The Australian Outback - vast, beautiful and enigmatic.

The arid heart of the continent is actually highly biodiverse, marginal desert environments creating opportunities for a great range of different ecosystems. This recording takes us to open plains country, spinifex grasslands, and rocky gorges sheltering hidden oases.

We begin with one of our most serendipitous (and celebrated) recordings*; a solo male Pied Butcherbird singing languidly by moonlight in the cathedralesque ambience of Ormiston Gorge. More than just one of the most melodic of songbirds, this recording features a whole desert ecosystem.

From there we move out into open mulga country, to hear a magical chorus of chiming wedgebills, sometimes called the windchimes of the desert. Crested pigeons, singing honeyeaters, bellbirds, zebra finches and songlarks contribute to the morning activity. Budgerigars erupt from the ground in great flocks, wheeling and chattering overhead.

Back in the gorges, we hear a rare dusky grasswren among the rock slopes, the chipping of honeyeaters in the river gums, red-tailed black cockatoos flying in to drink of an evening, a waterhole frog chorus, and after dark, the haunting wails of dingoes echoing off the rock walls.

Finally, we return to Ormiston Gorge to hear the butcherbirds again, this time echoing in the outback night.

Of all our albums, I think this is close to being our favourite, and contains some our most evocative and extraordinary recordings we've made. It is a celebration of the vibrancy of Australia's fragile inland ecosystems and wildlife.


* To celebrate Listening Earth's 100th album release, the Ormiston Butcherbird recordings have been remastered from the complete original field recordings.