Stridulation — Bleepsworld

Stridulation (Synthesised Crickets)

Stridulation is an ambisonic sound installation that forms part of an ongoing research project exploring the reconstruction of natural sounds through synthesis and the sonic possibilities of multichannel loudspeaker configurations, creating sonic environments that sit at the edge of reality and, in doing so, reshape our perception of and relationship with nature.

Developed during an art residency at DNBeta in Ziyang, China, the project began with an encounter with local crickets whose calls differed significantly from those I was accustomed to hearing in Europe. The unfamiliarity of these sounds initiated a process of focused listening and field recording.

Using these recordings as a point of departure, I analysed the rhythms and timbral qualities of the crickets' calls and attempted to reconstruct them through analog synthesis using a Music Thing Modular Workshop System synthesiser. Through frequency modulation with sine and square waves, alongside filter and resonance modulation, I sought to approximate the rhythms and timbral qualities of the original insect calls.

Crickets produce sound through a process known as stridulation, generating rhythmic impulses that are amplified by resonant structures in their wings. This process provided a useful framework for exploring the reconstruction of insect calls through analog synthesis, drawing parallels with the ways oscillation, modulation, and resonance can generate complex sonic textures.

The process of reconstruction is never exact. In attempting to imitate these insect calls, new and unexpected sonic forms emerged. These forms remain closely related to their natural origins while simultaneously becoming something else—something that seems to exist and yet might not.

Originally composed as a four-minute stereo piece, the work has evolved into an ambisonic sound installation. Presented in a darkened space that evokes the atmosphere of night, audiences are surrounded by spatialised cricket-like sounds. The absence of visual information encourages deep listening and allows listeners to construct their own imagined environments, filling in the gaps between what is heard and what is perceived.

Constructed from numerous interwoven layers of sound, the composition loops seamlessly and evolves gradually over time. Individual elements emerge, recede, and interact with one another, behaving less like a linear composition and more like a sonic ecosystem.

The resulting work creates a believable but artificial sonic ecosystem derived from the acoustic behaviours of real insects. By immersing audiences within this environment, the installation invites reflection on our relationship with non-human life and leaves open questions about what is natural and what is constructed, what constitutes an authentic encounter with nature, and whether artificial ecologies might become future sites through which we experience the natural world.