Soundscapes | Aotearoa - New Zealand – The Story Behind the Album

Last week I released a new album, Soundscapes: Aotearoa New Zealand.

So where did this one come from?

This album sits a little off to the side of the Endurance - Shackleton series. Most of what I’ve done up to now has been driven by lyrics and story, songs in that Pink Floyd, Dylan, U2 kind of vibe. This time, I wanted to step away from words and lean into atmosphere.

Soundscapes is ambient music… but with a bit of a twist.

Each track is built around a real place I’ve been. The idea was simple: try to capture not just how it looks, but how it feels to stand there. The wind, the space, the quiet… or sometimes the noise. Then I layered in the actual sounds of those places, waves rolling in, lake water lapping at the shore, kea calling through the mountains.

In some cases, I pulled from recordings I found, little details that matter. Things like the steam whistle of the Earnslaw on Lake Wakatipu, or the distant horn of the Cook Strait ferry. Small sounds, but they carry you somewhere.

There were really three reasons this album came together.

First, I had a collection of tracks sitting in the background. Pieces that didn’t quite fit the Shackleton story, or the Campbell Island project. Good music, just waiting for a home.

Second, I stumbled across ambient music in my car. At first, I thought I’d never use it. But on longer drives, I found myself leaving it on. It became… steady. Almost meditative. So I thought, why not make something like that? Something I’d genuinely want to listen to while driving. There are even a couple of tracks that break the calm a bit… just enough to keep me awake on those longer trips.

And third, there was the first track I released, which I recorded on my iPad in GarageBand, called Pike River. What I loved about that piece was how the sound, the thunder, the birds, pulled you into the place. It wasn’t just music, it was presence. That idea stayed with me, and this album is really an extension of that.

By the way, Pike River was at the top of the list of tracks to add to Soundscapes. This time, record it correctly with better mics, etc., but I think there might be a volume two in the works one day

Soundscapes - I’ve had a lot of fun with this one.

Over the past few days, I’ve been doing some long-haul driving with it playing quietly in the background… and it’s been good company. That’s probably the simplest way to put it.

If it finds its way into your day somewhere, on the road, or just in a quiet moment, I hope it does the same for you.

Lake Matheson Cover Photo by Peter Fisher

Thanks for listening.

Tony

Soundscapes: Aotearoa - New Zealand

1. Gore Bay

2. Pukerua Bay

3. Walking Through Peel Forest (Te Wāonui a Tāne)

4. Arthur’s Pass National Park (Kā Tiritiri o te Moana)

5. Lake Manapouri – Deep Water

6. Lake Sumner (Hoka Kura)

7. Lake Matheson (Te Ara Kairaumati)

8. Blue Pools – Haast Pass (Te Wai Whakaata o Hāwea)

9. Southbound on the Southern Ocean

10. Campbell Island Whales (Motu Ihupuku)

11. Lake Wakatipu (Whakatipu Waimāori)

12. Franz Josef Glacier / Kā Roimata o Hine Hukatere

13. Aoraki / Mount Cook

14. Cook Strait Ferry (Raukawa Moana)