on australian shores

2020
field recordings + analog photographs + field notes
listening to birds, insects and molluscs
published by Sono Space
digital

on australian shores: listening to birds, insects and molluscs is a gathering of field recordings, notes and analogue photographs taken by Pablo Diserens during a short trip along the Australian southeast coast in November 2019. By putting the attention on the various voices of the local fauna, this release pays homage to the wildlife that perished during the Australian bushfire crisis in 2019 and 2020. The combination of sounds, images and texts creates a detailed documentation of the artist’s experience and reflections in situ that infuses the recordings with physical, temporal and political contexts.

All proceeds will go towards the wildlife emergency response fund of Humane Society International that are helping the Australian animals affected by the fires.

→ originally released as an album + PDF available to download on Sono Space (2020)













Shown at Museo Reina Sofia as part of Alejandra Riera’s exhibition
< Garden of Mixtures: Attempts to Make Place, 1995 -… > — Madrid, ES, 4 May – 5 September 2022


[...] The action of opening continues on the ground floor in the garden of the former hospital where the Garden of Mixtures collective, comprised of an open-ended group of people from both the museum and beyond, seeks to make room for the coexistence of the human-and-non-human presences that dwell there. How do these presences interrelate? How to make room for living entities that undermine the imaginary separation between what is considered “human” and “non-human”? Between who has the right to speak and who is considered voiceless? How can these entities communicate and support each other? What do we learn when we pay attention to the space in which we find ourselves? How does it transforms itself and how do we transform it?
— Museo Reina Sofia





album reviews :

Top 10 Field Recordings & Soundscape Albums of 2020 — “This album shows that any field recording can take on new meaning at a moment’s notice, as species and environments become threatened. The full set is an indictment of humanity as it continues to ignore the very real danger of climate change and its resulting effects.” Richard Allen - a closer listen

Original review — “Diserens [calls] for active action on climate change to combat “this sinister age of embers.”  Many field recordings open a window into a world we barely know; on australian shores opens a window to one we may have already lost.  This sonic document is more than just a travelogue; it’s a requiem.” Richard Allen - a closer listen

A kind of best of 2020: simple overviews — part of Electronics, electroacoustic, field recordings, noise, drone, weird, computer music. Ettore Garzia - Percorsi Musicali