While some people were glad to see the back of the Brood X cicadas this year, there are others who have willingly revisited the deafening sounds those critters produced.
The Fuzzy Panda record label provided 20 noise artists from the U.S. with field recordings of this year’s cicada crop, and the artists manipulated them for the Tymbal compilation.
“The cicadas don’t do the artists any favors. They are unrelentingly, almost uniformly, loud. They do not make melodies or rhythm, only pink noise. Because of this, each track represents a unique distillation of the cicadas’ sex screams,” said Beau Finley of Fuzzy Panda (he also appears on two of the tracks).
Some of the tracks feature familiar cicada sounds, while on others the “sex screams” are twisted and warped beyond recognition. Although Finley said each track is unique, for listeners that aren’t aficionados of noise (such as D.U.), some of this is going to run together. Still, it’s an interesting compilation to chill out with. Some of the songs are more pleasant than others.
Tymbal is coming out on September 28, 2021 from Fuzzy Panda Recording Company on Bandcamp for the low price of $3. There’s no preorder information, so check back at the link when the time comes.
Photo: Destroyer of Worlds, one of the artists, featuring Finley (left) (D.U.).
