Prefabricated soundtrack from fish ponds (in collaboration with Marcel Zaes) 来自鱼塘的预制声景 (与 Marcel Zaes 合作）
2022, digital audio, stereo, 90 min. 2022，数字音频、立体声，90 分钟。Oxygenators in the fish pond in Foshan. 佛山鱼塘中的增氧机。
During the fieldwork in Foshan, the intense noises from the aquaculture industry, especially from the oxygenators in the fish ponds, overturned my preconceived notions of the soundscape of dike-pond agriculture. I noticed that these noises not only altered the temporality of the agricultural environment but also became part of the existential conditions of local village life.
Noise is always considered ecologically destructive. However, after a conversation with Liu, a local farmer who lives next to his fish ponds, my preconceptions about noise were reversed. Instead of hindering his life, Liu found the noise of the oxygenators comforting because it told him that the fish in the pond were still safe. Liu also told me that the fish could also recognize the noise of the oxygenators and swim towards it. He believed that for the fish, this noise also meant safety: they knew that it signified oxygen. In this context, noise becomes an approach to build amphibious multi-species connections.
Inspired by this, I initiated the sound project “Prefabricated soundtrack from fish ponds.” In this piece, I aim to connect the multi-layered agricultural and ecological realities to the everyday life of the visitors mostly from non-fishery backgrounds through an ambiguous approach, rather than presenting the agricultural soundscape as a spectacle. I believe that the latter, while stimulating concern for ecological issues, may still further alienate and stereotype the countryside and waters in the current Chinese context, reinforcing the dichotomous structure of land and water, urban and rural, center and periphery.
In recent years, the burgeoning “prefabricated dishes” (预制菜) industry further utilizes aquatic leftovers through new technologies and models by processing previously hard-to-sell fish into convenience foods, changing China’s aquaculture industry. I undertook field recordings of industrial noises from freshwater aquaculture in the Pearl River Delta - one of the most neglected leftovers of modern aquaculture. The recording equipment I used included a homemade hydrophone made by a farmer hobbyist that I got by accident. Following the idea of “prefabricated dishes” and referring to Muzak music, I collaborated with sound artist and researcher Dr. Marcel Zaes Sagesser. Through artificial intelligence, the noises of modern aquaculture in Foshan were processed and integrated with classic fishery music created during the modernization of Chinese agriculture, resulting in a soundtrack for relaxation and meditation. This is an amphibious soundtrack that allows the listener to relax and feel safe like Liu.
Listen: https://soundcloud.com/xi-lei-342870757/prefabricated-soundtrack-from-fish-ponds/s-nuripFSlfWw?si=f2
在佛山的田野调查期间，水产养殖业的强烈噪音，特别是鱼塘中增氧机的噪音，颠覆了我对堤塘农业声景的预设。我注意到这些噪音不仅改变了农业环境的时间性，也成为了当地村落生活存在条件的一部分。
噪音总是被认为对生态有破坏性。然而，与生活在鱼塘旁的本地养殖户刘先生的对话后，我对噪音的看法被颠覆了。刘认为，增氧机的噪音对他来说反而是一种安慰，因为这向他传达了一个信息：鱼塘里的鱼依然安全。刘还告诉我，鱼也能识别增氧机的噪音并向其游去。他认为，对鱼来说，这种噪音也意味着安全：它们知道这代表着氧气。由此，噪音成为了两栖多物种联系的方式。
受此启发，我发起了声音项目《来自鱼塘的预制声景》。在这个作品中，我旨在通过一种模棱两可的途径，将多层次的农业和生态现实与大多数来自非渔业背景的游客的日常生活相连接，而不是将农业声景作为一种奇观来呈现。我相信后者，虽然或许能激发对生态问题的关注，但在当前的中国背景下，可能仍会进一步疏远和刻板化乡村和水域，强化陆地与水域、城市与乡村、中心与边缘的二元结构。
近年来，蓬勃发展的“预制菜”行业通过新技术和模式进一步利用水产剩余物，将之前难以销售的鱼处理成方便食品，影响着中国水产养殖业的发展。而现代水产养殖中最被忽视的剩余物之一就是噪音。于是，我对珠三角现代水产养殖业中的工业噪声进行了田野录音。我使用的录音设备也包含了我偶然获得的农民业余爱好者自制的水下话筒。依照预制菜的概念并参考Muzak音乐，我与声音艺术家、研究员Marcel Zaes Sagesser博士合作。通过人工智能，我们处理了佛山现代水产养殖的噪声，并将其与中国农业现代化期间创作的经典渔业音乐结合，制作成了一种用于放松和冥想的声轨。这是一种两栖性的声景，让听众能够像刘一样放松和安全。
试听：https://soundcloud.com/xi-lei-342870757/prefabricated-soundtrack-from-fish-ponds/s-nuripFSlfWw?si=f2
Field recording in Foshan. 在佛山田野录音。