A beautiful haunting on Monte Grappa

Hiking on Monte Grappa in northern Italy on an extremely cloudy and foggy day, the visibility on the mountain paths was down to just a few metres.

Stopping for a break, we encountered this beautiful sounds of birds calling out to one another through the mist – the sound was reflecting off the mountainside with a gorgeous natural reverb, and on a still day with no one around, there was no other sound but this – mystical, hanging hauntingly in the air, and unforgettable.

City version:

This recomposition attempts to create the feeling of experiencing this sound first hand up on Monte Grappa – with no one else around and the sound reflecting off the mountainside, it had a uniquely haunting character and felt like the birds were communicating directly with us.

The piece builds layered sounds underneath the birdsong, respectfully lying underneath the beautiful original and communicating our sense of wonder at the sound, and how “warming” it felt to hear on a chilly day. Until the end, when our synth lines are smeared and stretched all over the original, representing the point at which the birds flew away and left us in our silent reverie.

Listen to more of our sounds from Italy.

Memory version: