The radio play begins by reading out a list of animals that went extinct during the Anthropocene, the era of most significant human activity. Although this epoch began less than 100 years ago, the list seems endless. It seems like a mad race in which all terrestrial creatures are involved. Except for humanity. As if they are the ones who get to watch and hand out prizes to those who are the most dramatic and stupidest to go extinct.
A satirical play mocking human shortsightedness and their criminal indifference to life on the planet. Central to the story is the list of the extinct animals itself, which begins out of nowhere and lasts with an accompaniment of the electronic, pressing rhythm of the music.
The main musical material accompanying the reading sheet is a layering of rhythmic patterns of unequal length. I used mostly synthesizers to create a certain atmosphere of artificial and nervous space, opposite to the living world. This space according to my idea should refer to electronic dance music, give a sense of groove, but without actually being it. It’s only there to give a sense of fascination. Nevertheless, this is electronic music trying to mimic the sounds of the animal world. I recorded and sampled the flexatone, the clanging of spoons, the grinding of nails against each other and other noises, which I then converted into birds and sea animals singing. Another part of the musical atmosphere was white noise, which came with the idea of switching radio stations, the image of the human consumer idly sifting through content. White noise permeates the score, turning into interference and following the music of a list of extinct animals.
During the segment evoking an award ceremony, I used clichés of TV shows - brass accents, the timbre of an electronic organ etc. to create a stronger contrast to the text.
alaskawasserspitzmaus / arizonabaumwollmaus / aruflughund / ashmeadowswühlmaus / äthiopischewassermaus / balitiger / barbadoswaschbär / berberlöwe / bergaffengesichtsflughund / bergwisent / beutelwolf / blaugrauemaus / bramblecaymosaikschwanzratte / candoangomaulwurfsmaus … and the list goes on so. und jetzt zurücklehnen und geniessen. es geht schliesslich um hundert jahre harte arbeit, die wir menschen geleistet haben.