Cetacea

merges dolphin sounds with the rhythms of 6 Senegalese percussionists

2006 (40′08″)
Electro Instrumental Music

Cetacea merges dolphin sounds recorded at the dolphinarium in Duisburg (Germany) with the rhythms of 6 Senegalese percussionists. The base material of the composition consists of the click trains of these sea mammals. Their sonar is normally not hearable (150 kHz) and therefore had to be transposed into a hearable frequency range (max 20 kHz) with a computer-assisted high-resolution digital technology. The record frequency of the underwater sounds was 384 kHz. Wide pulsating sound fabrics are the result.
Through sonar dolphins are able to orientate, to locate objects, to detect temperatures and also to communicate with each other.
The Senegalese Sabar drummers communicate over large distances by percussive patterns. This acoustic connection was the inspiration to work with the percussion ensemble of the Senegalese Master drummer Doudou N´Diaye Rose.
The concert is the tape version in 5.1 surround. Without esoteric clichés this multilayered sound ocean unfolds hypnotic effects.

© Copyright - Michael Fahres