Sirens of the pack ice
Jan 14, 2023, 10:56 AM
"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 remarkable vocalizations reminded me of the seductive wails of the mythic sirens that taunted Odysseus during his return to Ithaca, rising and falling over a surprising range of pitches.
"The short sample, played at various speeds between original and half-speed, is processed to make the foundation for a fictional and multilayered underwater soundscape, collaged together from various natural and electronic sources (and also including the vocalizations of Weddell seals). I composed and recorded a new composition for solo khaen and placed it within this imaginative soundscape, crafting dialogue between the music and the elements of the imaginary sonic environment."
Ross seal reimagined by Christopher Adler.
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.
"The Ross seal’s remarkable vocalizations reminded me of the seductive wails of the mythic sirens that taunted Odysseus during his return to Ithaca, rising and falling over a surprising range of pitches.
"The short sample, played at various speeds between original and half-speed, is processed to make the foundation for a fictional and multilayered underwater soundscape, collaged together from various natural and electronic sources (and also including the vocalizations of Weddell seals). I composed and recorded a new composition for solo khaen and placed it within this imaginative soundscape, crafting dialogue between the music and the elements of the imaginary sonic environment."
Ross seal reimagined by Christopher Adler.
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.