These old, trippy recordings of nature are inspiring Angelenos to use sound for art and healing

In the late 1960s, pioneering field recordist Irv Teibel billed his nature soundscapes of seashores and thunderstorms as “the most sensuous recordings ever made.”

Now, more than 50 years later, his work continues to inspire some Angelenos to tune out the stress of the world with sound therapy.

A vanguard in sound

If you’ve spent any time crate digging, there’s a very good chance you’ve come across some intriguing looking records with album art depicting serene beaches or tranquil forests. Instead of an artist’s name, they just have the word “environments” across the top and strange track titles like “The Psychologically Ultimate Seashore.”

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Irv Teibel recording the sound of a stream.

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Courtesy Irv Teibel archive

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These are the meticulously-engineered field recordings and soundscapes of the late Irv Teibel, a sonic traveler and ArtCenter College of Design attendee who went around recording everything from the sound of the waves at Brighton Beach, to insects and animal life in Georgia’s Okefenokee Swamp.

“I don’t think he’s ever going to be recognized as like a Brian Eno. But I think some of his ideas and his work are probably just as important these days for the way we’ve ended up with the way people use music,” said Jonathan Een Newton, an East Coast-based musician who worked with Teibel’s daughter, Jennifer Ballow, to get the catalog out of the dollar bin and back into the public consciousness.

Newton said he estimates the “environments” series sold tens of thousands of records every year when they were first released in the late 60s through the 70s.

“I think people are hungry for this kind of thing, always. Immersive sound kind of things are probably appealing to people. Probably now more than ever, just given how stressful the modern world is,” Newton told LAist.

Sound as art and healing

Teibel’s recordings, like “Dawn at New Hope, Pennsylvania” foreshadowed our world, now saturated with 10-hour YouTube videos of rain storms and apps offering dulcet tones on repeat.

The “environments” series has found new life in the work of experimental music producers and local DJs too.

In an interview uploaded eight years ago to the Irv Teibel Archive YouTube channel, Angeleno and Dublab founder Mark “Frosty” McNeill called the “environments” series “sonic seasoning” that continues to be used by music producers and DJs like himself to this day.

“These records used in kind of longform ambient DJ sets or experimental DJ sets are essential to have in the bag. And so many people have utilized these records because they’re just building blocks,” McNeill said.

Under his label, Syntonic Research, Teibel wanted people to use his recordings as sonic therapy, to alter people’s psychological states for the better.

“As human beings we are designed to have that in the background. And it’s only in the last couple of hundred years that that’s been totally absent,” said Collin Davis, an audio engineer who works for Stones Throw Records in Los Angeles who has gone down the “environments” rabbit hole.

“So I think on a therapeutic level, too, found sounds and field recordings are very beneficial to our mental state,” Davis said.

Irv Teibel in his studio.

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Courtesy Irv Teibel Archive

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More real than reality

Teibel didn’t just focus on pure sound documentary work, Davis said. These recordings were “hyper-engineered,” which set them apart from other field recordings.

“Irv would go out and record with a microphone and then bring it back and EQ and compress and sometimes [use] pitch shifting... in making ambient music and working in recording studios so much, I just became fascinated with the way Irv really hyper-engineered all of these to really feel realer than real and make them as pleasing as possible,” Davis said.

Since coming across an “environments” title on vinyl at a local record store with his partner, Brittany Bueno, the two say they’ve collected all of them.

Teibel’s impact on mental health work

Collin Davis and Brittany Bueno leading a therapeutic listening session at the Philosophical Research Society in Los Feliz

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Jackie Radinsky

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Bueno, a psychotherapist clinically trained in trauma-informed care, said she often uses soundscapes similar to Teibel’s in her practice.

“I’ve noticed that using field recordings in sessions really helps clients ground and feel present with themselves. It doesn’t impose any kind of narrative since it’s a natural sound,” she said.

Bueno and Davis said Teibel’s work is part of the inspiration behind their just-launched label “Evidence Based Music.” With this new venture, they want to make their own compositions, leaning on scientific studies about how soundscapes and certain tones can be effective in a therapeutic setting.

“With Collin’s expertise and my background, it’s really easy for us to collaborate on what is effective. And we’re also working with other artists who are really attuned to these types of states and sounds and what feels really peaceful and grounding,” Bueno told LAist.

Bueno and Davis said “environments” records are often the first ones they reach for in the morning to tune out the sounds of urban Los Angeles.

These days, “environments” soundscapes can be found on pretty much every format, from YouTube to Spotify to a stand alone app.

So next time you need to chill, try changing your environment.

As a listener testimonial written on the back of the first record says: “Haven’t felt this good since my vacation.”

Details for listening session

Bueno and Davis will be leading an “environments” listening session 5 p.m. Saturday, May 24, at the Philosophical Research Society, at 3910 Los Feliz Blvd., Los Angeles.

You can get more info and buy tickets here.