From everyday sounds to extraordinary noises, from the sounds of conflict to those of animals and an environment increasingly under pressure, the Sound of the Year Awards (SOTYA) is an annual celebration of sound in all its forms and complexities.
Now in its sixth year, we looked to celebrate the social, political and environmental sounds from around the world. With submissions from over 50 countries, the entries this year represented some of the most engaging recordings from across our changing environmental and social landscapes.
“What was particularly interesting this year was how many artists seemed preoccupied with capturing the sounds of the unseen and the unknown. Perhaps this was a way of confronting — and even embracing — the dark times the world is going through.” - Rana Eid, SOTYA Judge
Judged by a panel of experts from the international sound community, the awards are open to professionals and amateurs alike from all over the world. Listen to the winning and highly commended entries from the sixth edition below.
Now in its sixth year, we looked to celebrate the social, political and environmental sounds from around the world. With submissions from over 50 countries, the entries this year represented some of the most engaging recordings from across our changing environmental and social landscapes.
“What was particularly interesting this year was how many artists seemed preoccupied with capturing the sounds of the unseen and the unknown. Perhaps this was a way of confronting — and even embracing — the dark times the world is going through.” - Rana Eid, SOTYA Judge
Judged by a panel of experts from the international sound community, the awards are open to professionals and amateurs alike from all over the world. Listen to the winning and highly commended entries from the sixth edition below.
Mathias Arrignon - Songs of the Bearded Seals (UK)
WINNER - SOUND OF THE YEAR
On May 24, 2025, I reached my northernmost point at 80° 37.26′ N 014° 01.63′ E – a day in the ever-changing world of the Arctic Ocean’s sea ice. For a few hours I dipped my hydrophones into these northern waters, stationary in the cold weather, lulled by the subtle, tinkling rhythm of the brash ice and the powerful voices of the bearded seals. Their spiralling trills, sweeps and moans are some of the most otherworldly sounds I've ever heard, whose magnetism strangely connected me to their sentient reality. I still wonder why I felt such an affinity with their voices, perhaps it is because we share the same respiratory anatomy as mammals, each with a mouth, larynx, trachea and lungs.
Later in the Southern lands, I read that these vocalisations are only heard during the breeding season, which lasts around 90 days, from late March to mid-July. It’s likely that the duration of the trill indicates territorial ownership and social rank among the males. Bearded seals have a unique adaptation, an elastic airway that they'd inflate during their call. This structure resonates and radiates their vocalisation much like a fish’s swim bladder but it's not clear how the sound starts. Muscles can't flex fast enough to create the high frequencies of these calls. They probably cycle air back and forth to the lungs, but it isn't clear what turns that into sound.
Later in the Southern lands, I read that these vocalisations are only heard during the breeding season, which lasts around 90 days, from late March to mid-July. It’s likely that the duration of the trill indicates territorial ownership and social rank among the males. Bearded seals have a unique adaptation, an elastic airway that they'd inflate during their call. This structure resonates and radiates their vocalisation much like a fish’s swim bladder but it's not clear how the sound starts. Muscles can't flex fast enough to create the high frequencies of these calls. They probably cycle air back and forth to the lungs, but it isn't clear what turns that into sound.
Action Pyramid - Treehopper Songs Inside a Plant Stem (UK)
RUNNER UP
Recorded in the Colombian rainforest, using a modified contact microphone, I was able to eavesdrop on a community of treehopper insects as they sent vibrational signals and songs to each other through a plant stem.
These amazingly characterful and musical signals, which are normally inaudible to the human ear, are actually happening all around us. They even occur in temperate regions, with insect species living on the humble bramble or nettle plants for example - yet they remain largely understudied and overlooked.
I find it deeply inspiring not only to consider how these sounds have been occurring unnoticed for millennia, but also to reflect on how, by turning our focus to listening attentively to these small and wildly beautiful songs, we begin to realise just how much there is still to understand and appreciate about those with whom we share this planet.
These amazingly characterful and musical signals, which are normally inaudible to the human ear, are actually happening all around us. They even occur in temperate regions, with insect species living on the humble bramble or nettle plants for example - yet they remain largely understudied and overlooked.
I find it deeply inspiring not only to consider how these sounds have been occurring unnoticed for millennia, but also to reflect on how, by turning our focus to listening attentively to these small and wildly beautiful songs, we begin to realise just how much there is still to understand and appreciate about those with whom we share this planet.
Shaahin Peymani - Threshold (Germany/Iran)
RUNNER UP
Raw recording created on 6 March 2026. Recorded at a private garden outside of Tehran, Iran during the 2026 US-Israel strikes. The soundscape includes fighter jets, background noise of a running restaurant nearby and nature's reaction. An ironic companionship of social, political and environmental sounds at a time of digital blackout. The voice heard in the recording belongs to the recordist (myself) trying to soothe the dogs by saying "It's over now, come on" in Farsi.
The unique and ironic companionship of the environmental (birds, river, etc), political (US fighter jets, bombs) and social (restaurant fan, very low music) in a single soundscape rises interesting questions on acoustic territories, thresholds, categorization of soundscapes and their borders, and the situatedness of the listener’s body in relation to these categories.
Furthermore, all the many recordings I made at this location, during the war, end with bird song being the only remaining or dominating part of the soundscape.
The unique and ironic companionship of the environmental (birds, river, etc), political (US fighter jets, bombs) and social (restaurant fan, very low music) in a single soundscape rises interesting questions on acoustic territories, thresholds, categorization of soundscapes and their borders, and the situatedness of the listener’s body in relation to these categories.
Furthermore, all the many recordings I made at this location, during the war, end with bird song being the only remaining or dominating part of the soundscape.
Markus Rumbino - Alikine Ane Pesek (Indonesia)
HIGHLY COMMENDED
In January 2026, I conducted field recordings in Yogonima Village, Baliem Valley, Papua Highlands, during the first Hugulama Indigenous School Festival. For the Hubula people, sound (ane) is a non-verbal language connecting humans, nature, and ancestors. At dusk, the sound of Alikine (cicada), a large cricket-like insect, marked the transition from afternoon to night as an ecological and temporal signal. This was followed by the collective performance of Pesek, involving elders, women and youth in a shared sonic expression of memory and identity.
These traditions carry collective memory, narrating life journeys, moral values, and ancestral events tied to specific landscapes. This recording represents a critical social moment in 2026, as the Trans-Papua Road development threatens the sacred environments that anchor these sonic traditions, making this work a living archive of cultural resilience under pressure.
The musical uniqueness of Alikine Ane Pesek lies in the integration of natural sound and human performance, where the sound of Alikine functions as a rhythmic and temporal cue. Musically, its structure does not follow Western tonal systems, but is based on repetition, responsorial patterns, and flexible intonation that reflect communal communication.
These traditions carry collective memory, narrating life journeys, moral values, and ancestral events tied to specific landscapes. This recording represents a critical social moment in 2026, as the Trans-Papua Road development threatens the sacred environments that anchor these sonic traditions, making this work a living archive of cultural resilience under pressure.
The musical uniqueness of Alikine Ane Pesek lies in the integration of natural sound and human performance, where the sound of Alikine functions as a rhythmic and temporal cue. Musically, its structure does not follow Western tonal systems, but is based on repetition, responsorial patterns, and flexible intonation that reflect communal communication.
Sejal Pawar - Jingrwai Lawbei (The Whistling Names) (India)
HIGHLY COMMENDED
This recording captures the rare tradition of whistled names from Kongthong, a village in Meghalaya, where people are named with melodies. Known as Jingrwai Lawbei these names are composed by mothers for their children, giving each individual a unique musical identity that carries emotional memory and belonging.
These sounds were recorded as part of an exploratory film supported by the Wari Art initiative, allowing an immersive engagement with the community. Little known outside the village, this tradition is now slowly fading as migration and modern lifestyles take over. Through this soundscape the intention is to preserve a way of life before it disappears.
By preserving these sounds in their natural context, the recording offers both authenticity and urgency allowing listeners to experience a form of communication where identity is sung – not spoken.
These sounds were recorded as part of an exploratory film supported by the Wari Art initiative, allowing an immersive engagement with the community. Little known outside the village, this tradition is now slowly fading as migration and modern lifestyles take over. Through this soundscape the intention is to preserve a way of life before it disappears.
By preserving these sounds in their natural context, the recording offers both authenticity and urgency allowing listeners to experience a form of communication where identity is sung – not spoken.
Hee Ju Im (2bpencil) - Sound of Daenam Broadcast (South Korea)
HIGHLY COMMENDED
The term Daenam translates to facing South. From June 2024 to June 2025, North Korea continued its loudspeaker broadcasts targeting the South. Throughout the 80 years of division, since 1945, both South and North Korea have maintained these broadcasts across the border. Historically, this involved South Korea transmitting K-POP and international news, while North Korea broadcast regime propaganda and statements from its leadership, each aiming to spread their respective ideologies.
However, the 2024-2025 Daenam broadcasts took the form of "sonic terror," marking a stark departure from the past. While previous broadcasts operated on a set schedule — maintaining a modicum of tolerance for the residents of the border regions — this recent iteration was transmitted irregularly, 24 hours a day. The volume, type of sounds, and duration varied constantly, making them entirely unpredictable.
It was clearly designed with the intent of inflicting psychological distress upon the South Korean residents. Noise levels in the border regions reached nearly 80dB (comparable to train noise) and residents suffered from sleep disorders and nervous breakdowns. The damage was immense, with even livestock experiencing rapidly increasing mortality rates.
However, the 2024-2025 Daenam broadcasts took the form of "sonic terror," marking a stark departure from the past. While previous broadcasts operated on a set schedule — maintaining a modicum of tolerance for the residents of the border regions — this recent iteration was transmitted irregularly, 24 hours a day. The volume, type of sounds, and duration varied constantly, making them entirely unpredictable.
It was clearly designed with the intent of inflicting psychological distress upon the South Korean residents. Noise levels in the border regions reached nearly 80dB (comparable to train noise) and residents suffered from sleep disorders and nervous breakdowns. The damage was immense, with even livestock experiencing rapidly increasing mortality rates.
MUELLER-DIVJAK - The Sound of Data (Austria)
SPECIAL MENTION
The Sound of Data is created from field recordings captured inside a data farm / data bunker where digital infrastructure is housed, cooled, secured, and guarded. Humming servers, scratching hard disks, electromagnetic interferences and the absence of human or animal presence form a polyphonic sonic portrait of vibrant current issues.
Resembling scraping insects, or communicating more-than-human entities, the recording is mirroring material, political, social and environmental conditions, materially grounded in fortified architectures that operate hidden beyond public awareness.
The piece foregrounds the politics of data infrastructures, data ownership, access, control via a paradox intervention i.e. listening to the beauty of data flow as an embodied and relational practice for systems awareness.
Resembling scraping insects, or communicating more-than-human entities, the recording is mirroring material, political, social and environmental conditions, materially grounded in fortified architectures that operate hidden beyond public awareness.
The piece foregrounds the politics of data infrastructures, data ownership, access, control via a paradox intervention i.e. listening to the beauty of data flow as an embodied and relational practice for systems awareness.
Obed Fiobetauw - Noise Pollution in Puay Village (Indonesia)
SPECIAL MENTION - In partnership with EarthSonic Fund
Sounds of various bird species and insects in the sago grove and matoa fruit area during the harvest season. The forest is drowned out at times by sounds of machinery and aeroplane traffic.
The sounds of the forest, combined with the sounds of industrial capitalism, embody a sense of foreboding and loss, but also the continued presence and resilience of the natural world.
The sounds of the forest, combined with the sounds of industrial capitalism, embody a sense of foreboding and loss, but also the continued presence and resilience of the natural world.