En(canto) Nocturno-Nocturnal Enchantmen

Cicadas, crickets, and frogs are among the many animal species that inhabit the Mata Atlântica, Brazil’s Atlantic rainforest, and can be heard at night throughout different times of the year.

Male individuals produce calls to attract females and reproduce. Through mechanisms such as wing movement, friction between body parts, or the inflation of vocal sacs, they emit high-frequency, high-intensity sounds that shape a distinctive nocturnal soundscape.

(En)canto nocturno is composed from field recordings of these species, captured during nighttime sessions between 2018 and 2021 in São José do Vale do Rio Preto, Brazil. These recordings are interwoven with processed synthesizers, creating a layered sonic composition that blurs the boundaries between natural and electronic environments. The piece engages with the principles of acoustic ecology, reflecting on the complex interconnections between living organisms and their sonic environments, and inviting deep listening as a means of sensing the rhythms and textures of non-human life.

Created for the launch of Revista Aural #4, published by Tsonami Arte Sonoro, the work was broadcast as a radio concert on June 25, 2021, via Radio Tsonami.

Photography: "Lampejos Noturnos", Mari Bley, 2018.