Artistic Collaborations 

In the farmland of England, a search and rescue mission is underway. A team is working to excavate land haunted by ghosts… but these are not ordinary ghosts… they are ghost ponds. While Norfolk used to have more ponds than any other English county, over the years pressures of modern-day farming have forced farmers to fill-in ponds, making room for new crops, while burying England’s wetlands at an exponential rate. 

Ghost Ponds journeys to an ongoing pond revival to meet the groundswell movement’s most passionate conservationists who are working to restore landscapes and species in a world damaged by climate change. Born and raised around the ponds of Norfolk, Professor Carl is beholden to restore his nostalgic vision of once-thriving wetlands. PhD student, Jack, having never cared much for ponds before, is driven not to dwell on the past, but rather, reimagine ponds as biodiverse hotspots for the future. Among the backdrop of grand pastoral views these small waterbodies are unearthed, one by one reversing the devastating statistic of England’s 90% wetland disappearance, and with that we uncover why farmland ponds are the conservation underdog of the century.

But the battle for the wetlands is a struggle… this restoration work is up against overwhelming odds. As wetlands continue to be filled-in, rare and declining wildlife species cannot afford to wait for large-scale ecosystem restoration and conservation projects to be initiated. Carl and Jack must convince farmers on the importance of ponds, before human-induced degradation is too severe. Despite the odds, the result from bringing England’s wetlands back from the dead holds much promise… even leading to staggering finds. Sometimes it's the smallest changes that can make the biggest difference.

The album is a compelling collection of underwater recordings revealing the sonic 24-hour cycle of Britain’s ponds for the first time. The album will appeal to curious nature lovers and those whose enjoy unwinding to the sounds of natural soundscapes. Accompanied by detailed liner notes, Mardle is rooted in research conducted by Dr Jack Greenhalgh, an ecologist from the University of Bristol. 

The discovery of a new and previously unexplored soundscape is described in detail alongside scientific illustrations and high-resolution microscope images.  The album brings to the surface the diverse sounds of aquatic insect songs and plant photosynthesis - an ecology of otherworldly rhythms and alien hyper-sounds that feel more like early synth experiments than biological processes. 

Dr Greenhalgh said: “It's so exciting - we've discovered the unique rhythms of nocturnal aquatic insect choruses, and the whining and popping of aquatic plants as they photosynthesise like busy submerged factories during the midday sun.” In doing so, Mardle takes the daily cycle as its compositional cue. Beginning above water, the listener is plunged into a “strange and mysterious” world, peaking in the frenzied, pulsing activity of midday and midnight, before the calm of the early morning rain returns above. 

Action Pyramid said: “To actually consider the living presence of plants with direct sonic evidence is quite profound. It's such an evocative way to capture people's attention and highlight these fragile and maligned habitats. There have definitely been moments where I think I can’t believe I'm listening to this.” In short, Mardle is a perspective-shifting, mind-expanding sonic exploration from the shallows of one the most familiar and overlooked habitats on Earth.

Audiovisual artwork: Overflow (2023) 

Produced by David Ian Bickley and Dr. Jack Greenhalgh Words & Voice Shin Yu Pai Photographed & Edited by David Ian Bickley Assistant, Gabriel O'Sullivan Bickley Original recordings, Jack Greenhalgh Audio processing, David Ian Bickley Pond, courtesy of The Hollies Centre for Sustainability, Enniskeane, Co. Cork, Ireland.