EXTENDED UNTIL JUNE 7!!



Whale Songs Remix Event

“Regardless of its purpose, the humpback-whale song is the most complex piece of nonhuman composition on earth. Whether it’s art, prayer, or booty call, the humpback song is an amazing thing to experience firsthand, and I suspect that even once the science of it is put to bed, it will remain, as long as they sing, magic.”
—Christopher Moore

We are elated to announce the ccMixter Whale Songs Remix Event, made possible by a mystical whale song library recorded by Oceanologist Oscar Frey. Oscar is generously contributing his underwater recordings to our community, that reflect decades of his unique work. Born in Mexico City, Oscar completed his educational training and degree in the field of Oceanology at the Faculty of Marine Sciences of the University of Baja California in Ensenada. Oscar has developed and expanded his unique research studies related to humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) on Banderas Bay, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico and has been observing, photographing and recording these majestic animals throughout the Pacific for decades.

“Whales are acoustical animals, and our main concern for their conservation is noise pollution” —Oscar Frey

Through Oscar’s deep, enduring involvement with humpback whales, he’s become painfully aware of the negative human impacts that have pushed these ancient animals to the edge of survival. Shipping lanes, illegal hunting and climate change all contribute to the struggle of a beloved species that has thrived on planet Earth for 30 million years.

As humans we’re rarely given the opportunity to observe these massive mammals that weigh on average 40 tons. Their world of water has an atmosphere entirely different than ours. Yet still, their songs have permeated our culture, though very few of us understand what they are communicating.

With the Whale Songs Remix Event, our ccMixter community has been given a special gift by Oscar — the contribution of some of his whale song stems for our remixing inspiration! We have the unique opportunity through our collaborative remix platform to remix and share Oscar’s personal, detailed, intricate recordings of humpback whales. The incredible energy that comes from creating together will not only be for our own inspiration and enjoyment, but also will serve as an audible wave of awareness.

Oscar’s work with whales is a vast, lifelong pursuit of knowledge and new discovery. Hearing him talk about his observations at sea is revealing. Hearing his recordings is otherworldly. ccMixter hopes to inspire the remix community to create original mixes featuring Oscar’s recordings that will enable listeners to gain a new respect for and connection to humpback whales. Their habitat, our world ocean, is being attacked in multiple ways, and their songs are being drowned out by big cargo ship engines and military sonic testing.

Let’s amplify the voices of the whales and sing songs that will support the efforts of committed whale defenders like Oscar Frey. Let’s make Whale Songs echo through the world using Creative Commons remixing as a tool to share their call.

Oscar’s Stems:
-Echoenia Concept Commentary
-Whale Strings and Horns - Commentary
-Whale Strings and Horns - Whale Song
-Cantores Elephant Call - Commentary
-Cantores Elephant Call - Whale Song
-Deep Whale Adagio - Commentary
-Deep Whale Adagio - Whale Song
-Pure Positive Meditation - Commentary
-Pure Positive Meditation - Whale Song

From May 3 through May 16:
Please contribute pells and samples to go along with Oscar’s Whale Songs stems. Remixes are always welcome.

From May 17 through May 31:
Please submit remixes of both Whale Songs and other contributed pells and samples.

PELLS
SAMPLES
REMIXES

Listen to Volume One of Oscar’s Echoenia album series on Spotify:


Echoenia, Vol. 1: Underwater Harmonies of the Humpback Whales

Moby Dick is in public domain. LibraVox is a public domain audio book resource if you’d like to add some spoken word from this “whale” of a classic.

https://librivox.org/moby-dick-by-herman-melville/

Oh this is going to be good. Big thanks to Oscar Frey for sharing these here. The last time I scoured the web for whale song I couldn’t find any cleanly recorded. These sound great. Looking forward to interacting with the whales and hearing what mixters come up with.

A special thanks to Oscar Frey, and the ccMixter admin team, for this beautiful opportunity to make music with Humpback whales.

As a humble show of support for Oscar’s important work, I’ll donate $5 to his organization Deep Blue Conservancy for every remix submitted to this event.

Another way to support Oscar Frey’s nonprofit, Deep Blue Conservancy, is by purchasing his Echoenia albums. Volume 1 & 2 can be downloaded in FLAC and MP3 formats, or you can get the Physical Double CD set.

Check out the options here.

I am so very inspired by this event. The whales are profound creatures that hold so much resonance. Thank you for bringing Oscar and the whales to us!

I’m thrilled to be listening to the mixes I’ve heard. So diverse and responsive to the call of the Humpback whales. Thank you ccMixter! This community is outstanding!

Oh im so down for this one!! Anyone ever heard the song the warmth by incubus?