Briefest encounter
Jan 14, 2023, 10:55 AM
"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 story of a deep sea diver’s brief encounter.
"I put together a sound palette inspired by creatures who share the Antarctic waters with Ross seals. I wanted to try and capture the feel of the seal's environment using a modulated drone to conjure up the restless depths. I used arpeggiated sound to announce the seal’s arrival and echo their effortless movement through the water. I mixed sounds to describe the seal’s proximity and give a sense of immersion to the listener. I tried to describe the feeling as the diver descends into the icy waters of the seal’s world and their sense of wonder as they are surrounded by their swirling bodies and companionable chatter, to feel a sense of sadness as they swim away into an uncertain future."
Ross seal reimagined by Claire Pearson.
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.
IMAGE: Hannes Grobe, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
"I put together a sound palette inspired by creatures who share the Antarctic waters with Ross seals. I wanted to try and capture the feel of the seal's environment using a modulated drone to conjure up the restless depths. I used arpeggiated sound to announce the seal’s arrival and echo their effortless movement through the water. I mixed sounds to describe the seal’s proximity and give a sense of immersion to the listener. I tried to describe the feeling as the diver descends into the icy waters of the seal’s world and their sense of wonder as they are surrounded by their swirling bodies and companionable chatter, to feel a sense of sadness as they swim away into an uncertain future."
Ross seal reimagined by Claire Pearson.
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.
IMAGE: Hannes Grobe, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons