Last Days of The Pacific
This layered musical piece has a simple underlying structure. The shimmering electronic tones in the background represent the slow but persistent changes to the abiotic environment of the Pacific Ocean: warming waters, increasing acidity, hypoxia, methane release, and altered current structure and dynamics. The multiple tracks of electric guitar feedback in the foreground represent biotic activity such as stress responses of aquatic life to the changing environment but also human activity, including actions impacting the marine environment as well as vocal calls for better stewardship. The layered tracks of feedback blend into and become indistinguishable from one another. Overall, the theme, and the title of the piece, are of loss—a loss driven by greater instability and uncertainty in a broad global sense. However, there are moments when the foreground dissonance resolves suggesting hope—an audacious hope that compels us to act lest the warning of the piece becomes inevitable.
About the artist
Dave Riddell’s musical works range from more “traditional” structured pieces to shifting ambient soundscapes. All include both acoustic and electronic instruments and can feature techniques and technologies such as granular synthesis, field recordings, and tape loops. Dave’s research background is in ecotoxicology, with a focus on the roles of community science and community-based research in addressing local environmental problems. At Ocean Networks Canada Dave supports the teaching and learning of marine and environmental science in universities, colleges, and communities through the design and delivery of courses and field programs centered around data from ONC’s underwater observatories and mobile sensors. As an educator, Dave’s work is trauma-informed and embraces critical pedagogy, open education, and transformative praxis.
