Bat sounds in Bali

Take a trip with us today to Bali, Indonesia and hear bat sounds at the Goa Lawah Temple, as recorded by Marcel Gnauk:

“I was standing in front of the cave and couldn’t believe it, Thousands of bats sleeping, squeaking or flying around the cave! In the back of the cave is another room with even more bats. The bats leaving the cave at night and coming back in the morning. Maybe someday I come here again and wait until this happens but I think they close the temple before.”

“As a visitor, you are not allowed to walk on the stairs so I had to make the recording from down below! To get a better sound with less background sound from the street bring a boom or a long tripod.”

For the reimagined piece, we’ve hidden away the sounds of bats under low-pass filters, reverb and other effects, gradually unveiling them with slow-release envelopes over the course of the piece, to symbolise the bats emerging from their dark roosts at sunset.

The shimmering synth patterns represent the beating of their wings as they head out into the night.

City version:

Memory version: