ICMC BOSTON 2025
Online Listening Room
Curiosity, Play, Innovation - A 50th Anniversary Celebration of Creativity in Music, Science, and Technology
June 8-14, 2025
ICMC BOSTON 2025: Online Listening Room #5
ID#: 905
Do the jellyfish in Enoshima ring bells? (2024) ; 5:03
by Ayako Sato
Shizuoka University of Art and Culture
“Do the jellyfish in Enoshima ring bells?” is an electroacoustic composition restructured as the Shonan (Coastal area of Kanagawa Prefecture near Tokyo) version of “The First Step to Listen to the Bells Rung by Jellyfish” (2024).
“In the jellyfish’s Umwelt, the same bell sound is always ringing, governing the rhythm of its life.”
— Jakob von Uexküll, “A Foray into the Worlds of Animals and Humans” (translated by Dorion Sagan and Joseph D. O’Neil)
The biologist Jakob von Uexküll refers to the bell-shaped organs hanging from the rim of a jellyfish’s translucent, flexible body as it drifts and swims through the sea, describing them in this way. With the jellyfish’s ceaseless drifting, the clapper strikes the bell, making it resonate. Of course, this is a metaphor—jellyfish do not actually ring bells underwater. However, captivated by the musical and poetic imagery, I decided to embark on an investigation to listen for these bells.
Ayako Sato
Ayako Sato is a composer, musician, artist, and researcher working mainly in the field of electroacoustic music. Her works have been presented at international conferences and festivals (ICMC, SMC, NYCEMF, ISMIR, WOCMAT, etc.) and won awards in international competitions (Prix Presque Rien, Destellos Competition, International UPISketch Competition, etc.). She received her Ph.D. from Tokyo University of the Arts in 2019 for her research on Luc Ferrari’s works. After working as a part-time lecturer at Tamagawa University, Osaka University of Arts, Tokyo Denki University, and Shobi Music College, she is a lecturer at Shizuoka University of Art and Culture starting April 2025.
* winner, Berklee College of Music internal music composition competition for ICMC Boston 2025
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