Remixing madagascar

Ben worked on: grant writing, story development, audio production, presenting on camera, music composition, impact campaign design, and production of the film’s accompanying album, MADA (released 2020).

Collaborators: Drew Fulton (director and cinematographer), Craig Bundy (sound engineer), Ahay An’Ala (musical collaborators), Gene Shinozaki (featured artist on MADA), Go Yama (featured artist on MADA), Andy Thomas (designer, MADA album art), The Safina Center at Stony Brook University, Centre ValBio, the Tropical Conservation Research Institute, and Ranomafana National Park

Funded by the National Geographic Society and The Safina Center, Remixing Madagascar is a process film that follows a team of explorers as they travel across Madagascar recording rare and endangered animal voices in six national parks, transform those voices into music, and perform live concerts for local audiences each step of the way. The film has screened at festivals across three continents and made its public debut with an accompanying natural sounds album featuring works by leading nature musicians in Madagascar and the United States, including Ahay An’Ala (People of the Forest) from Madagascar’s Ranomafana National Park.

So far the film and its album, MADA, have raised over $3,000 for musicians in Madagascar to keep making music for nature. The team also donated its natural sound collection to the managers of Ranomafana National Park.

Watch the film

BACKGROUND

An indri lemur, one of Madagascar’s most iconic voices. Image by Drew Fulton.

Separated from mainland Africa over 90 million years ago, Madagascar is home to some of the most extreme and exceptional species of plants and animals on Earth. Often called the Eighth Continent, it is home to staggering numbers of endemic species that occur nowhere else on the planet. Sadly, over 90 percent of the country’s native forests have been destroyed by human activity, leaving many of these species and their ecosystems in peril.

By visiting these species in their natural habitat and capturing their voices, Ben and his team wanted to preserve Madagascar’s unique biodiversity. By transforming those sounds into music and performing with local communities, the team hoped to celebrate their conservation before these voices disappear.

Stream the album

Featuring performances by bands and artists from across the world, Ecotone’s natural sounds album, MADA, is a musical collaboration to save the rainforests, spiny thickets, and other iconic ecosystems of Madagascar.

Released to accompany the film, Remixing Madagascar, MADA’s objective is to raise money for nature-inspired musicians in Madagascar so they can continue honing their craft. The album was especially instrumental during the Covid-19 pandemic, when musicians around the world lost their chances to perform live. Raising thousands of dollars, MADA kept these musicians in the studio while the rest of the world stood still so they could keep making their music for nature.

The album is still available for purchase via Bandcamp, and all proceeds from slaes will be used to support Malagasy musicians and artists whose work celebrates local wildlife.