Jana Winderen

Sub-Pelagic Voices, by Jana Winderen 2009

Soundscapes underwater are invisible but audible. Sound travels almost five times faster in water than in air, the speed differing according to pressure, salinity, current and temperature. Creatures living in the ocean use sound to communicate, hunt and orientate themselves. Different fish and crustaceans produce different sounds for different purposes; you can identify the species by listening to them. In the oceans there is a constant and lively sound environment; very little research has been done by humans here, surprising perhaps considering that the oceans cover more than 70% of our planet.

Sub-Pelagic Voices is a 17 minute sound piece made for the Sound Art Weekend Gerlesborg as part of the ISCM World New Music Days, invited by Jesper Eng at The Gerlesborg School of Fine Art. It is based on hydrophone (underwater microphones) recordings made in Bottnafjorden in August 2009, near Gerlesborg in Bohuslän, Sweden.