Traveling nostrils and ice walls
Jan 17, 2023, 09:05 PM
"Taking inspiration from the sound source where echolocation is used by odontocetes reverberating off the sea ice, the sound wave emitting from the nasal cavity bouncing off ice walls was imagined from the subjective point of view of an odontocete. It recaptured and structured the relationship between the odontocete and the ice sea from various perspectives.
"The clicking sound from the nasal cavity is used as a trigger for the start of two human voices. The bass sound from the ice sea can also be heard. And the human voices bounce off the reverbs created with elements of the sound of the ice sea. These create an impression of a person singing multiple songs simultaneously (or as if casting a spell).
"The synthesizer was mixed into the pitch extracted from the sound of the ice sea, creating an accompaniment.
"I also imagine the odontocete traveling as a story that runs through the piece.
"Odontocetes visit Japanese coasts every winter. Culturally speaking, we still have the tradition of eating whales, which for some appear barbaric. American whaling ships arrived in Japan around 1853 in search for whale oils. This led Matthew Perry to force open the country, and turn Japan into a western style civilization.
"It was shocking to learn that whales were one of the major factors for Japan to end the pre-modern era. Consequently, the country became civilized and imperialized, which eventually led to the invasion of neighboring countries, and ultimately, loosing the war after the atomic bombing.
"I had a disturbing thought, as if the whale’s intelligence was knocking on the door of civilization.
"Whether it knows it or not, the whale sings as it travels through the sea, leaving echoes on the sea ice wall."
Odontocete sounds reimagined by Kentaroh imai.
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 clicking sound from the nasal cavity is used as a trigger for the start of two human voices. The bass sound from the ice sea can also be heard. And the human voices bounce off the reverbs created with elements of the sound of the ice sea. These create an impression of a person singing multiple songs simultaneously (or as if casting a spell).
"The synthesizer was mixed into the pitch extracted from the sound of the ice sea, creating an accompaniment.
"I also imagine the odontocete traveling as a story that runs through the piece.
"Odontocetes visit Japanese coasts every winter. Culturally speaking, we still have the tradition of eating whales, which for some appear barbaric. American whaling ships arrived in Japan around 1853 in search for whale oils. This led Matthew Perry to force open the country, and turn Japan into a western style civilization.
"It was shocking to learn that whales were one of the major factors for Japan to end the pre-modern era. Consequently, the country became civilized and imperialized, which eventually led to the invasion of neighboring countries, and ultimately, loosing the war after the atomic bombing.
"I had a disturbing thought, as if the whale’s intelligence was knocking on the door of civilization.
"Whether it knows it or not, the whale sings as it travels through the sea, leaving echoes on the sea ice wall."
Odontocete sounds reimagined by Kentaroh imai.
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.