The music doesn't sound like Trout Mask Replica.
Other than whale sounds or the terrifying string notes from Jaws, there really isn't a specific sound we attribute to life below the the ocean's surface. But according to a new study from Australia, large schools of fish actually "sing" together at dawn and it sounds a lot like ambient drones, the New Scientist reports.Over an 18-month period, researcher Robert McCauley and his team from Curtin University recorded soloist fish, or fish that talk together, off the western coast of the country. The team discovered seven distinct fish choruses, or calls of different vocal fish that overlap, all of which took place during dusk or dawn.
"I've been listening to fish squawks, burble, and pops for nearly 30 years now, and they still amaze me with their variety," McCauley told New Scientist. "We are only just beginning to appreciate the complexity involved and still have only a crude idea of what is going on in the undersea acoustic environment."The fish choir compositions—for what its worth—sound pretty similar to a lot of 20th-century drones. Some critics might say the fish choruses are "a little derivative of Eno's Textures" or maybe "don't push the boundaries of the genre far enough." But either way, don't be surprised if some fish samples pop up on your friend's new ambient project.Watch This Giant Fish Nearly Take a Guy's Arm Off