HVAC (2022, 4:45) features sounds recorded from inside the nests of leafcutter ants (Acromyrmex) on the Federal University of Amazonas campus in Manaus, Brazil:

stridulation and locomotion produced by the ants, and the sound of air conditioning systems of nearby buildings. The ant sounds reverberate within the tunnel walls of the nest, and vibrate through their soil walls; the air conditioning sounds are filtered by the expanse of soil between nearby buildings and the nest.

Percussion and vocal improvisation mimic and respond to these field recordings. Spatialization of the arrangement is abstracted, a speculation on what an ants’ sensory experience might feel like. Through listening and in our physical response, we strive to express an approximation in mood, tone, and rhythm of the ants’ sound. Can this process and the resulting music evoke a humbleness that allows for a new level of relating with them?

Link to mp3:  https://secretdrumband.bandcamp.com/track/hvac

Jane Paik: vocals

Partially recorded during Pioneerworks residency, 12/21

people involved 

Lisa Schonberg – percussion, composition, field recording 

Jane Paik - vocals 

nonhumans involved  

Acromyrmex species ants, colony