Splice Soundscapes Manos Del Mar WAV

Manos Del Mar (Hands of the Sea) is a musical love letter to the delicate symbiotic relationship between nature and humanity in Baja California Sur, Mexico. Splice’s team alongside Mexico City based singer-songwriter and composer Moncaya visited the gorgeous costal waters of Baja to combine field recordings and music to tell the story of how local fisherman and activists are promoting sustainable fishing and tourism practices that respect the sea and protect the fragile ecosystem.

While in Baja, Splice connected with Orgcas, a women led and run organization that specializes in creating marine conservation solutions through science, communication, education, and local-based tourism. Orgcas decided to solve a problem that the scientific community have been sounding the alarm for decades, the collapse of the shark population (amongst several other issues). Currently, at least 36 percent of the 1,200 species of sharks are at risk of extinction, according to data from the World Wild Fund (WWF). But In Mexico, small-scale shark fishing continues to be a custom of native communities and it has been the main source of income for entire families for decades. So in order for Orgcas to make progress on protecting these waters they needed to build trust with the local fisherman. In the past, there was a reluctance to cooperate with scientific organizations like Orgcas for fear of the revocation of fishing permits without any notice.

After a lengthy dialogue, they have been able to work out a solution that will ensure the sustainability of both the sharks and the families in the area. Orgcas has been converting fishing income into eco-tourism income for the local fisherman and training them on new ways off fishing in sustainable ways. They’ve also worked with locals to petition and protect against dynamite fishing, underwater mining, and unchecked tourism that threatens the sharks and the entire Gulf of California ecosystem.

This pack captures this ongoing environmental protection effort through sound and music. You’ll hear field recordings captured by Splice and the local fisherman themselves of their boats, fishing lines, and the peaceful sounds of the ocean. You’ll hear ambiences of cacti forests and crashing waves while Moncaya plays charango and sings delicate melodies in concert with the sounds of nature. The pack even features hydrophone recordings of sperm whales making their patented clicking sounds. All of these sounds have been flipping into versatile percussion and melodies that blend together seamlessly. The entirety of the pack is a serene and captivating soundscape that deserves our awareness and protection.