Jana Winderen is an artist who currently lives and works in Norway. Her practice pays particular attention to audio environments and to creatures which are hard for humans to access, both physically and aurally – deep under water, inside ice or in frequency ranges inaudible to the human ear. Her activities include site-specific and spatial audio installations and concerts, which have been exhibited and performed internationally in major institutions and public spaces.

Q: Do you think there is an increasing number of sound practitioners which begin to use hydrophones in their work? Any advices for these new enthusiasts? Such as what equipment they should buy or maybe some DIY resources to build hydrophone? Organisations or research fields which would be interested in working with “hydro recordists”?

Q: Do you have some technical advises to set your hydrophone in the water? I heard unlike recording on the air, recording in water is more difficult, so what was your most memorable or difficult underwater recording experience?

Q: You have been using hydrophones in your works for many years, have you noticed if people are becoming more aware of the underwater soundscape and the health of the bodies of water over this time? Do you think there are received ideas about the sound from the deep because of the sound design culture for audio-visual productions?

Q: Through your work, you are always in a listening stance to the deep, however, have you ever tried to create a dialogue with the underwater life? With a “hydro speaker”? Is it something you consider in your practice?