Field recording means taking a microphone to the sound rather than bringing the sound to a studio. The practice serves science, documentation and art alike: the British Library’s wildlife and environmental sound collection, established in 1969, holds more than 300,000 catalogued recordings, from bird calls to whale song. Portable recorders have made it accessible to anyone, and Akai’s MPC Live III of 2025 even includes a built-in microphone for capturing sounds on location.
For jazz lo-fi producers, field recordings are a quick way to set a scene. A loop of rain on a window, distant traffic or the murmur of a café can sit beneath the music and give it atmosphere. The recordings may be the producer’s own or come from sound libraries; using someone else’s recording needs the same attention to rights as any other sample.