Monday, November 24, 2008

PALAOA - Live from the Antarctic Ocean

UPDATE 12/8/11: Audio now back up

PALAOA is a German scientific research project whose website features a continuous audio stream transmitting live from the ocean below the Antarctic ice. It's the best ambient music I've heard lately, and it's not even music.


Sometimes it sounds like an abundance of sea life singing, howling and braying, mixed with creaking glaciers, and "...Additional broad band noise caused by wind, waves and currents adds to it on occasion. There are three sources of click-like interference: switching relays, electrostatic discharges caused by snow drift, and...thunderstorms ten thousands of kilometers away."

Here's a random recording I made off the stream recently. I really had to crank up the volume using my music software, but when I did I was startled to hear so much sonic activity and variety. It's 19 minutes long, but I could listen to it all day.

.

10 comments:

The Mayfly said...

This is absolutely fascinating stuff. Thank you kindly for posting this.

And I agree... you could listen to this all day.

Anonymous said...

awesome and a little disturbing!

Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Whales: DJs of the Deep?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1t8cpH6AbwQ

Anonymous said...

no Britney? luv it!!!!

Unknown said...

This is fantastic, thanks! I'm going to give this some late-nite radio airplay.

Anonymous said...

Wow - what a find! Also, though I think it's no where near as nice as this, check out "longplayer."

http://longplayer.org/index.php

Anonymous said...

I hope that it will have bewitching stuff. Thank you for your blog.

Whizzdumb said...

Would you mnd upping this one again. I am quite curious :-)

Mr Fab said...

I'll try to re-up it in the next day or so Whizzdumb, but til then maybe the live stream is still working (haven't tried it lately):
http://www.awi.de/de/aktuelles_und_presse/hintergrund/palaoa_wie_klingt_das_suedpolarmeer/livestream/

Whizzdumb said...

Tnx for that Mr. Fab! Some strange wailing voices indeed. Tnx 4 all this wonderfully odd music.