Dan Gibson and his solitudes

Dan Gibson (Montreal, January 19, 1922 – March 18, 2006) was a Canadian photographer, cinematographer and sound recordist.



During the late 1940s, he took photographs and made nature films, including Audubon Wildlife Theatre. He produced many films and television series. It was through this film-making that Dan learned how to record wildlife sound. He pioneered techniques of recording, and also helped design equipment to optimize results, including the “Dan Gibson Parabolic Microphone”. Some of his early recordings of the 1950s and 1960s were released on LP records, and started his Solitudes series, which was introduced in 1981.

Solitudes, the very first music line of Somerset Entertainment, was launched in 1981 by company founder Dan Gibson. Dan's ardent appreciation of nature, coupled with his many talents in the film-making and sound collection arenas, is what began the Solitudes story.

Sadly, on March 18, 2006, Dan Gibson passed away in his Toronto home. To his credit, and among several other noteworthy accomplishments, Dan left behind a beautiful legacy of nature sounds, libraried forever within the Solitudes music label. 25 years after the first nature sound-only program was launched, Solitudes now enjoys world-wide recognition as the premium music label featuring quality sound programs dedicated to showcasing the natural world. All of this success is because of the passion of Dan Gibson. He will be dearly missed by all whom he touched, but he will certainly not be forgotten.

The present-day Solitudes music line features both soothing music blended seamlessly with nature sounds as well as nature sound-only albums. All aimed at exploring wildlife and discovering destinations, the Solitudes label mainly features original, instrumental compositions with albums themed for relaxation, health & wellness, nostalgia and with musical styles ranging from new-age to classical to Celtic and other world influences. Equally important to the Solitudes music label is the series of nature sound-only titles. Programs range from a collection of bird or frog sounds.

The Solitudes music line releases approximately 12 high-quality recordings per year and continues to lead the way in the relaxation, new-age and nature sound music categories. Solitudes titles are currently available at leading independent specialty and gift retailers and at the Solitudes secure online store.