In a new residential complex near Bratislava’s city centre, the quiet comfort of middle-class life was disrupted a few summers ago by an unexpected intruder: the cicadas. 

Cicada orni – a species foreign to this city – established its first permanent colony here, as confirmed by entomologists. Their deafening cry changed the soundscape of hot afternoons and signalled a shift towards a new climate reality. The gentle summers of the past are gone; extremes are here, with the cicadas’ scream as a wake-up call. 

This lecture tells the story of an acoustic discovery made while wandering the city one lazy summer afternoon. It explores dissonances between place and perception, memory and climate, sound and culture. A moment of wonder, and of warning. 

Eva Vozárová is a curator, performer and a researcher focusing on sound art and intermedia art. She co-founded Collective ooo (www.zdruzenie.ooo) based in Bratislava, Slovakia.