Naer

"What was striking to me about the field recording was the different layers of sounds.  Although I can’t say for sure what the sounds are, I could hear (at least) water, the boat, different animals, different kinds of electronic static.  To separate these different layers, I used the tool spectral clipping in TS, an Ircam sofware.

"I then organized all of the layers in Ableton Live, where I used very minimal automation to shape the sounds.  The lower frequency bands I could use as a bass beat, and the higher ones I could use as melody.  I wanted the composition to be solely made from the field recording and to center the given sounds since the field recording is already incredibly complicated and mesmerizing, but also have a little fun."

Narwhal reimagined by Julie Zhu.

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: Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication ("CCO 1.0 Dedication”), New York Public Library