Above: Philip Souza listens to the sound of fish in Port Aransas.
When Philip Souza gets ready to work in his unusual island-based recording studio, he activates an “On Air” sign to warn others to be quiet. Unlike most recording studios, however, his sign sits in a bookcase, sandwiched between shelves of ethanol-filled jars containing preserved crabs, shrimp, and fish.
On the table where a microphone would normally be, there is a box-like shape made of undulating black soundproofing foam. Under the foam, Souza places an aquarium containing fish from the downstairs wet lab, and pokes an omnidirectional hydrophone–a waterproof microphone–into the water.
