Deep discourse
Jan 13, 2023, 12:43 PM
"When choosing my inspiration for my piece, the sperm whale sample shone through the rest. I found the way they communicate with one another fascinating - being the loudest animals in the world, their codas are crucial not only as a way of hunting but connecting with one another.
"I wanted to emulate their communicative clicks in my piece by utilising binaural panning to add a sense of depth and distance, with a massive, evolving modular patch in the centre. This cements the immense space these animals occupy and the importance of their calls in the expanse they occupy.
"Using Ableton Live and setting up a series of FX chains on a chopped-up version of the raw sample, I forced a random, generative string of clicks and pops. By modulating the BPM of the patch, I tried to emulate the flow of a typical human interaction.
"Taking the listener on a trip through the deep depths of the antarctic waves, I invite them to join the pod and become immersed in a world like nothing we know."
Sperm whale reimagined by Talie Metcalfe Wood.
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.
"I wanted to emulate their communicative clicks in my piece by utilising binaural panning to add a sense of depth and distance, with a massive, evolving modular patch in the centre. This cements the immense space these animals occupy and the importance of their calls in the expanse they occupy.
"Using Ableton Live and setting up a series of FX chains on a chopped-up version of the raw sample, I forced a random, generative string of clicks and pops. By modulating the BPM of the patch, I tried to emulate the flow of a typical human interaction.
"Taking the listener on a trip through the deep depths of the antarctic waves, I invite them to join the pod and become immersed in a world like nothing we know."
Sperm whale reimagined by Talie Metcalfe Wood.
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.