(World Listening Day 2013 – July 18) 

Dolphin Cove is located in Tin Can Bay (Queensland, Australia) in the centre of the UNESCO listed Great Sandy Biosphere Reserve. This soundscape features a series of raw field recordings of three Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphins and snapping shrimp (Alpheidae) in Tin Can Bay. 

The Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphin was removed from the Vulnerable Species list in NSW in 2002 but is still listed as a rare species in Queensland. This particular pod of dolphins has been visiting the cove for the past 30 years and are often hand fed by the local residents and visiting tourists. Their sounds are characterised by burst-pulses, clicks and whistles that can range from 1.2 kHz to 20 kHz.

Recorded with an Aquaear CR30-40 Hydrophone & ZOOMH4

Dolphin Cove: Great Sandy Biosphere Reserve

DIÁLOGOS is an acoustic dialogue with a Eucalyptus tree created for the international symposium DIÁLOGOS ~ MENTE DE LAS :|: DAS PLANTAS. The work is based on a recording from the perspective of a Eucalyptus tree on Kabi Kabi Country on the Sunshine Coast. Hydrophones were planted at the roots of the tree recording the sonic environment and Monica Gagliano's voice while she read excerpts from her book 'Thus Spoke the Plant' through the tree. Cellist Briony Luttrell improvised live responses to the sonic environment and added further dialogue with the processed Eucalyptus recordings. 

DIÁLOGOS is inspired by Thus Spoke the Plant in transcending the view of plants as the objects of scientific materialism, and encouraging us to rethink plants as beings with subjectivity, consciousness, and volition, and hence having the capacity for their own perspectives, voices and dialogues. This project is part of an emerging portfolio of interdisciplinary research at USC Sunshine Coast exploring the role of sound in regeneration and ecological interconnection. 

This soundscape is created as a prelude to the participatory photography session where delegates are encouraged to go outside and take photos of plants to contribute towards a global photography map that extends on the participatory photography research led by Tricia King.

DIÁLOGOS ~ MENTE DE LAS :|: DAS PLANTAS is an international symposium hosted on July 8th 2021 on the Arts Front platform that focuses on Latin American contributions from the forthcoming book The Mind of Plants https://www.themindofplants.com/ The symposium features stories, reflections, images and sounds about our relationship with plants. The event is generously supported by the Templeton World Charity Foundation, Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), and Centro de Estudos Sociais, Universidade de Coimbra.

Monica Gagliano - https://www.monicagagliano.com/ 
Briony Luttrell - https://www.usc.edu.au/staff/dr-briony-luttrell 
Leah Barclay - https://www.usc.edu.au/staff/dr-leah-barclay

DIÁLOGOS ~ MENTE DE LAS :|: DAS PLANTAS - https://artsfront.com/event/133485-dialogos-mente-de-las-das-plantas

The Mind of Plants - https://www.themindofplants.com/

DIÁLOGOS (2021) Eucalyptus, Monica Gagliano, Briony Luttrell and Leah Barclay

The University of the Sunshine Coast Sippy Downs campus is a flora and fauna reserve, spread over 100 hectares adjoining the Mooloolah River National Park. In 2013, the University became a Land for Wildlife reserve with the Sunshine Coast Council to further commit to managing a large proportion of the site as habitat for native plants and animals.

In this recording from the live stream, we can primarily hear the energetic dawn chorus of Rainbow Lorikeets in their favourite trees on campus. The UniSC Sunshine Coast campus is in the heart of the UNESCO recognised Sunshine Coast Biosphere Reserve.

#Reveil2023 Live Broadcast - Sunshine Coast Biosphere Reserve, University of the Sunshine Coast

Composed by Leah Barclay, Narmada Prelude is a site-specific soundscape that evolves with each performance of ZAMEEN.  

“Mysterious, beautiful and utterly captivating ZAMEEN is a contemporary dance and multimedia work that pulls you into the heart of a remote Indian community fighting for their way of life.

Within this world, two dancers from one of India’s leading contemporary dance companies, the much lauded Attakkalari – perform an intense, controlled and intricate dance score, inspired by the stories and movement of the community.

An immersive audiovisual environment – built entirely out of recordings done on site with the community itself – sustains the show, pitching you from the very start in the midst of their song and struggle to secure land in the face of large scale damn development.

Both politically provocative and deeply emotional, ZAMEEN simultaneously depicts both the success of this incredible social movement and the ongoing sacrifices made to preserve it.

ZAMEEN is a partnership between CuriousWorks in Sydney, Attakkalari Centre for Movement Arts in India, producer Jehan Kanga, composer Leah Barclay and director S. Shakthidharan. It is the first major outcome from The DAM(N) Project, a venture which began in 2011 when a group of artists from Australia and India journeyed deep into India’s Narmada Valley. They met and lived with communities that are gradually being submerged due to large scale dam development in their region. To date over 30 million people have been internally displaced, and the resulting Indigenous activist movement – the Narmada Bachao Andolan – has become one of the most successful and sophisticated in contemporary history.”

This soundscape was composed and produced by Leah Barclay using only field recordings and interviews from the Narmada Valley.

www.thedamnproject.com
www.leahbarclay.com 

Narmada Prelude

Sounding Zameen is an electroacoustic composition that features short excerpts from each movement of the one hour original score for ZAMEEN, composed by Leah Barclay  

“Mysterious, beautiful and utterly captivating ZAMEEN is a contemporary dance and multimedia work that pulls you into the heart of a remote Indian community fighting for their way of life.

Within this world, two dancers from one of India’s leading contemporary dance companies, the much lauded Attakkalari – perform an intense, controlled and intricate dance score, inspired by the stories and movement of the community.

An immersive audiovisual environment – built entirely out of recordings done on site with the community itself – sustains the show, pitching you from the very start in the midst of their song and struggle to secure land in the face of large scale damn development.

Both politically provocative and deeply emotional, ZAMEEN simultaneously depicts both the success of this incredible social movement and the ongoing sacrifices made to preserve it.

ZAMEEN is a partnership between CuriousWorks in Sydney, Attakkalari Centre for Movement Arts in India, producer Jehan Kanga, composer Leah Barclay and director S. Shakthidharan. It is the first major outcome from The DAM(N) Project, a venture which began in 2011 when a group of artists from Australia and India journeyed deep into India’s Narmada Valley. They met and lived with communities that are gradually being submerged due to large scale dam development in their region. To date over 30 million people have been internally displaced, and the resulting Indigenous activist movement – the Narmada Bachao Andolan – has become one of the most successful and sophisticated in contemporary history.”

This soundscape was composed and produced by Leah Barclay using only field recordings and interviews from the Narmada Valley.

www.thedamnproject.com
www.leahbarclay.com 


Sounding Zameen

River Listening is a research collaboration between Leah Barclay and the Australian Rivers Institute to explore new methods for acoustically monitoring four Queensland river systems: the Brisbane River, the Mary River, the Noosa River and the Logan River. 

This short sound sample is from a demo at the 2014 Mary River Festival for a new River Listening sound installation that uses transducers and bone conduction to give the impression of listening underwater. 

www.riverlistening.com 

River Listening: Sound Installation Demo

River Listening is a research collaboration between Leah Barclay and the Australian Rivers Institute to explore new methods for acoustically monitoring four Queensland river systems: the Brisbane River, the Mary River, the Noosa River and the Logan River. The project involves the establishment of site-specific listening labs to experiment with hydrophonic recording and sound diffusion to measure aquatic biodiversity. 

This is a raw hydrophone recording from the Mary River, recorded on a Zoom H6 and two H2a-XLR Hydrophones made by Aquarian Audio. 


Hydrophones in the Mary River, Queensland, Australia

RIVER OF MIRRORS is a collaboration with Lyndon Davis, an indigenous artist raised on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland and a direct descendant of the local Gubbi Gubbi traditional custodians. The work is inspired by the cultural and biological diversity of the Noosa Everglades and explores memories of the Noosa River through the mirror like reflections in the tannin stained upper waters.

The Noosa River was the location that inspired the Sound Mirrors project and the Noosa Everglades has been a constant source of inspiration in Leah Barclay’s creative practice. The Everglades was among the first locations that Barclay conducted underwater hydrophone recordings and it was also the source of inspiration for Barclay’s first orchestral composition ‘Everglades’ (2003).  

River of Mirrors is from the album 'Transient Landscapes' a collection of works from the installation Sound Mirrors by Leah Barclay. Sound Mirrors is an immersive environment that responds to significant rivers across the world. Throughout 2009 and 2010 Leah Barclay traveled through Australia, India, Korea and China capturing the sound of rivers and their surrounding communities. The resulting work is an ephemeral experience that slides through vivid landscapes and rich cultural traditions. 

Sound Mirrors was selected as one of four national projects for the Australia Council's HELM-Arts Award. HELM is an initiative of the Queensland Conservation Council that recognises innovative work at the intersection of art, science, technology and the environment.

River of Mirrors

The EVERGLADES is an evocative environment located deep within the Noosa rivers wetlands, this work uses hydrophone recordings and features Anthony Garcia on guitar.  

Everglades is from the album 'Transient Landscapes' a collection of works from the installation Sound Mirrors by Leah Barclay. Sound Mirrors is an immersive environment that responds to significant rivers across the world. Throughout 2009 and 2010 Leah Barclay traveled through Australia, India, Korea and China capturing the sound of rivers and their surrounding communities. The resulting work is an ephemeral experience that slides through vivid landscapes and rich cultural traditions. 

Sound Mirrors was selected as one of four national projects for the Australia Council's HELM-Arts Award. HELM is an initiative of the Queensland Conservation Council that recognises innovative work at the intersection of art, science, technology and the environment.

Everglades

NAKSHATRA is a Sanskrit astrology term referring to the divisions of the sky. Opening with the shimmering surface of the Pamba river in Kerala, South India, Nakshatra journeys down the river and deep beneath its surface. 

Nakshatra is from the album 'Transient Landscapes' a collection of works from the installation Sound Mirrors by Leah Barclay. Sound Mirrors is an immersive environment that responds to significant rivers across the world. Throughout 2009 and 2010 Leah Barclay traveled through Australia, India, Korea and China capturing the sound of rivers and their surrounding communities. The resulting work is an ephemeral experience that slides through vivid landscapes and rich cultural traditions. 

Sound Mirrors was selected as one of four national projects for the Australia Council's HELM-Arts Award. HELM is an initiative of the Queensland Conservation Council that recognises innovative work at the intersection of art, science, technology and the environment.

Nakshatra

RITUAL BELLS follows three Indian temple elephants as they make their journey past the river with large bells draped around their necks. 

This work is from the album 'Transient Landscapes' a collection of works from the installation Sound Mirrors by Leah Barclay. Sound Mirrors is an immersive environment that responds to significant rivers across the world. Throughout 2009 and 2010 Leah Barclay traveled through Australia, India, Korea and China capturing the sound of rivers and their surrounding communities. The resulting work is an ephemeral experience that slides through vivid landscapes and rich cultural traditions. 

Sound Mirrors was selected as one of four national projects for the Australia Council's HELM-Arts Award. HELM is an initiative of the Queensland Conservation Council that recognises innovative work at the intersection of art, science, technology and the environment.

Ritual Bells

BACKWATERS is a phonographic journey through the Keralan backwaters at dawn. This unique ecosystem is fed by 38 rivers and meets the tidal waters of the Arabian Sea. 

This work is from the album 'Transient Landscapes' a collection of works from the installation Sound Mirrors by Leah Barclay. Sound Mirrors is an immersive environment that responds to significant rivers across the world. Throughout 2009 and 2010 Leah Barclay traveled through Australia, India, Korea and China capturing the sound of rivers and their surrounding communities. The resulting work is an ephemeral experience that slides through vivid landscapes and rich cultural traditions. 

Sound Mirrors was selected as one of four national projects for the Australia Council's HELM-Arts Award. HELM is an initiative of the Queensland Conservation Council that recognises innovative work at the intersection of art, science, technology and the environment.



Backwaters

SHIMMER is an abstract exploration of the Huangpu River in Shanghai, China. The river comes alive at night, with shimmering reflections of the city lining the river. This intense surface of light covers a river rich in history.

This work is from the album 'Transient Landscapes' a collection of works from the installation Sound Mirrors by Leah Barclay. Sound Mirrors is an immersive environment that responds to significant rivers across the world. Throughout 2009 and 2010 Leah Barclay traveled through Australia, India, Korea and China capturing the sound of rivers and their surrounding communities. The resulting work is an ephemeral experience that slides through vivid landscapes and rich cultural traditions. 

Sound Mirrors was selected as one of four national projects for the Australia Council's HELM-Arts Award. HELM is an initiative of the Queensland Conservation Council that recognises innovative work at the intersection of art, science, technology and the environment.

Shimmer

LIQUID BORDERS begins on the sheltered waters of Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong and explores the city that sits at the heart of the Pearl River Delta. 

This work is from the album 'Transient Landscapes' a collection of works from the installation Sound Mirrors by Leah Barclay. Sound Mirrors is an immersive environment that responds to significant rivers across the world. Throughout 2009 and 2010 Leah Barclay traveled through Australia, India, Korea and China capturing the sound of rivers and their surrounding communities. The resulting work is an ephemeral experience that slides through vivid landscapes and rich cultural traditions. 

Sound Mirrors was selected as one of four national projects for the Australia Council's HELM-Arts Award. HELM is an initiative of the Queensland Conservation Council that recognises innovative work at the intersection of art, science, technology and the environment.


Liquid Borders

CONFLUENCE, the final work on Transient Landscapes, returns to Australia venturing deep into the ocean near the Colored Sands on the Cooloola Coast of Australia. The work revolves around Wolf Rock, one of Australia’s most distinctive and diverse aquatic landscapes and home to a large population of endangered Grey Nurse sharks. This draws on the concept of all rivers ultimately leading to the same body of water. (Featuring Richard Haynes on Clarinet). 

CONFLUENCE is from the album 'Transient Landscapes' a collection of works from the installation Sound Mirrors by Leah Barclay. Sound Mirrors is an immersive environment that responds to significant rivers across the world. Throughout 2009 and 2010 Leah Barclay traveled through Australia, India, Korea and China capturing the sound of rivers and their surrounding communities. The resulting work is an ephemeral experience that slides through vivid landscapes and rich cultural traditions. 

Sound Mirrors was selected as one of four national projects for the Australia Council's HELM-Arts Award. HELM is an initiative of the Queensland Conservation Council that recognises innovative work at the intersection of art, science, technology and the environment.

Confluence

This recording is an excerpt from the Biosphere Soundscapes live stream for Reveil 2017 - a 24 hour broadcast that tracks the sounds of daybreak, travelling west from microphone to microphone on sounds transmitted live by audio streamers around the globe for International Dawn Chorus Day. Starting on the morning of May 6, just before daybreak in London near the Greenwich Meridian, the Reveil broadcast follows the sun and the wave of sound that loops the earth every 24 hours. 

The Australian stream took place at dawn in the Noosa Biosphere Reserve in Queensland. Designated by UNESCO in 2007, Noosa and was the first biosphere reserve recognised in the state of Queensland. The biosphere reserve is home to over 44% of Australia's bird species, 1,365 species of plants, 711 species of native fauna and 60 distinct ecosystems. It is located in the Macpherson-Macleay overlap, where tropical and temperate zones overlap. The landscape has an extensive composition of rainforests, beaches, woodlands, wetlands, lakes, rivers, forests, and mountains. 

#Reveil2017 is an initiative of Sound Camp, a platform for artistic and transdisciplinary work in the emerging field of live streaming audio based in London. Visit www.soundtent.org for further information.   

Listen live online at the Locustream Sound Map, a worldwide network of open microphones streaming in realtime: http://locusonus.org/soundmap/040/ 

Binaural recording (headphones listening recommended)

Dawn in the Noosa Biosphere Reserve // excerpt from #REVEIL2017 live stream

Recorded during the Queensland Conservatorium Research Centre Retreat at Cedar Creek Falls, Queensland, Australia, 2am, October 25th 2017. 

As part of the Biosphere Soundscapes project BIOM (Biosphere Open Microphones) the research team have been experimenting with accessible streaming kits for communities to use in remote locations. This recording was captured during a streaming experiment near Cedar Creek using a Raspberry Pi, Zoom H2, 3G mobile data and a solar panel battery pack.

Cedar Creek Falls - Tree Frogs - Streaming Experiments

‘Migration Patterns: Saltwater’ is a 45 minute surround sound installation (8 channels). This is an excerpt from a live performance of the work at the opening of the ‘in extremis’ exhibition at Arts House Melbourne in November 2017. All sounds featured in this piece were recorded with hydrophones in Queensland, Australia. 

"The ocean is a complex acoustic environment, where marine life is reliant on sound to communicate and survive. Sound is felt, reflected and absorbed in aquatic ecosystems. It propagates underwater at different speeds and is affected by temperature, pressure and salinity. The impacts of climate change are often very visible in terrestrial environments, yet dramatic changes in marine ecosystems are going unnoticed simply due to visibility. Increased anthropogenic noise and rising temperatures continue to cause unfathomable ecological disruptions that are dramatically transforming the acoustic ecologies of our oceans. 
 
‘Migration Patterns: Saltwater’ in an immersive sound installation exploring the fragility and complexity of marine life that live in a world of sound and vibration. Drawing on a large database of hydrophone (underwater) recordings from the coastline of Queensland, this work traces sonic migration patterns and shifting ecologies from the smallest micro crustaceans to the largest marine mammals on the planet. The recordings focus around the Great Sandy Biosphere Reserve and K’Gari (Fraser Island), a major transitory point for humpback whales on their southern migration. The whale song continues to adapt and evolve in response to changing environments and the recordings are contributing to ongoing scientific research on the value of aquatic acoustic ecology in climate action. 

This installation immerses listeners in the depths of marine ecosystems and transposes infrasonic and ultrasonic recordings into perceptible ranges. The soundscapes are layered and sculpted into an immersive sonic environment that navigates the ocean through auditory data and embodied listening. 

The creative development of Migration Patterns: Saltwater has been supported by the Queensland Conservatorium Research Centre, Griffith University through Leah Barclay’s postdoctoral research in acoustic ecology and climate change. Additional hydrophone recordings for this project have been provided by Marine Biologist Elisa Girola at JASCO Applied Sciences.

The work premiered at Arts House Melbourne as part of ‘in extremis’ 1-10 November 2017. This exhibition explored climatic extremes are the new meteorological normal for our planet and offered human, interspecies, plant and geological perspectives, and visceral experiences of the fragility, resilience and collapse of systems and ecologies."

The exhibition catalogue with an essay from Professor Sarah Miller is available here: http://www.artshouse.com.au/events/in-extremis/

Migration Patterns: Saltwater (live performance excerpt, ‘in extremis’ exhibition opening)

A short sketch on the Noosa River featuring Korean Taegum artist Hyelim Kim. This piece features in Sonic Babylon and was performed as part of Cypress Trilogy at Noosa Regional Gallery. 

Noosa River Darkness

During National Science Week 2018 ABC Classic FM profiled six experts who explored the many ways music and science connect.

In this interview, ABC presenter Vanessa Hughes explores the intersections of music and science with Australian composer and acoustic ecologist Dr Leah Barclay 

Original Interview (National Science Week ABC Classic FM): 
https://www.abc.net.au/classic/classic-drive/interview-leah-barclay-makes-music-from-the-environment/10129522  

ABC Classic FM National Science Week: meet our guests
https://www.abc.net.au/classic/features/national-science-week-guests/10107832  

Making Music from the Environment - National Science Week Feature https://www.abc.net.au/classic/features/national-science-week-making-music-from-the-environment/10118814

National Science Week - ABC Classic Drive Interview - Leah Barclay

Listening to Country: Exploring the value of acoustic ecology with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women in prison.

The aim of ‘Listening to Country’ is to explore the value of acoustic ecology in promoting cultural connection, maintenance and wellbeing among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women in prison. In early 2019, an interdisciplinary team of researchers worked with women in Brisbane Women’s Correctional Centre (BWCC) to produce a 1-hour immersive audio work based on field recordings of natural environments (of country) for the purpose of stress relief and relaxation. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are overrepresented in Australian prisons. The majority are mothers, experiencing the trauma associated with separation from family, community and country. 

‘Listening to Country’ represents an innovative and creative approach to promoting cultural maintenance and wellbeing among mothers, daughters, sisters, aunties and grandmothers in prison. The research use principles and processes from acoustic ecology, Indigenous storywork, dadirri (deep active listening), and arts-led inquiry to explore notions of cultural connection and maintenance for the participants, and the effects of the project on their wellbeing.

This project responds to a direct request from a group of Aboriginal women at BWCC to create a culturally appropriate sound recording for the purpose of reducing stress and connecting to natural environments and to country. It has been built on a strong foundation of previous creative engagement and consultation with women incarcerated in Queensland. The project team consists of two Aboriginal and two non-Aboriginal researchers working in collaboration. Dr Vicki Saunders (Gunggari) is an emerging scholar who works using arts-led and poetic enquiry in the field of child protection and family wellbeing. Dr Bianca Beetson (Gubbi Gubbi/Kabi Kabi) is a visual artist and curator, and Director of the Contemporary Indigenous Art Program at Griffith University. Dr Sarah Woodland has been developing creative arts-based approaches to wellbeing in Brisbane Women’s Correctional Centre (BWCC) for the past seven years, recently finding radio drama, audio recording and soundscape to be highly effective in engaging the women. Dr Leah Barclay is a sound artist whose work investigates the value of acoustic ecology as a socially engaged, accessible, interdisciplinary field that can inspire communities across the world to listen to the environment. This team is supported by an advisory group that includes members of the Brisbane Council of Elders, Dr Claire Walker, (Director of the Murri Dhagun cultural unit of Queensland Corrective Services) and criminology expert Professor Andrew Day from James Cook University.

The pilot project in BWCC has enabled the researchers to develop and hone this approach to wellbeing among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women in prison. It is anticipated that the ‘Listening to Country’ model might be transferable into a number of different wellbeing contexts, including with at-risk youth, Elders/seniors in care or off-country, women transitioning from prison to the community and more. The pilot will inform further development of the approach with additional groups in the community, with capacity development and knowledge translation activities occurring in Mitchell, Sunshine Coast and Cherbourg, Queensland to explore these possibilities in 2019.

This soundscape is a short excerpt from the 1-hr immersive audio work produced with the women during the pilot phase in prison in early 2019.

Visit the website for further details: www.listeningtocountry.com

Listening to Country (soundscape excerpt)

Short sample from a live stream in the Brisbane River on May 20, 2019 for the River Listening streaming research project. This was a streaming experiment with different hydrophone placement and stream settings. 

The sounds include snapping shrimp, grunting fish and passing CityCats (boats). The hydrophones are 2.5m deep and 3.5m apart. 

Equipment: 
- Aquarian Scientific AS-1 Hydrophones x 2 
- Zoom H5 (acting as an iOS audio interface) 
- iPhone 7 running the LocusCast app 

The stream was hosted live on the Locus Sonus Sound Map on May 20, 2019: http://locusonus.org/soundmap/051/

Freshwater Hydrophone Live Stream – Brisbane River Excerpt

TRILOKA (three worlds) is an Aryan conception of the world having three layers (earth, atmosphere, and sky). This explores a confluence of these worlds through the water, and the Indian Monsoon

Triloka: Monsoon

Listen to the Canopy Live Stream: http://locusonus.org/soundmap/051/ 

The Rainforest Canopy live stream is situated in Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve - 55 hectares of subtropical rainforest overlooking the Glass House Mountains on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia. A remnant of the rainforests that once covered the Blackall Range, the reserve is a living museum of diverse plant and animal life.

The reserve consists of subtropical rainforest across an area of 530,000 square metres and reaches a peak canopy of 440m. Plants found in the reserve include 107 species of tree, 30 herbs, 50 vines, 3 palms, 21 species of fungi and 26 kinds of shrubs. Animals include 139 birds including the wompoo fruit-dove, brown cuckoo-dove, tree-creepers, thornbills, scrub-wrens, green catbird as well as 11 different marsupials, bats, lizards, snakes and 14 frog species.

The stream launched in March 2019 as part of the Mary Cairncross Reserve BioBlitz. The BioBlitz program celebrated rainforest biodiversity with never-before-seen perspectives of the rainforest reserve captured and shared. This live stream is used for biodiversity monitoring, environmental education, public education and is part of the annual Reveil broadcast for International Dawn Chorus Day.

Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve is situated on Jinibara country. We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the lands and pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging.

Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve – Dawn Chorus (Sample from the Rainforest Canopy Live Stream)

Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve – Night Soundscapes (Sample from the Rainforest Canopy Live Stream)

In October 2011 I was invited to participate in the 6th Annual Mamori Sound Project, a residency for composers and sound artists on Mamori Lake, in the heart of the Brazilian Amazon. The expedition is designed as an intensive immersion into the sonic environments of the rainforest and involves field work and theoretical workshops with a focus on creative field recording and the exploration of natural sound environments.

The Mamori Sound Project is conceived and directed by Francisco López, internationally recognised as one of the major figures of the sound art and experimental music scene. Unlike similar residencies, Lopez avoids a technical focus and directs the process towards the realisation of a collective project with the interaction of all participating composers. All these activities are organised in a daily schedule according to the changing rhythms and sonic environments of the rainforest.

The Amazon Jungle, commonly referred to as the lungs of the world, is the largest and most bio-diverse rainforest on earth. The ecosystem of Mamori Lake is a lowland tropical rainforest with lush vegetation and abundant wildlife. The rich diversity of insects and birdlife provide a constant soundscape, while the Amazon river dolphins and elusive howler monkeys add rich layers to this captivating sonic environment.

The journey to Mamori Lake was an adventure in itself, multiple boats and buses interspersed with heavy rainstorms and balancing acts with recording equipment. The intensive schedule meant we were often working until 2am and sometimes up at 4am to travel to another location for a dawn recording session. Combine this with intensive heat and malaria pills, and the days quickly began to blur together. Despite this, I can easily say this was one of the most pivotal experiences for me as a composer, not just in the incredible sound material I collected (over fifteen hours), but in my approach to listening and creatively responding to the natural environment.

I was particularly interested in recording the Amazon river dolphin, a creature with sophisticated echolocation that navigates the dark waters of the river with sound. This experience alone would be one of my most memorable recording sessions, sitting in small boats in the middle of the night with hydrophones draped over the edge listening intently to the enthralling soundscape of dolphins deep below. I distinctly remember sliding my headphones off and being just as captivated by the soundscape above the water; sparse silence broken by dolphins breaching and blowing water.

This field recording, and many more from the trip, is a perfectly orchestrated sonic experience, a sophisticated composition from the natural environment.

Field recording is an opportunity to open our ears to the infinite possibilities of sound and develop an acute auditory awareness of our sonic surroundings, which we often ignore in a visually dominant society. Just the simple process of listening to the natural environment can teach us so much about music and how to solve compositional problems. We have much to learn from the rhythms of the natural world and the Amazon is certainly a profound sonic experience like no other. 

This composition is the first sketch in a new series of works resulting from this field trip. It also sits within a larger research project exploring the creative possibilities of acoustic ecology. 

Central Amazon Biosphere Reserve: Mamori Lake

This is documentation of a live stream from the Maroochy River for Horizon Festival for the project Listening in the Wild. 

Listening in the Wild is a series of immersive soundscapes exploring environments across the Sunshine Coast produced live and streamed online for listeners to engage with at home. These experiences are created by artists Lyndon Davis, Leah Barclay and Tricia King as transient listening experiences interwoven with Kabi Kabi stories. Listening in the Wild comprises three separate experiences, streamed live online and also available post event for audiences to access anywhere at any time. The locations include virtual sound walks through Eudlo Creek National Park, a journey along the Maroochy River and an ocean expedition from Mooloolaba Beach. Each soundscape is accompanied by site-specific photography captured by Sunshine Coast based documentary photographer Tricia King.

This is a deep listening experience with binaural 3D soundscapes that are best experienced with headphones. ​We encourage you to close your eyes, put your headphones on and lie down somewhere quiet to listen.

Listen to the live streams – www.listeninginthewild.com 

Horizon Festival – https://www.horizonfestival.com.au/event/listening-in-the-wild
Lyndon Davis - https://www.datsip.qld.gov.au/news-media/deadly-stories/deadly-stories-gallery/north-coast/lyndon-davis
Leah Barclay - https://www.usc.edu.au/staff/dr-leah-barclay
Tricia King - https://www.usc.edu.au/staff/tricia-king

This project is supported by the School of Creative Industries at the University of the Sunshine Coast.

LISTENING IN THE WILD - MAROOCHY RIVER (LIVE STREAM, 12 JULY 2020)

This is documentation of a live stream from Eudlo Creek for Horizon Festival for the project 'Listening in the Wild' featuring the voices of Lyndon Davis and Brent Miller from Gubbi Gubbi Dance.  

Listening in the Wild is a series of immersive soundscapes exploring environments across the Sunshine Coast produced live and streamed online for listeners to engage with at home. These experiences are created by artists Lyndon Davis, Leah Barclay and Tricia King as transient listening experiences interwoven with Kabi Kabi stories. Listening in the Wild comprises three separate experiences, streamed live online and also available post event for audiences to access anywhere at any time. The locations include virtual sound walks through Eudlo Creek National Park, a journey along the Maroochy River and an ocean expedition from Mooloolaba Beach. Each soundscape is accompanied by site-specific photography captured by Sunshine Coast based documentary photographer Tricia King.

This is a deep listening experience with binaural soundscapes that are best experienced with headphones. ​We encourage you to close your eyes, put your headphones on and lie down somewhere quiet to listen.

Listen to the live streams – www.listeninginthewild.com

Horizon Festival – https://www.horizonfestival.com.au/event/listening-in-the-wild
Lyndon Davis - https://www.datsip.qld.gov.au/news-media/deadly-stories/deadly-stories-gallery/north-coast/lyndon-davis 
Leah Barclay - https://www.usc.edu.au/staff/dr-leah-barclay 
Tricia King - https://www.usc.edu.au/staff/tricia-king
This project is supported by the School of Creative Industries at the University of the Sunshine Coast.

The Eudlo Creek edition of Listening in the Wild builds on work started in 2019 as part of the Eudlo Creek Project – a creative initiative that responds to the cultural and biological diversity of Eudlo Creek and its interconnected wetlands and rainforest. The project brings together art, science, technology and first nations cultural heritage through the lens of acoustic ecology and environmental education. The Eudlo Creek project was developed and delivered by Arts Front in partnership with the Montessori International College (MIC) during 2019 - https://artsfront.com/event/5266-eudlo-creek

LISTENING IN THE WILD - EUDLO CREEK (LIVE STREAM, 19 JULY 2020)

This is documentation of a live stream for Horizon Festival for the project 'Listening in the Wild'. 

This week we take you on ocean expedition from Mooloolaba to Old Woman Island with the soundscapes of migrating humpback whales, dolphins and our local reefs interwoven with Kabi Kabi stories of place from Lyndon Davis. 

Visit www.listeninginthewild.com to explore images from the site by Tricia King before listening to the soundscape. 

This edition of Listening in the Wild is supported by Subsurface Scuba and the Reef Clean Team Sunshine Coast - www.subsurfacescuba.com 

Listening in the Wild is a series of immersive soundscapes exploring environments across the Sunshine Coast produced live and streamed online for listeners to engage with at home. These experiences are created by artists Lyndon Davis, Leah Barclay and Tricia King as transient listening experiences interwoven with Kabi Kabi stories. Listening in the Wild comprises three separate experiences, streamed live online and also available post event for audiences to access anywhere at any time. The locations include virtual sound walks through Eudlo Creek National Park, a journey along the Maroochy River and an ocean expedition from Mooloolaba Beach. Each soundscape is accompanied by site-specific photography captured by Sunshine Coast based documentary photographer Tricia King.

This is a deep listening experience with binaural soundscapes that are best experienced with headphones. ​We encourage you to close your eyes, put your headphones on and lie down somewhere quiet to listen.

Listen to the live streams – www.listeninginthewild.com
Horizon Festival – https://www.horizonfestival.com.au/event/listening-in-the-wild 
Lyndon Davis - https://www.datsip.qld.gov.au/news-media/deadly-stories/deadly-stories-gallery/north-coast/lyndon-davis 
Leah Barclay - www.usc.edu.au/staff/dr-leah-barclay
Tricia King - www.usc.edu.au/staff/tricia-king

Listening in the Wild is supported by the School of Creative Industries at the University of the Sunshine Coast – https://www.usc.edu.au/about/structure/schools/school-of-creative-industries

LISTENING IN THE WILD - OLD WOMAN ISLAND (LIVE STREAM, 26 JULY 2020)

Created for 'Returning to the Gothic Ocean: Maritime, Marine and Aquatic Uncanny in Southern Waters'
Virtual Symposium, 12 February 2021
https://sites.google.com/view/rtosymposium/home 

Requiem for the Reef is an immersive surround sound performance that explores the past, present and possible futures of the Great Barrier Reef. The work draws on ecoacoustic hydrophone (underwater) recordings submerging listeners in the sonic environment of this diverse and fragile ecosystem. The recordings document death and ecotoxicity, and form part of a large-scale interdisciplinary research project designed to explore sound as a measure for health and call to action in ecological crisis. This performance adaptation for 'Returning to the Gothic Ocean' is an intuitive soundscape for cello and electronics that explores acidification, extinction and the urgent need for interdisciplinary action.

Dr Leah Barclay, USC  
https://www.usc.edu.au/staff/dr-leah-barclay 

Dr Briony Luttrell, USC 
https://www.usc.edu.au/staff/dr-briony-luttrell

Acidification: Requiem for the Reef | Leah Barclay and Briony Luttrell | 2021

Leah Barclay is a sound artist, designer and researcher who works at the intersection of art, science and technology. Leah's research and creative work over the last decade has investigated innovative approaches to recording and disseminating the soundscapes of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems to inform conservation, scientific research and public engagement. Her work explores ways we can use creativity, new technologies and emerging science to reconnect communities to the environment and inspire climate action.

Leah has been the recipient of numerous awards and her work has been commissioned, performed and exhibited to wide acclaim internationally by organisations including the Smithsonian Museum, UNESCO, Ear to the Earth, Streaming Museum, Al Gore’s Climate Reality and the IUCN. Leah’s augmented reality sound installations have been presented across the world from Times Square in New York City to the Eiffel Tower in Paris for COP21.

Leah leads several research projects including Biosphere Soundscapes and River Listening that focus on advancing the field of ecoacoustics. The design of these interdisciplinary projects are responsive to the needs of collaborating communities and involve the development of new technologies including remote sensing devices for the rainforest canopy and hydrophone recording arrays in aquatic ecosystems.

Leah is a lecturer and researcher at USC Sunshine Coast, Australia.

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