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Alex South @amsouth.bsky.social · 20h

Short audio paper out now on deep listening to migratory whales in our changing underwater environments. Reposting with hashtags! #MarineMammals #ecomusicology #envhum #bioacoustics 🐋

Sounding migrations

Deep listening and the acoustic phenology of whale song

seismograf.org

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Alex South @amsouth.bsky.social · 14d

Very happy to have my 'Sounding migrations: Deep listening and the acoustic phenology of whale song' published in this brilliant collection of audio papers from Seismograf Peer. Do have a listen and let me know what you think!
seismograf.org/fokus/sound-...

Sound and the More-Than-Human Worlds

19 audio papers on sound, technology, and listening beyond the human

seismograf.org

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Alex South @amsouth.bsky.social · 21d

Great short article out from @sebnemsaraeva.bsky.social, asking important ethical questions about possible interspecies human-whale communication, from the perspective of translation studies. "Most importantly, who will be the translators and interpreters in human-whale encounters?" #bioacoustics

mothrights.org

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Alex South @amsouth.bsky.social · Aug 30

'Keening - Song of the Stranding' album launched today to commemorate the mass stranding of pilot whales that occurred in Lewis in July 2023. Please have a listen! Musical collaboration with @nordicviola.bsky.social and Nerea Bello.
alexsouth.bandcamp.com/album/keenin...

Keening - Song of the Stranding, by Keening - Song of the Stranding

3 track album

alexsouth.bandcamp.com

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Reposted by Alex South

Emily Doolittle @emilydoolittle.bsky.social · Aug 25

A collaboration between me, @amsouth.bsky.social & Lesley Harrison, performed at @rethinkingfable.bsky.social (www.rethinking-fables.org.uk). Lesley & Alex weave together pieces by me and Alex and a poem by Lesley to create a new fable, "The Gannet and the Whale". www.youtube.com/watch?v=r55d...

The Gannet and the Whale (May 24, 2025, Rethinking Fables)

YouTube video by Kaori Nagai

www.youtube.com

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Alex South @amsouth.bsky.social · Jul 7

Here's a short blog I wrote for @iashedinburgh.bsky.social about a recent visit to @hias-hamburg.bsky.social. Had some fun sharing ideas about artistic research with a fabulous group of NetIAS scholars from across Europe. www.iash.ed.ac.uk/news/what-do...

What do we mean by Artistic Research if we really mean it? | IASH

www.iash.ed.ac.uk

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Alex South @amsouth.bsky.social · Jul 7

Happy that "The Fox" is back in the water again, heading north to Orkney in September with a preview performance in Dunblane 31 August.

nordicviola.bsky.social @nordicviola.bsky.social · Jul 3

The Voyage of The Fox with poetry by Lesley Harrison and music by me and @amsouth.bsky.social is in Dunblane on 31st Aug before we take it to Orkney Science Festival. Tickets very limited so get them now! www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-voyage... @newmusicscotland.bsky.social @dunblaneinfo.bsky.social

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Alex South @amsouth.bsky.social · Apr 14

drive.google.com/file/d/1VHme...

CfP - AAWM Special Issue Multispecies Sound and Movement.pdf

drive.google.com

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Alex South @amsouth.bsky.social · Apr 14

Great to hear that the Multispecies Sound and Movement Study Group has been approved as an official study group of the International Council for Traditions of Music and Dance. Further, that the study group board will be curating a special issue of the AAWM Journal of Music and Nature. CFP below.

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Reposted by Alex South

Emily Doolittle @emilydoolittle.bsky.social · Feb 25

Our #zoomusicology #animalwelfare paper "Playing music to animals," co-authored by Pralle Kriengwatana, @amsouth.bsky.social, Martin Ullrich, @ruedinager.bsky.social and me is now open access. This has been such a great team to work with & fun paper to write!
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Playing music to animals: an interdisciplinary approach to improving our understanding of animals' responses to music

Humans have profoundly changed the global soundscape. Studying how nonhuman animals respond to music can contribute to a better understanding of the e…

www.sciencedirect.com

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Alex South @amsouth.bsky.social · Feb 10

This looks like an interesting paper on cultural evolution, in that it moves the focus away from more-or-less passive consumers. However, let's not forget that in many cultures (including Western subcultures), the dominant model of 'production' vs 'consumption' is far less relevant.

Alberto Acerbi @acerbialberto.com · Feb 10

Maybe an interesting link between the fact that we find difficult to give artistic credit to AI and the idea of looking at cultural products from the producers' point of view as in www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Cultural evolution from the producers’ standpoint | Evolutionary Human Sciences | Cambridge Core

Cultural evolution from the producers’ standpoint - Volume 5

www.cambridge.org

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Alex South @amsouth.bsky.social · Feb 10

Super-excited to be performing in UNESCO's #WeekOfSound in Edinburgh next Monday with Una MacGlone. Composed/improvised musics inspired by sounds and environments #BeneathTheWaves. University West Court 7pm. digital.eca.ed.ac.uk/weekofsound/...

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Alex South @amsouth.bsky.social · Feb 5

Very excited to be part of the next phase of this project led by writer @rebeccasharp.bsky.social. Music very much inspired by important places in the legend of Tenew/Thaney, including Traprain Law, Aberlady Bay, and Culross #TheBorders #CreativeScotland.

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Alex South @amsouth.bsky.social · Feb 4

Great to see our interdisciplinary paper on music and animal welfare out in the journal Animal Behaviour. Very much a team effort with @emilydoolittle.bsky.social, @ruedinager.bsky.social and Martin Ullrich, steered by Pralle Kriengwatana. authors.elsevier.com/a/1kYdDmjMA3XG

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Alex South @amsouth.bsky.social · Jan 30

So pleased that 'Keening - Song of the Stranding' has been given the green light, thanks to funders Creative Scotland, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Make It Happen Fund, and the Hope Scott Trust. Some details here, more to follow! #SongOfTheStranding @nordicviola.bsky.social

National Lottery & Scottish Government Funding Inspires Artistic Connection in Outer Hebrides

As Creative Scotland announces the latest the round of National Lottery and Scottish Government-backed Open Fund Awards, the islands of the Outer Hebrides continue to be an invaluable source of inspir...

creativescot-newsroom.prgloo.com

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Alex South @amsouth.bsky.social · Jan 29

This lovely programme discusses the killer whale populations in the waters around the Shetland Islands, and the vocalizations they use. Nice to hear one of my PhD supervisors @emilydoolittle.bsky.social 🐋https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0026w74

Beyond the Briggistanes - 16/01/2025 - BBC Sounds

Exploring Shetland's natural heritage, environment issues and out of doors activities.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Alex South @amsouth.bsky.social · Jan 29

Over the past c.20 years @rothenbird.bsky.social has done more than just about anyone to draw public attention to the musicality of the sounds of whales. My review of his 'Whale Music' is out now in the Journal of Interdisciplinary Voice Studies doi.org/10.1386/jivs... 🐋#cetaceancitations

Whale Music, David Rothenberg (2023) | Intellect

Review of: Whale Music, David Rothenberg (2023) Cambridge, MA: Terra Nova Press, 376 pp., ISBN 978-1-94959-725-7, p/bk, $27.95

doi.org

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Alex South @amsouth.bsky.social · Jan 24

Wonderful to see that the Ocean has been elected to be a Trustee on the board of the Scottish Association for Marine Science, in an attempt to shift the dial further away from anthropocentric attitudes. Highly relevant to the #MOTH project (MOre Than Human rights). #SAMS #CetaceanCitations

The Ocean enters the boardroom

'Ocean trustee' election is a

www.sams.ac.uk

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Alex South @amsouth.bsky.social · Jan 24

Brilliant to see this out in the wild @francae.bsky.social

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Alex South @amsouth.bsky.social · Jan 24

New study out of humpback whale paternity patterns in a South Pacific population recovering from intensive whaling. I was particularly interested to read that these results suggest higher levels of interchange between populations than previous estimates.🐋

Franca Eichenberger @francae.bsky.social · Jan 8

New paper on "Patterns of paternity: insights into mating competition and gene flow in a recovering population of humpback whales." 🐋🧬
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

@emma-carroll.bsky.social @lrendell.bsky.social @ellengarland.bsky.social @seamammalresearch.bsky.social 1/8

Graphical abstract of the methods and main results of the publication. It includes a photograph of a group of several humpback whales competing to be closest to the female of the group.

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Alex South @amsouth.bsky.social · Jan 23

For example... should humans intervene to stop orca killing sharks to eat only their livers...?
www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-...

Why Are Killer Whales Ripping Livers Out of Their Shark Prey?

Killer whales rip open the bellies of sharks to snag the liver. Other predators also have dietary preferences for organs, brains and additional rich body parts

www.scientificamerican.com

Alex South @amsouth.bsky.social · Jan 23

Interesting paper out examining the ethics of human intervention designed to reduce suffering in wild animals.

Soazig Le Bihan @soaziglebihan.bsky.social · Jan 23

This looks interesting: #philsky #philsci #animalstudies #envhum 🌎🦤
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
"The paper attempts to show that the arguments for the validity of interventionism are based on partially erroneous assumptions and questionable conclusions...

Interventionism as a dangerously anthropocentric concept - Biology & Philosophy

The article presents and critically discusses the concept of environmental interventionism, which treats interference in the functioning of ecosystems to protect free-living animals from suffering as ...

link.springer.com

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Alex South @amsouth.bsky.social · Dec 17

Beautiful textures here!

Steve Smart @duntruner.bsky.social · Dec 10

Photos from a recce for a wee shoot I'm hoping to do soon as part of a poetry film project with @rebeccasharp.bsky.social and @amsouth.bsky.social

The sculpture is The Bridge by the late Ron Martin. Original title "Bridging the Gap Between..." Thanks to Botanic Gardens Dundee for allowing access.

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Alex South @amsouth.bsky.social · Dec 14

Planning on learning this great piece by @emilydoolittle.bsky.social soon! Details to follow.

Composers Edition @composersed.bsky.social · Dec 9

Emily Doolittle’s ‘Gannetry’, for clarinet and electronics, has been selected for the ISCM World Music Days, taking place in Porto next year!

@emilydoolittle.bsky.social

Find out more and listen to the work here:
whatsnew.composersedition.com/doolittle-at...

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Alex South @amsouth.bsky.social · Dec 14

There's a great compilation of online resources for music scholarship (including journals) at H-Music (a branch of @h-net-humanities.bsky.social ) networks.h-net.org/h-music

H-Music | H-Net

networks.h-net.org

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