SCIENCE SOLEIL: Sonic Kayaks??

Thanks to a team of researchers in the UK you can now record the sounds from your kayak trip around Lake Washington and use the sounds collected for samples in anything from an ambient spa music to your next deep house track. The sounds, collected via an underwater microphone are as ethereal as they are strangely catchy, capturing sounds from a world rarely thought of as ‘loud’ let alone a source of EDM material.

The “Sonic Kayak” system includes an underwater microphone, a GPS unit and speakers that can be attached to the prow of your kayak for real time listening while you paddle. While the technology was not invented for use in music (but why not?) it is used to measure noise pollution and temperature in our water ways with live underwater audio and one tone that ascents and descends with the water temperature change and pre-recorded audio plays as the kayak passes certain GPS “check points.”

The resulting sounds have been comparable to “spa” or “meditation” music but one can’t help but imagine the ambient sounds fitting rather beautifully into the right deep house or trance track. It would be great to see a local Seattle DJ or producer incorporate the sounds and systems, capturing a unique look at not only electronic music and its definition but a wonderful way to utilize all the beautiful water that surrounds the city and… the world!

Check out about the Sonic Kayak and FoAM Kernow at The Verge and in a guide recently published in the PLOS Biology journal. Plus, you can listen to a selection of the sounds below! Would you listen to these on their own or incorporated into a song? Sound off below or tweet @HarmonySoleil!

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