Serpentine
By Naturespace · 17 reviews ·
The sound of the distant trains push through the thick indigo night, curving and winding along the mountainous landscape as the breezes spill into the valley. The cool mountain air lies like a white velvet blanket over the grass and hushes the crickets. The echoes of the far-away trains shimmer and cascade along the canyon walls as the steady baritone of the engines vibrate the air from ten miles away. Serpentine is a real-time ambience of two very distant freight trains passing in the night. One approaches from the right, the other enters on the left. It is not a train sound effect, it is an ambience. A total of four horn events occur evenly across twenty-one minutes of evening. There are gorgeously soft crickets and breezes that provide the stage and lighting against a canyon silhouette whose natural amphitheater architecture creates a spellbinding 3D echo. For anyone whose past holds the sound of trains in the distance, this track will trigger extremely vivid memories; it is quite powerful in that regard. Serpentine is heavily influenced by the method of playback; quietly over speakers the engine sounds are soft and subdued with the predominant sound being the crickets and wind interspersed with the horn, which is far away but still quite audible. Under headphones, the ambience is extremely immersive and gentle, with the rumble of the engines steadily present through most of it, and the echo of the distant horn lights up the canyon with wonderful depth and detail
What listeners say
My favourite track from the catalogue. Reminds me of camping in Jasper National Park. I longed to her the train rumble through the mountains, and have rekindled the experience with Serpentine. It’s calming, interesting, and reminds me of the cool mountains in summer. Simply the best.
I've had this track for a while and have slowly warmed up to it. I originally bought it because I thought that it would be a good companion to the other train track (pun intended), The Ghost. While The Ghost is an immersive and detailed ride on a locomotive, Serpentine, while also immersive, is more of an ambient track with some train whistles and distant rumbles throughout. It does feature cricket sounds which I mostly find distracting and grating, but here are very soothing and subdued on this track. The wind kicks up in the canyon from time to time and blows across you. I picture the scene on a dark fall night way on the outskirts of town up in the hills in a small grassy clearing with the valley below you. The crickets, wind, and train sound echoes are your symphony for the evening. It's quite a long track and has some surprising little details to listen for.
This track is almost definitely the best one I have purchased thus far, and well worth the expense. I have a substantial difficulty focusing while I'm reading, and "Serpentine" provides the perfect substrate against which to drown out all of those distractions. It is a perfect sleeping aid, although the train horn could interfere with that if one is sensitive enough. Nevertheless, I highly recommend this track - Naturespace had outdone itself again.
Living in a rural area with many railroad crossings, we usually hear the trains rumbling in the distance, minus the horns. In the past, before Town noise ordinances, train horns could be heard. So, it is refreshing to hear a horn with the rumbling. It is a perfect evening with a soft night chorus. At times, some insects sing louder than others. A gentle breeze can be heard occasionally. Stronger wind gusts can also be heard. Night creatures rustle in the tall grass around you. The passing trains are not too frequent, so I find this track very relaxing and similar to sounds I am accustomed to. I think I hear the trains traveling in both directions. Cautionary message to some, there is a train that passes which seems closer since their horn is much louder than the other trains. I suspect it is on a closer track which differs from the others.
10/10. Wasn't expecting to love this one, but it immerses you in this landscape with the loveliest nighttime noises. Their volume, in relation to the noise of the train, is so perfectly balanced (proportionate?) that they just seep into every corner of the room in the most natural way. I've had this app forever now, as well as most of the tracks. Serpentine is the only one that, even now, when I'm listening to it whilst working or reading and get distracted, I hear the train coming and think its real for a few seconds. This is just bliss. Thank you, Naturespace
This is a nice track to either read a book or fall asleep to. Quite similar to "night at lake unknown" but without the sound of water. The crickets and wind are a bit more subtle in this one which is quite nice. The trains come in every two or three minutes, you kinda miss them when you're just listening. Overall a steady track, perfect for relaxing or even stargazing :)
Four out of five stars. Love the trains, but since I listen wirh speakers to sleep one of the train whistles is just a little too loud. Rember being in a campground in Washinton State and hearing trains on the other side of the Columbia River doing this exact thing. Pleasant memory.
Like others have mentioned, I think the reason I just love this track is because growing up, a train would go by not too far from my parent's home, and this track sounds just exactly like a summer night with the window open. The train engineer always seemed to be courteous and lower the sound to just 2 quiet pulls of the horn, & you can hear the soft wind rustle the leaves and grass & very soft crickets beneath your window. I'm transported to a younger, more carefree childhood memory & find it so much easier to slide into sleep (I've had terrible insomnia since I was a teenager, & I've searched for and used and wasted money on so many other "sleep" or meditation apps/sounds that just don't hold a candle to the realism and variety in this catalog. I'd say I don't know how I lived without it before, but I do know - I didn't sleep! Thank you to everyone at Naturespace for making my life a little better!!)
The sound of late nights at my grandparents' home, reading Ray Bradbury stories by flashlight. An utterly immersive lose-yourself-in-a-good-book track.
Serpentine track is a soothing, relaxing sound of living in rural America with authentic train sounds and whistles in the far distance. Echos of sounds I remember from my childhood.
This track I love simply because it's one if those tracks that remind me of what I've called "the infinite summer. " The bonfire days. The sounds of trains deep in the woods and its as if they are trying to be quiet in the night as not to disturb. Perfect track. Love it. I wish the train horn was a little more frequent though. Something about it I just love.
Incredible! This track makes one want to travel. It congers up distant memories and immense feelings of curiosity. I love it!
I grew up a few miles from the coal docks on Lake Erie. I have looked for a track of the sound of train whistles in the distance as they delivered coal to the ships and rode away empty. This track brings back the familiar peaceful sound of my childhood and brings me peace and then I am asleep. I love it! There is also that mischievous memory of wishing that in the morning a train will block the road so that the school bus will deliver us late to school. That was always a great treat!
This track is wonderful - the trains happen to match the real sound of local freight trains that come through on a regular basis. I put this on the bedroom speakers at night and it is difficult to distinguish the recording from real, we live just at the right distance so you cannot tell! The rising and falling winds are the icing on the cake - nice touch. Love it! As always, thank you ever so much for the beautiful recordings. Regards, Deb.
This is a neat track. Personally I usually prefer the environments that sound free from human influence, but I was hoping that Naturespace would do a distant train track and this is it. A summer night filled with crickets and cool breezes provides the foreground and general ambience. The rumble of the trains is more felt than clearly heard, at least at what seems like the best volume for me. It comes and goes so that at times the natural environment is all you notice. The different passing trains blow their horns, but since they are quite distant the sound is hypnotic and easy to fall asleep to. There is an amazing effect as you literally hear the sounds of the horn rolling slowly from one side of the canyon to the other. Even though trains are present in one way or another through most of the track, the natural ebb and flow of sound gives the impression of the trains being occasional visitors in the night, not a dominant presence.
Love it !!! All comes together nicely. The train in the distance is the icing on the cake. Please do more in this canyon. I can imagine this canyon on a rainy night with the trains pushing through to reach their destination. Hint hint. LoL
This track is a new favorite. It instantly transports me back to my childhood, growing up in a small town: warm summer nights, sleeping with the windows open, lulled to sleep by the hush of the wind in the trees, the song of the crickets, and the bittersweet echo of train whistles a few miles away. For me this is very relaxing. Perfect for sleeping.