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.
Join SOTYA co-producer Ilia Rogatchevski as he guides you through the shortlisted, highly commended and winning sounds from this year’s awards. Nineteen submissions, along with the artists’ voice notes, have been sequenced to evoke a journey from the southernmost recording location (Madagascar) to the northernmost (Svalbard).
The order logic adheres to the recording location, not necessarily the nationality or domicile of the recordist which, if different, is recorded after the forward slash. In order of appearance:
Georgie Styles & Laura Misch - A Lemur’s Song (Madagascar/UK)
This submission is a compilation of sections of the soundscape used in the radio documentary A Lemur's Song, a 2 Degrees West Production for BBC Radio 4 'Illuminated'
Rafael Diogo - Batwa Tribe, The Pygmies of the Impenetrable Forest (Uganda/UK)
Obed Fiobetauw - Noise Pollution in Pauy Village (West Papua)
SPECIAL MENTION, In partnership with the EarthSonic Fund
Markus Rumbino - Alikine Ane Pesek (West Papua/Indonesia)
HIGHLY COMMENDED
Erick Villegas - Yachak Cleansing Ritual (Ecuador)
Tom Fisher aka Action Pyramid - Treehopper Songs Inside a Plant Stem (Colombia/UK)
RUNNER UP
Sejal Pawar - Jingrwai Lawbei (The Whistling Names) (India)
HIGHLY COMMENDED
Shaahin Peymani - Threshold (Iran/Germany)
RUNNER UP
Julio César Palacio - IDF Israel Checkpoint Between Bethlehem and Jerusalem
(Palestine-Israel border/Spain) *Explicit
Boyi Bai - New Year in the Prohibition Zone (China/UK)
Hee Ju Im (2bpencil) - Sound of Daenam Broadcast (South Korea)
HIGHLY COMMENDED
Alberto Rangel - EC-ELQ 1991 (Spain)
Sol Archer and Giulia Zabarella - Tawny Pipit (Italy/Netherlands)
Read about the Tawny Pipit project here
Felice Sciorilli - Tiny Worlds (Italy)
Victoriia Kralko - 20 Places Left at the Field of Honor (Ukraine/Czechia)
MUELLER-DIVJAK (Jeanette Mueller & Paul Divjak) - The Sound of Data (Austria)
The Sound of Datais part of Mueller-Divjak’s arts-based research project Sensing Living Systems (2023-2027). Funded by the Austrian Science Fund
SPECIAL MENTION
Irene Trejo aka Merma Suelo - Winters in Ruhleben (Germany)
Stijn Demeulenaere - C-Power Windfarm, March 2026 (Belgium)
Read more about the Sounding Lines project here.
Mathias Arrignon - Songs of the Bearded Seals (Svalbard/UK)
SOTYA 25-26 WINNER | Website
This edition of the awards were judged by Rana Eid, Will René, Anton Spice, Karen Sutton, Neil Spencer Bruce and Matthew Herbert. Reflecting on her experience of judging the awards, Rana Eid said: “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.”
Produced and presented by Ilia Rogatchevski. The lead producer for the Sound of the Year Awards is Isabella Pierce. Both projects are brought to you by the Radiophonic Institute, the creative director of which is Matthew Herbert.
A special thanks to our sponsor this year, Teenage Engineering who provided us with this year’s prize CM-15 microphone.
For more sounds from this and previous year go to soundoftheyearawards.com or follow us @sound_awards.
Thank you to everyone who submitted their sounds. We’ll see you again next year!
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