Radiolaria is a cycle of electroacoustic works featuring sounds from the Buchla 200, the iconic 1970s modular synthesizer. I recorded a series of improvisations on that instrument in the spring of 2022 while doing a residency at the Elektronmusikstudion (EMS) in Stockholm (Sweden), which I then used as raw materials.

The cycle is based on marine life, most notably plankton, which is made of a large variety of both microscopic and macroscopic animal and plant species that are adrift, carried by water currents.

My goal with the Buchla 200 was to create a collection of sound “colours” that would represent the various species that populate plankton. The primal nature of modular synthesis waves echoes the simplicity of the unicellular organisms found in the oceans. I also experimented with space by toying with the studio’s AKG BX20 analog plate reverb to represent the movements of waves and ubiquitous underwater currents.

In this cycle, each piece highlights one species, although there are always other identifiable species in the background.

— Ana Dall’Ara-Majek [English translation: François Couture, xii-23]

The 8 pieces of the Radiolaria cycle were realized in 2022 at the Elektronmusikstudion (EMS) in Stockholm (Sweden) and in 2023 at Studio Blue Spider in Montréal (Québec). Thanks to the entire EMS team. The realization of this piece was made possible thanks to the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec (CALQ).