Ocean Voices
What would it sound like to hear the thoughts of California ocean conservationists and Japanese fishermen together in a piece of music? How about political activists and six-year olds? Oceanic issues are rife with nuance, filled with emotion and broad enough to affect all life on this planet. By collecting these personal expressions and presenting them back in a collective way, Ocean Voices intends to open minds and expand awareness through music and grassroots participation.
Ocean Voices is a collaboration between sound artist Halsey Burgund and marine biologist Wallace J. Nichols designed to collect spoken voice recordings from people around the world responding to a few personal questions about the ocean, including:
- How does the ocean affect you on a daily basis?
- Describe a world without oceans.
- What does it feel like to be in the ocean?
The voices will be collected via in person interviews, an interactive website, a kiosk at CAS and through software developed for Android phones and the iPhone. The collection of these voices is the first crucial step in Ocean Voices as it is these recordings which will act as the raw material for related music compositions which Halsey will compose. The voice recordings will not only act as inspiration from a content standpoint, but will be used in combination with acoustic and electronic instruments in the composition itself. Halsey has been writing music using spoken voices for many years and Ocean Voices gives him an exciting opportunity to further his artistic goals within the context of a global environmental issue he cares deeply about.
The artistic “product” of Ocean Voices is two-fold. First, as the voices are collected, they will be consolidated in an online database which participants will be able to access in the form of algorithmically generated audio collages. These collages will present a user-selected group of voices in a non-linear, semi-randomized fashion which will not only give each participant a unique audio experience, but will also help them hear the thoughts of many other individuals in a musical setting. The collages will be accessible online which will help spread the voices around the globe and as more voices are collected, the collages will become more and more varied.
The second product will be a semi-improvised, semi-composed piece of music which will be performed at CAS in June 2010 in celebration of World Ocean Day as well as the 100th anniversary of Jacques Cousteau’s birth. Jacques Cousteau did more than anyone else to increase ocean awareness among every day people around the globe, and Ocean Voices endeavors to represent similar people and their stories collectively. This musical performance will be staged by Halsey and his band, aesthetic evidence, and will also include live-generated projected visuals which will be tightly woven into the music/voice fabric.
Ocean Voices has both artistic and conservation goals.
- to bring together a global community to emphasize how ocean conservation is a global issue
- to focus on the individual and the individual’s thoughts about the ocean, making it very personal and therefore more impactful
- to bring together the creative/musical/artistic world with the environmental world, thereby broadening the audience and increasing accessibility
- to actively solicit grassroots participation from a wide variety of geographic and demographic groups and encourage cross-pollination of ideas
