Inverted Audio, in collaboration with Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK), announces the release of ‘See Signals Sea Noise – Dianita Live @S.P.A.‘, a limited-edition cassette featuring a 47-minute live recording by Swiss sound artist dianita.
The performance, captured during Art Basel 2024 in the courtyard of urban winery S.P.A., draws directly from the Computer Signals Archive – an extraordinary collection of over 50,000 hours of underwater recordings gathered since 2012 off the coasts of Spitsbergen and Helgoland as part of a long-term climate impact research project.
Initiated by Swiss visual artist Hannes Rickli and sound artist Valentina Vuksic, the archive documents both the ambient soundscape of the ocean and the inner workings of an underwater observatory. Using hydrophones, sensors, and electromagnetic pick-ups, it captures everything from the hum of marine life to the power draw of instruments and fluctuating electromagnetic fields, creating a striking interplay between natural and technological sound.
Freely available under a Creative Commons license, the archive has become a fertile resource for artistic exploration. Musicians including Ben Kaczor, dianita, Lb Honne, and Hatarii have begun to reimagine its material through live sets, installations, workshops, and podcasts. This cassette marks the first physical artefact of the project’s next phase, extending the work into curated events, club nights, interactive exhibits, and new commissions that bridge scientific rigour with artistic experimentation.
By inviting audiences to engage with the hidden acoustics of the sea and the sonic traces of scientific infrastructure, See signals sea noise offers a fresh reflection on the act of listening itself – as art, as research, and as a way of sensing the world. The project is supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation and the Ernst Göhner Foundation.
‘See Signals Sea Noise – Dianita Live @S.P.A. // 15 June 2024’ is set for release on 15th September via Inverted Audio. Buy a cassette from Inverted Audio Record Store.
Music by dianita
Photo by Philipp Fischer / AWI
Design & Layout by Tom Durston
Commissioned by seesignals.art
Produced by inverted-audio.com