Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics

In 1991 Grateful Dead percussionist Mickey Hart teamed up with anthropologist and sound artist Steven Feld to produce Voices of the Rainforest. In one hour, the CD condenses 24 hours of sounds of the Bosavi rainforest and its Kaluli inhabitants in central Papua New Guinea. The CD reached multiple audiences concerned with interspecies art, experimental field recording, acoustic ecology, and cultural survival, and is still in circulation through Smithsonian Folkways. Over the last year and a half Feld has worked with Dennis Leonard at Skywalker Sound to recreate Voices of the Rainforest in the 7.1 cinema surround format, for acousmatic concerts, as well as indoor/outdoor museum and gallery installations.