booming sands

I had heard the expression before but I had always guessed it had something to do with drilling for oil, and I appreciated being disabused of that misconception in a very harmonious and smoothing way with an artist’s concept to bring the sonic experience also known as singing sands to a wider audience who may not have the means of traveling to the remote deserts to hear it for themselves. When conditions are just right, the avalanche and advance of shifting dunes produce a droning, resonate sound. The artist, Lotte Geeven based in Amsterdam, has collected sound samples from some of the estimated thirty-five sites around the world where this phenomenon occurs and is now soliciting for source samples of the sand from these locations. Working with scientists and engineers, the artist has devised a whirling circular drum with amplifiers to recreate the unique timbre and soundscape of the world’s deserts.