Hanna Tuulikki and Tommy Perman may have changed the face of electronic music. In July 2022, the U.K.-based artist duo released a two-track EP of chillwave dance music. The short and sweet offering featured intentional, ethereal beats that ride a wave of otherworldly sound. Except the sound was very much of this world, since they sampled the ultrasonic calls of several bat species native to the U.K.
In 2022, Scottish arts venue Hospitalfield commissioned Tuulikki for a music project based on the sounds of bats. Tuulikki then initiated the collaboration with Perman, who co-founded the imprint that released the EP, Blackford Hill. Dance music seemed like the perfect vehicle for ultrasonic bat echolocation, according to Tuulikki.
Typically, bat calls are imperceptible to the human ear. But heterodyne bat detectors can change the frequency of the calls to a level that humans can hear. What the detectors revealed reminded Tuulikki of the unique elements that make up electronic music. Sounds like clicks, buzzing, and intricate rhythms that bats use to communicate, hunt, and navigate.
2022 Electronic Dance Album Crafted Exclusively From Bat Sounds Getting Full-Length REIssue in 2026
The duo went out into the field to collect recordings, also working with Tayside Bat Group in Scotland to identify the bat species. They ended up recording calls from 13 of the 18 total bat species native to the U.K. Of those recordings, eight distinct species made it onto the final album.
Echo in the Dark was originally released on July 28, 2022. That September, the project also featured three silent bat raves, hosted by Tuulikki and Perman at Hospitalfield. The album was described as a “Love letter to dance music,” with the intention to explore “the interconnections of raving and bat echolocating as a model for ecological coexistence.”
The silent raves saw Tuulikki and Perman DJing their bat rave mixes to gathered crowds of ecologically minded EDM fans. But the tracks didn’t just sample bat calls over existing beats. The beats themselves were created from the sounds revealed after tuning the echolocation frequencies. What you hear wasn’t made by a synthesizer or a keyboard. It’s just bats, layered with Tuulikki’s ethereal vocals.
And if you think all bats sound the same, don’t worry. Perman revealed in an August 2026 report from Positive News that he thought the same thing at first. But he learned that there’s “astounding” variety from each species.
“The lesser horseshoe bat produces the most beautiful rippling calls that wouldn’t be out of place on a dub record,” he told the outlet. “While the Daubenton’s bat creates amazing syncopated rhythms that sound like a jazz drummer.”
Echo in the Dark in its original version is still available on Bandcamp. But on August 28, 2026, the project is getting a new vinyl and digital release on the Glasgow-based label KIN-TU, after Tuulikki and Perman reworked it into a full-length album. Not only is it great club music, but the project also brings awareness to environmental threats affecting bat species in the U.K. That’s hitting two bats with one rave, as they say.
Photo by Arterra/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
The post If You’ve Ever Felt Like EDM Could Use More Bat Echolocation, You’re Going to Want to Hear This Album appeared first on VICE.
