Wet Cave Symphony

Capturing cave acoustics has been my new field recording passion for about a year now, since I discovered the hidden world of the underground. People often ask, “But what is there inside to even record—just silence or monotonous dripping water sounds?” Yet the more I explore and learn, the more I discover how each cave, each cavern, carries its own unique sonic character. It is never the same, never easy, and always inspiring.

This recording was captured in a large hall deep within one of Georgia’s many wild, still largely unexplored caves. This particular cave system is exceptionally wet, with countless water drops falling onto the ground, rocks, hollow formations, and stalagmites. Normally, I avoid recording more saturated dripping environments, as they can become overwhelming. Yet here I encountered such a unique, diverse, and musically varied collection of drops—each hitting different surfaces and creating distinct tones—that I was pleasantly surprised.

The ambience is more intense than my usual cave recordings, yet there is a certain dreamy calm to it that transports you on a journey into the underworld. The cave becomes a resonant chamber where every surface element adds its own tone to the constant dripping—each drop finding its place in an endless, hypnotic rhythm.