Want Water

The electronics in this piece are entirely the manipulated sounds of thirsty trees, as recorded with highly sensitive acoustic sensors and generously shared by physicist Alex Ponomarenko.

Trees under drought emit short ultrasound "clicks" whose origin is not clear, but discovered by Alex to be linked to the appearance of bubbles. The short clicks have been expanded by the composer in order to engage with the tree’s slower timescale.

As we communicate with trees, their thirst can be made known to us. Indeed, scientists can use these findings to reconcile stressed trees to long periods of drought brought on by climate change.

Made using Trevor Wishart's CDP software.