the Avosound Online Sound Archive feature a waveform and spectrum monitor that provide visual information about the recording. Please click here to browse the Archive.
