The ASMR Audio-App CICADA GAMES, written, programmed, and spoken by Claire Tolan features an entirely new species of cicadas that no one has ever seen, and that no one will probably ever see. For it is not so much their visual appearance as their voices that we are able to perceive through her audio play. These cicadas hatched in the sunny, grassy meadow of a lush Viennese park and entered our world in the pandemic year of 2021. Creating new patterns of meaning purely from their speculations, they weaved their rhyme with what was happening around them—and they watched us. The cicadas analyzed and commented on our actions. Like us, they asked themselves, who am I? Why am I here? How do I know what is true and what is not?

The poetry and sound of the play has been compiled by czirp czirp – experimental and sonic arts 2024 as a self-published hybrid poetry volume.

ABOUT THE ARTIST: Poet and programmer Claire Tolan (*1986 in Ohio, USA) lives and works in Berlin, Germany. Since 2013 she has been developing and producing ASMR (Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response) radio programmes, performances and audio plays. She has worked on numerous productions in Sweden, Great Britain, Norway, Italy and Germany. Her post-digital artistic practice addresses consumer cultures, as well as the (dis)belief and artificial intelligence and cryptocurrencies, thereby illuminating hacker culture and digital occultism. Claire currently develops an AI ASMR voice companion, called SOOTHER.

OTHER PROJECTS: WEIRD SENSATION FEELS GOOD, 2020. Ark Des, Stockholm. Link: https://arkdes.se/en/soft-gossip-live-asmr-with-claire-tolan/

“Lonely At The Top” feat. Claire Tolan. Holly Herndon Platform. RVNG: 2015. Link: https://hollyherndon.bandcamp.com/track/lonely-at-the-top-feat-claire-tolan

CICADA GAMES ASMR-AUDIO PLAY FOR ONE VOICE AND SEVEN SPIRITS (2024)

First edition of 50 copies.

Author of play: Claire Tolan. German translation: Luzie Meyer. Female speakers in audio play: Luzie Meyer and Claire Tolan.

Cover Design, Layout, Illustrations, Font “Claire T” after the artist’s handwriting: Milena Georgieva

Editor: Lona Gaikis

Special thanks to Pete, Kathy, and Mike Tolan (Recordings of Brood X Cicadas, Ohio, 2021).

Voice recordings with the support of The Studio for Electroacoustic Music, Akademie der Künste Berlin.

CZIRP CZIRP Like the song of a bird, czirp czirp acts since 2013 through nomadic and ephemeral cultural events in Vienna. It is an independent and not-for-profit cultural project that supports, produces and communicates experimental music, sound and digital art.

We aim to present artistic approaches that echo current developments in digital technologies. We want to critically reflect upon the use of new media, computer code and algorithmic processes, and to encourage participation via interactive concepts, to share this engagement with a broader public. Transient mediums like music, video, performance and live experiences aid to embed approaching technological, social and environmental challenges in a discursive setting.

https://www.czirpczirp.cc/