HMS Terror sitting in the ice
"I originally picked the ship sound because it had a naturally organic industrial sound. I enjoy the drone it provides. I ended up stretching the sound out to create the base layer of this track. Once I had that down I added some wind to add to the chill. "I layered some wind harp and frequency waves to go along with everything. I added some old recordings from a phonograph to give the element...
13m Jan 17, 2023
13m
Consciousness and consequence - surveying the polarscape
"After hearing PALOAO (Perennial Acoustic Observatory in the Antarctic Ocean) clip that I was provided with, I did some research to find out what sounds the project are capturing as they explore the Antarctic underwater soundscape. Whilst their recordings are of underwater marine life and strange acoustic events, the clip to me had the quality of a small survey plane as it flew over the vast po...
12m Jan 17, 2023
12m
Unidentified mind
"“There exist other kinds of thinking selves beyond the human”. - Eduardo Kohn "One of the instrumental figures in bringing the music of the drone to the West is the Sufi musician Hazrat Inayat Kahn. His musical treatise from the early 20th century, simply titled Music, is an incredible sonic-spiritual composition on the potentials and possibilities of music as law, as cosmology, as harmony. “...
5m Jan 17, 2023
5m
Polar systems
"This is a composition that explores and develops the natural structures in a polar soundscape. It was created with electronic production techniques, combining synthesizers and drum machines with samples of odontocete species and sea ice found in the Polar Sound field recordings. "When listening to the recorded sounds, I found that clear acoustic and rhythmic environments emerged. A combinatio...
5m Jan 17, 2023
5m
The frozen oasis
"Initially I chose other field recordings but they were taken over by other composers. I thought that if a soundscape contained harmonic sounds it would have been easier or more inspiring. But then, already during the creation process, I found that even in the sound of dolphins' teeth biting, there are small microtonal differences. Rhythms that suggest continuity, but change. Jazz. And there I ...
5m Jan 17, 2023
5m
Everyday struggle
"My top two choices were odontoceter recordings, because they both felt familiar in a sense of everyday life. In both recordings you can hear many conversations. And when listening to the chosen recording a couple of times, a lot of conversation topics from daily life got to my mind. I had to include my thoughts and small talk that lately surrounded me. So my inspiration followed the story of m...
4m Jan 17, 2023
4m
Ancient traveler
"When an iceberg collides, the gate that connects the ancient and the present opens, and the song is composed with the idea that ancient travelers would travel. As a gayageum performer, a traditional Korean string instrument, I tried to give an unknown and mysterious feeling by using the gayageum, invented in the 6th century, as the main instrument, and Korean jing and other Asian instruments. ...
6m Jan 16, 2023
6m
Stand by (featuring Fyfe Dangerfield)
"A lament. The sound of the end of the world. The cataclysmic cracking in the recording of the far away glacier is foreboding and deeply saddening. I've weaponised it." Colliding icebergs reimagined by David Lol Perry. Part of the Polar Sounds project, a collaboration between Cities and Memory, the Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity (https://hifmb.de/) (HIFMB) and the Alfr...
7m Jan 16, 2023
7m
Tine
"I wanted to create the sound of the rubbing sea ice as a background to a chilled-out track. The sounds was chopped up multiple times to create the percussion track along with pad sounds.  Then parts of the sound were imported into Quanta 2 by Audio Damage and the grains used to create the music along with several of instances of Lounge Lizard by AAS.  This then had a simple hi-hat and kick pat...
6m Jan 16, 2023
6m
Colliding icebergs, recording 2
The most intense sounds recorded by the PALAOA station originate from the collision of two icebergs. Recording credit: CC-BY 4.0 Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research 2022. Part of the Polar Sounds project, a collaboration between Cities and Memory, the Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity (https://hifmb.de/) (HIFMB) and the Alfred Wegener ...
2m Jan 16, 2023
2m
Colliding icebergs, recording 3
Recording credit: CC-BY 4.0 Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research 2022. Part of the Polar Sounds project, a collaboration between Cities and Memory, the Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity (https://hifmb.de/) (HIFMB) and the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (https://www.awi.de/en/) (AWI). Explore the ...
1m Jan 16, 2023
1m
Colliding icebergs, recording 1
The most intense sounds recorded by the PALAOA station originate from the collision of two icebergs. Recording credit: CC-BY 4.0 Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research 2022. Part of the Polar Sounds project, a collaboration between Cities and Memory, the Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity (https://hifmb.de/) (HIFMB) and the Alfred Wegener ...
13s Jan 16, 2023
13s
Rubbing sea ice, recording 3
The underwater soundscape of the Southern Ocean is dominated by the sounds of ice. These sounds are generated when ice floes rub against each other or bend. Recording credit: CC-BY 4.0 Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research 2022. Part of the Polar Sounds project, a collaboration between Cities and Memory, the Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiver...
2m Jan 16, 2023
2m
Rubbing sea ice, recording 2
The underwater soundscape of the Southern Ocean is dominated by the sounds of ice. These sounds are generated when ice floes rub against each other or bend. Recording credit: CC-BY 4.0 Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research 2022. Part of the Polar Sounds project, a collaboration between Cities and Memory, the Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiver...
2m Jan 16, 2023
2m
PALAOA dreams
"My aim with PALAOA dreams was to enhance the feeling and mood of the original recording made at the acoustic observatory. Without my additions and embellishments getting in the way or worse, overwhelming the mysterious Antarctic ice sounds, I want to transport listeners to a polar wilderness whether they are aware of the technical background to the piece and project or not. "I slowed down the...
5m Jan 16, 2023
5m
A taste of the endless
"About my composition: The first thing I noticed from the field recording was that there was a sense of movement. I imagined big  masses of ice moving, most of the time slowly but sometimes in a violent way. So, I thought that this was a good starting point. There are several ways to add movement to a piece of music. I used some of them. First of all, there is the panning. There is one sound th...
7m Jan 16, 2023
7m
Inner climate
"The field recording of colliding icebergs sounded naturally rhythmic in places so I used it as a loop to begin the composition. This is overlaid with a piano phrase and an obscured audio track of someone describing their views on climate change in which they say they are not worried about it and that they are hopeful. This audio is directly followed by an upbeat musical section which quickly g...
2m Jan 16, 2023
2m
Fissure
"Fissure is a piece of electronic music that incorporates synths, electric guitars, flute and drum samples, and a field recording of two icebergs colliding off Antarctica. I was drawn toward this particular field recording because of the intense and very dense rhythms produced by the two icebergs as they clatter off one another. I immediately started to imagine this cacophony emerging within a ...
5m Jan 16, 2023
5m
Melancholy of a sinister ending
"The thunderous sounds of the glaciers breaking and colliding with each other allow us to determine certain “important” moments in the composition. Full of serious and submersible hits within a base sound; what is running water. "The strong blows of the icebergs were great, but by modifying them, a more serious, variable and imposing sound object was obtained that transported to a cold and eni...
3m Jan 16, 2023
3m
Blue icebergs
"Antarctica is the most uncharted place on Earth, which makes it the ideal place not only to research the past encased within the ice and to understand the causes of our present, but also to dream of possible futures where we can preserve these impressive natural architectures sculpted on ice. "The sound of the icebergs’ collision inspired me to compose ambient music where one can feel and lis...
5m Jan 16, 2023
5m
Tissue
"The field recording of rubbing sea ice was of mediocre quality and there were a lot of noises on the recording. I couldn’t quite distinguish the origins of sound. First there is something like a litte boat motor, then wind, then rustling and something metallic touching some other surface, then there it was: a squeaking, haunted sound, heavy and deep, possibly the large mass of ice tissue touch...
10m Jan 15, 2023
10m
Rubbed sea ice
"Polar Sounds, moving, melting, breaking ice floes. Cracking sounds, crunching noise. Two small tones as a counterpoint in the noise of the dissolving ice. The recording of the rubbing ice inspired me to experiment with real ice. My own filed recording with hydrophone of rubbing, crunching ice becomes a dense tapestry of sound togetherwith the samples of the ice from the polar sea. Composed wit...
8m Jan 15, 2023
8m
Katabasis
"The process of calving initially suggest a violent phase, but -as one of the meanings of the term - it surely gives birth to other things. We certainly know that Anthropocene, global warming and all these consequences are a painful phase, but I think that we could not miss the chance to positively engage ourselves in creation of something new. "From a sonic point of view, the composition take...
8m Jan 15, 2023
8m
The world is passing away and so is its desire
“The World Is Passing Away and So Is Its Desire” is part of a soundtrack to the end-of-the-world horror film we are currently living in. In this scene, the polar ice shelves are stalked and devoured by a terrible beast, the embodiment of the human consumption driving climate change. "I had two sources of inspiration for my piece, the first being the general fear surrounding the disintegration ...
11m Jan 15, 2023
11m
Sealed
"This composition is created around the sounds of Weddell seals recorded in Antarctica. "The seals have determined the development of the composition in terms of tempo, pace, key, rhythmic and melodic phrasings, and thematic content in the lyrics. Part of this process was a desire to “morph”, from human to seal, from land into water, from reality into dreams. "I was fascinated by the fact tha...
3m Jan 15, 2023
3m
Aquatic echoes
"Aquatic Echoes is my interpretation of an underwater recording from the PALAOA observatory on the Antarctic Ice Shelf. The recording is a very dense one, with sounds from an Antarctic Minke Whale, Weddell Seals and even distant Leopard seals. The recording also contains a lot of noise. I don’t know the source of this noise. Maybe it’s a ship, maybe it’s the ice, maybe it’s the self-noise of th...
8m Jan 15, 2023
8m
The Physicist and the selkie
"The work is inspired by the communication of the Weddell seals who use the ice and the sea to communicate and locate themselves and each other over long distance. At the same time the meditative chanting from the Song of the Selkie enhances the beauty and poignancy of “the last great wilderness”.  Physicist Ben Keitch explains how sound propagates which is how the mysterious space sounds also ...
16m Jan 15, 2023
16m
This blue distance
"This Blue Distance is composed using hydrophone recordings from the Antarctic seas and vocal improvisation. Taken at the PALAOA observatory, the recording features the vocalisations of Weddell seals, the ‘thumping’ of Antarctic minke whales, and distant calls of leopard seals. "I approached the recording in the style of a call and response from afar. Improvisations echo and interject with the...
7m Jan 15, 2023
7m
Frozen memories
"My research has taken me across all of the world’s oceans, but I haven’t made it to the polar regions yet. I imagine them as the magical worlds where time is frozen and ice holds memories of the past. With climate change and melting ice these memories are fading away. "Even though I haven’t been there, this recording evoked a strange feeling of nostalgia in me. Maybe in my previous life I was...
4m Jan 15, 2023
4m
Rubbing sea ice, recording 1
Recording credit: CC-BY 4.0 Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research 2022. Part of the Polar Sounds project, a collaboration between Cities and Memory, the Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity (https://hifmb.de/) (HIFMB) and the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (https://www.awi.de/en/) (AWI). Explore the ...
1m Jan 15, 2023
1m
Collapsing shelf ice
From time to time, large pieces of the Antarctic shelf ice break off (calve) and crash into the ocean. This process is called calving. The animals in the water seem not to be disturbed by these sounds, already shortly after these loud noises, pinnipeds are heard again in the recordings. Recording credit: CC-BY 4.0 Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research 2022. ...
26s Jan 15, 2023
26s
Weddell seal (Leptonychotes weddellii), recording 3
The Weddell seal lives in fast ice areas, close to the Antarctic ice shelf edge. At PALAOA we can hear its vocalizations almost year-round (few/no calls in February). Weddell seals have a large vocal repertoire, of which 14 call types were recorded at PALAOA. Their repertoire is known to differ between breeding populations. Some of these sounds are thought to be produced by males to defend unde...
1m Jan 15, 2023
1m
Weddell seal (Leptonychotes weddellii), recording 2
The Weddell seal lives in fast ice areas, close to the Antarctic ice shelf edge. At PALAOA we can hear its vocalizations almost year-round (few/no calls in February). Weddell seals have a large vocal repertoire, of which 14 call types were recorded at PALAOA. Their repertoire is known to differ between breeding populations. Some of these sounds are thought to be produced by males to defend unde...
2m Jan 15, 2023
2m
Weddell seal (Leptonychotes weddellii), recording 1
The Weddell seal lives in fast ice areas, close to the Antarctic ice shelf edge. At PALAOA we can hear its vocalizations almost year-round (few/no calls in February). Weddell seals have a large vocal repertoire, of which 14 call types were recorded at PALAOA. Their repertoire is known to differ between breeding populations. Some of these sounds are thought to be produced by males to defend unde...
2m Jan 15, 2023
2m
Once more, Ross seal
"The sound of the Ross seal is quite unusual, it's almost like a synthesizer in itself, so I knew I wanted to incorporate some electronic sounds in some way. The sound comes in waves, or 'whooshes', so I had it ever-present in my piece, doing its own thing, with only very minor compression, EQ and reverb. "I wanted to start with something quite minimal, and perhaps a little mysterious, given t...
3m Jan 14, 2023
3m
On crystalline fields
"The calls of these seals seemed to me like the beginning of a conversation in a language I had not heard before, so I sent the sounds back as a kind of musical echo. The calls were also digitally processed, e.g. down-tuned (later in the piece). Berlin-based artist Judith Retzlik played the cello. My little son Ben spoke the coordinates of where the seals were recorded. Among other things, Ben ...
6m Jan 14, 2023
6m
Place, where I look for myself
"Reflects on how deep one can travel within sound in time, how amplified our perception of each element can become, how far it takes us in exploring unusual lands.  This piece merges together underwater recordings of ross seal “siren” and synthesised sounds  in order to magnify each particle of original sound source.  I choose to look closer on surroundings and shapes, accompanied noises, movem...
8m Jan 14, 2023
8m
The Ross seal (Ommatophoca rossii), recording 4
The Ross seal is the least investigated Antarctic seal species, which is likely due to its pelagic lifestyle. Ross seals live in the poorly accessible pack ice and also in areas of open water. PALAOA provides us with unique recordings of their underwater calls. Five different call types were identified so far: high, middle, and low frequency sirens, as well as a tonal call which is often associ...
2m Jan 14, 2023
2m
The Ross seal (Ommatophoca rossii), recording 3
The Ross seal is the least investigated Antarctic seal species, which is likely due to its pelagic lifestyle. Ross seals live in the poorly accessible pack ice and also in areas of open water. PALAOA provides us with unique recordings of their underwater calls. Five different call types were identified so far: high, middle, and low frequency sirens, as well as a tonal call which is often associ...
2m Jan 14, 2023
2m
The Ross seal (Ommatophoca rossii), recording 2
The Ross seal is the least investigated Antarctic seal species, which is likely due to its pelagic lifestyle. Ross seals live in the poorly accessible pack ice and also in areas of open water. PALAOA provides us with unique recordings of their underwater calls. Five different call types were identified so far: high, middle, and low frequency sirens, as well as a tonal call which is often associ...
2m Jan 14, 2023
2m
The Ross seal (Ommatophoca rossii), recording 1
The Ross seal is the least investigated Antarctic seal species, which is likely due to its pelagic lifestyle. Ross seals live in the poorly accessible pack ice and also in areas of open water. PALAOA provides us with unique recordings of their underwater calls. Five different call types were identified so far: high, middle, and low frequency sirens, as well as a tonal call which is often associ...
1m Jan 14, 2023
1m
Leopard seal (Hydrurga leptonyx)
In leopard seals, females are larger than males, which is more common in aquatic animals than it is in terrestrial animal species. During the breeding period PALAOA detects vocalizations of both male and female leopard seals. Due to the fact that leopard seals are solitary animals, they are thought to use their vocalizations mainly to find a mate during the breeding season. Seven distinct leopa...
1m Jan 14, 2023
1m
Sirens of Antarctica
"This is my take on global warming and war, both of which are human made real threats to all life of earth. "Named after the British explorer James Clark Ross, who obtained the first specimen during his Antarctic expedition with war ships HMS Erebus and Terror 1839 -1843, less is known about the Ross seal than any of the other Antarctic seals. The species is mostly found on the extremely hard ...
2m Jan 14, 2023
2m
As above, so below
"As soon as I heard the sounds of the Ross seals, they reminded me of recordings of space weather radio waves that are made audible through the use of ground-based radio receivers. This so-called ‘natural radio’ from the Earth’s magnetosphere can be caused by space weather phenomena, like solar winds, as well as lightning, and even the auroras - the Northern & Southern lights. Combining the eth...
2m Jan 14, 2023
2m
Sirens of the pack ice
"My vision for this project was to create and perform a composition for solo khaen, the bamboo free-reed mouth organ of Laos and Northeast Thailand, situated inside an imaginary underwater Antarctic soundscape. I have been composing and performing contemporary works for the khaen for almost 30 years and am always seeking new contexts to feature this beautiful instrument. "The Ross seal’s remar...
10m Jan 14, 2023
10m
Longing
"The loud calls of the leopard seal taken as they are. In their depth, in their vibration, with the trills, in their height, then added my voice. Now I, too, calling under water... My voice recorded, changed and approximated to the vocalization of the leopard seal. I listen carefully to them: Longing heard, sadness heard and I answer with a melody on my violin... a melody for all the gigantic l...
3m Jan 14, 2023
3m
Then until now
"Leopard seals are curious creatures, they’re relatively unstudied mammals. Seven leopard seal vocalizations were recorded, mirrored by the seven instruments in the song; a drum kit, stick percussion, a Jupiter pad, acoustic strings, a piano, and two synthesizer leads played on a Memorymoog. "The field recordings appear in various forms throughout the track. Firstly, the white noise of the rec...
5m Jan 14, 2023
5m
Briefest encounter
"I found the recordings of Ross Seals spell binding.  The creative challenge was how to best work with their beautiful calls.  These rare seals live out on the pack ice of Antarctica.  I reflected on what the future holds for them, as temperatures rise and sea ice is predicted to disappear completely in the polar regions during the summer months.  I chose a narrative approach to the piece.  The...
6m Jan 14, 2023
6m
Deep blanco
"Deep Blanco uses sounds from a recording of Ross seals that was captured at the PALAOA observatory 71°S 008°W (-70.516667 8.216667) (PerenniAL Acoustic Observatory in the Antarctic Ocean is AWI’s listening station north of the German Antarctic Neumayer station). The work aims to create a ‘sonic eco-system’ where the sounds made by the Ross seals encounter and are encontered by those made by hu...
5m Jan 14, 2023
5m
Majestic mammalia
"I pretty much used the Humpback whale sound in its' entirety, employing a bit of Izotope to remove some of the extra ambient noise. "Then warped in Ableton to create a loop out of it, adding some extra delay and reverb. I kept all the extra clicks etc. as I didn't want to take too much away from the original sound. "The field recording has a fragile, beautiful mood to it, which is how I star...
3m Jan 13, 2023
3m