Can You Hear Earth Singing? Meet Musicians Using Sound to Protect the Planet

What does a melting glacier sound like? Can a rainforest sing? And what happens when the last bird of its species hears a recording and tries to reply?

In this special live edition of the Drowned in Sound Podcast, recorded at Tallinn Music Week, host Sean Adams moderates a powerful conversation on music, ecology, and collective action. Joined by artists and innovators from the EarthSonic project, the panel explores how field recordings, plant biofeedback, and immersive sound can shift our understanding of the planet — and why that emotional shift matters.

From Brazil’s disappearing biodiversity to sound fossils in the Swiss Alps, this episode weaves together music, activism, and indigenous wisdom in an urgent yet hopeful conversation about art’s role in averting climate collapse.

Plus Ruth from In Place of War reveals their new project with Bicep in Greenland that launches in summer 2025.

Featured Guests & Projects:

• ⁠Natural Symphony (Joey Dean)⁠
• ⁠Ludwig Berger⁠
• ⁠In Place of War / EarthSonic (Ruth Daniel)⁠
• ⁠Martyn Ware (Heaven 17 / Human League)⁠

Episode Highlights & Timestamps:

• 03:00 – Ruth Daniel on the origins of In Place of War and EarthSonic
• 06:00 – Ludwig Berger: Listening to melting glaciers through hydrophones
• 11:00 – Martyn Ware (Heaven 17/The Human League) on sonifying endangered species and synthetic forests
• 17:00 – Natural Symphony: Collaborating with plants and reforesting the Amazon
• 27:00 – The power of sound to bridge disconnection and inspire action
• 33:00 – Building cultural change through art and emotional resonance
• 39:00 – Sound healing, deep listening, and making the unseen audible
• 45:00 – What capitalism doesn’t want us to feel — and why art matters
• 52:00 – Indigenous wisdom, urban detachment, and finding your own tree
• 58:00 – Hopeful projects, collective agency, and calling in the music industry

Mentioned in the Episode:

• "The Last Scream" new release
• Crying Glacier movie

• EarthSonic panel replay via the TMW.EE website

Join the Conversation:

• Drowned in Sound Community
• Email Sean → [email protected]
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