The Unsung Melodies of Pond Ecosystems

The Unsung Melodies of Pond Ecosystems

Article - other

What lurks beneath the surface of ponds? The recent album Mardle: Daily Rhythms of a Pond plunges us into the hidden sonic worlds of freshwater habitats. Ponds are quite often overlooked yet are rich in biodiversity and serve as crucial habitats for maintaining ecosystems. In a collaboration between musician and field recordist Action Pyramid (Tom Fisher) and acoustic ecologist Jack Greenhalgh, an album was created that explores and portrays the everyday life across daily and seasonal cycles concealed in the biodiversity of ponds. This collaboration highlights the potential for fusing artistic and scientific approaches to advance knowledge and appreciation of nature's unsung voices. Emerging from long-term research in acoustic ecology, this pioneering work draws on an environmentally non-invasive method of observation where individual changes in fauna and flora are examined by listening. Fisher's exploratory recordings and Greenhalgh's insights into aquatic acoustic phenomena intertwine to compose a multifaceted portrait of pond soundscapes. By attuning to the uncanny melodies of aquatic others, we gain an ethical orientation: pond life is an imperative, a call that echoes in our hearing.

What lurks beneath the surface of ponds? The recent album Mardle: Daily Rhythms of a Pond plunges us into the hidden sonic worlds of freshwater habitats. Ponds are quite often overlooked yet are rich in biodiversity and serve as crucial habitats for maintaining ecosystems. In a collaboration between musician and field recordist Action Pyramid (Tom Fisher) and acoustic ecologist Jack Greenhalgh, an album was created that explores and portrays the everyday life across daily and seasonal cycles concealed in the biodiversity of ponds. This collaboration highlights the potential for fusing artistic and scientific approaches to advance knowledge and appreciation of nature's unsung voices. Emerging from long-term research in acoustic ecology, this pioneering work draws on an environmentally non-invasive method of observation where individual changes in fauna and flora are examined by listening. Fisher's exploratory recordings and Greenhalgh's insights into aquatic acoustic phenomena intertwine to compose a multifaceted portrait of pond soundscapes. By attuning to the uncanny melodies of aquatic others, we gain an ethical orientation: pond life is an imperative, a call that echoes in our hearing.

interview field-recording research listening composition

interview field-recording research listening composition

02.02.2024

3/4 magazine

Bratislava, Slovensko

14

https://34.sk/en/the-unsung-melodies-of-pond-ecosystems