Ecological Sound Work and Technocolonialism: Exploring ‘Amazônia Verde Viva’ in the Global South

This paper investigates how sound, ecology, and technology intersect in the Global South, using the album Amazônia Verde Viva (2021) by Brazilian musicians Thiago and Albery Albuquerque as a case study. Inspired by concepts such as “ecological sound work” (Gilmurray, 2017), “acoustemology” (Feld, 2020), and “technocolonialism” (Castanheira, 2020), the study explores how music and sound art can reflect the complex relationship between society and nature. The album employs non-human voices, particularly the vocalizations of Amazonian animals, to challenge the conventional separation between culture and nature. The Albuquerque's compositional process relies on various technologies, such as recording equipment, virtual studio technologies (VSTs), and music software, highlighting the dialogue between technological mediation and the ecological message. The research discusses how the use of these tools, often developed in the Global North, can both support and undermine the anti-colonial framework of ecological sound art. Through an examination of Amazônia Verde Viva, the paper questions whether sound art contributes to the environmental movement or reinforces extractivist perspectives by capturing and manipulating natural sounds. Additionally, it draws on the concept of "perspectivism" (Castro, 2013, 2015) to explore the interplay between human and non-human voices, positioning the album as an attempt to dissolve the boundaries between species, nature, and culture. This study ultimately contributes to the broader discourse on sound studies, ecoartivism, and the Anthropocene, examining how technological mediation shapes human interaction with sound and the environment.