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Four stories about people who’ve gone to extraordinary lengths to collect sounds – from wildlife to music to oral histories.

In the 1960s, Bernie Krause was one of the pioneer performers of the synthesiser. He’s played for The Doors, The Beach Boys, Mick Jagger and even on the Apocalypse Now soundtrack. But Bernie stepped away from that career and overcame a lifelong fear of animals to start recording the sounds of nature. As a ‘soundscape ecologist,’ he’s captured the natural sounds of more than 2,000 habitats around the world – from the Sumatran rainforest to the Sierra Nevada mountains. Bernie’s work The Great Animal Orchestra is currently exhibiting in venues around the world. (A longer version of this interview was first broadcast in 2016)

The legendary Colombian singer Totó La Momposina has dedicated a lifetime to collecting and performing the traditional songs of Colombia’s Caribbean coastline – travelling by foot, donkey, canoe and car. (A longer version of this interview was first broadcast in 2015)

Brazilian journalist Daniel Bacchieri has also spent years recording and sharing music that might otherwise be lost. But he looks for it in a very specific place – in the street. His website StreetMusicMap documents buskers and street musicians from all over the world. (A longer version of this interview was first broadcast in 2017)

Mateo Sobode Chiqueno is from Paraguay’s indigenous Ayoreo tribe. Hunter-gatherers who have roamed the forests of Paraguay for many centuries, the Ayoreo were targeted by missionaries who forced them to move into settlements. Life in the missionary settlements was hard, but Mateo never gave up on his Ayoreo connections. With a tape recorder, he began recording Ayoreo songs, language, stories and rituals. These cassettes are now a vital link to a threatened culture. (A longer version of this interview is available in the episode Mateo the memory man)

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(Photo: Bernie Krause recording in the field. Credit: Reiber and Partners)