Nature attunement in acoustic fields is not new and there are many varied takes on the subject field. Often a good deal of window dressing accompanies the arena to appeal to the listener, presenting the ‘drama’ of nature, where often it is merely the imposition of narrative upon the subject that is the area of study. However this is quite another matter.
It was recorded by Heike Vester, a biologist, whose field is bioacoustics of marine animals. She has studied Killer whales in Northern Norway and is in the process of completing a doctorate on the vocal behavior of killer whales. She is also the founder of Oceansounds, a private research, education and conservation group focused on marine environments.
This recording has very crisp digital sound and has a detached matter of fact presentation. It concentrates mainly on Killer Whales but there are tracks documenting Pilot Whales, Dolphins and seals. It is not a new age extension of nature romantic tendency that mires itself in kitsch. No doubt the attunement of such interests have lead a lot of people to this field but Vester’s focus would be in regards to ‘evolutionary cognitive anthropology’ as a scientific pursuit. Listening to the field recordings of marine environments outside the purely scientific interest is a different act, yet there is a listening history unconstrained by scientific endeavor. As a field recording exercise its technical prowess is apparent and may very well appeal to all musical types who need sound archival works when the need to insert killer whale noises into the mix.
Heike Vester states that her “main interest is to preserve life on this planet by trying to minimize human destruction…” and this is a work co-produced by the World Wide Fund for Nature.
Innerversitysound
*
