Chasing the rare sounds of Aurora Borealis, and other fascinating sounds of Lapland – Part 1: Introduction

Well hello there, or morjens, as we say here in Finland! I’m Niklas Eurén, Finnish sound designer and field recordist, and during the year 2021 I will be traveling around Lapland, Finland, trying to capture the sounds that Lapland’s really made of. The sounds are then released as sound libraries. The project is funded by the Alfred Kordelin Foundation.

One of my main goals is to record the rare sounds of aurora borealis. It will be an ultimate task, as there are only a few previous recordings. It was professor Unto Laine of Aalto University, Finland, who first recorded auroras in 2011. So why is it so hard to capture the sounds of aurora borealis?

I’ve been in contact with Sodankylä Geophysical Observatory regarding my project, as they were part of the project that captured the first and only aurora sounds. I found out that:

1. Nobody really knows how and why the sounds are formed. There are some interesting theories though.

2. Nobody knows exactly where the sounds are formed, but they have to be formed way below auroras, maybe even ground level. So the sounds are not coming from the auroras, but there is a connection between auroras and these sounds.

3. Sounds are apparently heard only if auroras are seen. So e.g. during summer or cloudy days nobody has reported aurora sounds even though auroras have been active.

4. Sounds are really happening, so it’s not just somebody’s imagination.

So I will be extremely lucky if I catch any sounds from the auroras, but that doesn’t stop me. I’m excited to be part of something special, and that’s more than enough.

The whole Lapland is my location, but I still have a couple of bases I’m going to use more than others. One of these bases is a family cabin in Enontekiö. Enontekiö is in the northern part of Lapland, and it’s a very special location because there in the wilderness you can experience absolute quietness. So it’s a perfect place to record sounds, as there is no surrounding noise!

Another base is really my home base, as I live in Kolari, Lapland. I have a short drive to the wilderness, so I can divide the year with multiple shorter trips.

For recording auroras and other sounds I have the following gear:

· Sound Devices MixPre-6 II

· Sony PCM-D100

· Sennheiser MKH 8040 stereo pair

· Sennheiser MKH 8020

· Telinga Universal MK2 parabolic reflector

I have planned to use 8040’s for all kinds of ambiences and mono sounds. In my sound list I have e.g. ambience from the fells, snow and ice and even mosquitos! The parabolic reflector with 8020 (or 8040) inside should give me good animal sounds, including birds and reindeer – and if I’m lucky, I could point the reflector towards the sounds of the auroras. And my precious Sony PCM-D100 is always with me wherever I go. Once it was even in the middle of a huge reindeer herd!

For carrying the gear in the wilderness I customized a Paris pulk (expedition sled), because my main methods for going from location to another are by cross-country skiing and by snowshoeing. In Finland I’m allowed to go almost everywhere in nature, so usually I’m not limited to trails. Many times I just follow animal trails, because why not.

While in the wilderness, I capture GoPro footage, so you can follow me on YouTube to see some action. I will be uploading a lot of videos and sounds during my trips to this channel