review of UAU: Soundscapes and Ant Acoustics of the Brazilian Amazon (DL) by Lisa

Schonberg (Doktor Exoskeleton)

http://www.lisaschonberg.com/store/uau-music-for-percussion-soundscapes-and-ant-acoustics-

of-the-brazilian-amazon

This work is a blend of science and art, juxtiposing audio from microhabitats of the Brazilian

Amazon with human percussion. Lisa is one of those rare creatures with expertise in two very

different disciplines. Her work rhythmically amplifies the beauty of nature's alien-like

soundscapes. I was first introduced to music-nature mashups by the Paul Winter Consort who

used more well-known sounds from nature like whale song, wolf and eagle calls. Lisa goes

deeper into the unknown to bring us ear to ear with the sounds of a forgaging assemblage of

ants, using the forest in front of them as a food source to acquire atoms and energy to assemble

more ants.

The ep has 6 tracks . The disc I picked up from Lisa earlier this year in Vancouver is housed in a

cardboard sleeve with minimal labelling (Lisa's name does not appear on it, nor is there a

weblink. Only the name of the work). (I am so glad when CDs are not housed in plastic!). From

her website "In August 2017, I began a collaborative multimedia research project on ant

acoustics in the Brazilian Amazon. This is the first collection of music from this work in the

intersection of art, ecology, entomology, and bioacoustics." Her webpage says the ep has 5

tracks but the disc has 6 (the last track is only 12 seconds but a pretty cool 12 seconds!).

The 5th track is my favorite, but the whole ep builds and is worth listening to as a continuous

flow of sound - ideally via good headphones with no, and I mean no, distractions. This is not

music one puts on while doing the dishes. This is music best sensed the way we appreciate

movies (perhaps pretend you are watching a movie - but are blind).

The art somewhat overhwhelms the science, but this is not a criticism (just a geeky wish to

know more about the ants and the source of the sounds). The aethetics of blending sounds from

nature with human sounds are not at all fully explored. Lisa has built a beautiful path into this

unknown world that is a joy to traverse.

-Doktor Exoskeleton