Siren
Jan 13, 2023, 11:18 AM
Killer whale reimagined by Cheryl Beer.
"Siren is a warning from the core of crisis. Environmental sound artist Cheryl Beer has created a haunting soundbite from the pulsed calls of killer whales in the Antarctic. First, she reduced the revolutions, slowing down the vocalisations x100. This enabled a distinction between each individual sound & revealed some surprising textures. Everything you hear is of the Killer Whale, using its voice to compose & create a siren.
"Gently beginning by nurturing an adagio undercurrent of seemingly random & yet endless bass-like melody, this oceanic mantra morphs into a backdrop for the distinctive vocalisation of the Killer, an air aid warning of impending danger.
"With an eerie cry, the whales themselves send perilous news, a cautionary SOS to humanity from the melting ice caps.
"As the piece fades poignantly with a final cry, so too, does the killer whale. Pay heed! For if the home of Killer Whales is lost, so too, are you.
"The title of the piece is also a play on another definition of the word Siren – symbolising risk through temptation, who, in Greek mythology, sang to lure humans to their death. By following only desire, without consideration for what it may do to the planet, the siren’s song reveals our true face, reflected in the cracked mirrors of melting ice. Our saving grace, as the cause of such ghostly cries, is that we are also the key to solution."
Part of the Polar Sounds project, a collaboration between Cities and Memory, the Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity (HIFMB) and the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI). Explore the project in full at http://citiesandmemory.com/polar-sounds.
"Siren is a warning from the core of crisis. Environmental sound artist Cheryl Beer has created a haunting soundbite from the pulsed calls of killer whales in the Antarctic. First, she reduced the revolutions, slowing down the vocalisations x100. This enabled a distinction between each individual sound & revealed some surprising textures. Everything you hear is of the Killer Whale, using its voice to compose & create a siren.
"Gently beginning by nurturing an adagio undercurrent of seemingly random & yet endless bass-like melody, this oceanic mantra morphs into a backdrop for the distinctive vocalisation of the Killer, an air aid warning of impending danger.
"With an eerie cry, the whales themselves send perilous news, a cautionary SOS to humanity from the melting ice caps.
"As the piece fades poignantly with a final cry, so too, does the killer whale. Pay heed! For if the home of Killer Whales is lost, so too, are you.
"The title of the piece is also a play on another definition of the word Siren – symbolising risk through temptation, who, in Greek mythology, sang to lure humans to their death. By following only desire, without consideration for what it may do to the planet, the siren’s song reveals our true face, reflected in the cracked mirrors of melting ice. Our saving grace, as the cause of such ghostly cries, is that we are also the key to solution."
Part of the Polar Sounds project, a collaboration between Cities and Memory, the Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity (HIFMB) and the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI). Explore the project in full at http://citiesandmemory.com/polar-sounds.