Frogs, crickets, grasshoppers, and cicadas – these are animals we primarily know by their songs. Thousands of them are hidden in meadows, road verges, and along small shores; what we see is at most a ripple in the water or a movement in the grass. The chorus that tells us spring has begun is composed of countless mating calls. Males entice females with their unique, species-specific frequencies. The more attentively we listen, the more we begin to hear. Not only do we distinguish species and patterns, but we also hear how the voices in the chorus are changing; new species are emerging, others are disappearing quietly. Crickets and frogs sing, just like birds, a song about the rapid pace of climate change, the state of our surface water, our soil, biodiversity, and globalization (in Amsterdam, the first singing cicadas were spotted a few years ago, having hitchhiked in the roots of plants from warmer regions). It is a song that also concerns us. We listen, seeking access. From the animals’ calls, a temporary composition for humans unfolds.

Calling Songs is a study by Johannes Westendorp into the possibilities of making live, on-site music with insect and amphibian choirs. For this, he designs and constructs a mobile sound installation consisting of multiple small speakers, batteries, guitar pedals, and modular synthesizers. Typical of insect choirs is the broad sound that can never be traced back to a single source; the speaker setup aims to approximate this quality.

This research guides a new project where Zwerm seeks out insect and amphibian habitats to perform concerts together. Depending on the location and season, we accompany the green frog, the field cricket, or the crackling cicada.