Sounds of fish 'talking' to each remastered into festive classic

The sound of fish communicating with each other underwater has been captured at the London Aquarium and remastered at the legendary Abbey Road Studios.

The extraordinary recording, the first of its kind in the UK, is the work of Blue Planet II scientist Professor Steve Simpson.

A surprising array of clicks, croaks, growls and hooting noises was recorded via specialist underwater microphones. They were then remastered at Abbey Road to sound like a choir of fish singing Jingle Bells.

Professor Simpson and Kieran McCloskey from the University of Exeter collaborated with the London Aquarium’s James Wright to see what surprising noises they could discover.

The recording revealed the sound of two native crayfish fighting over food before one surrendered, making a loud trumpet-like hooting noise. Hundreds of clownfish could be heard making popping and purring noises and a triggerfish made a growling noise like a car engine.

Andrew Walker, sound engineer at Abbey Road Studios, said: “I never imagined having spent 30 years mastering music at the world-famous Abbey Road Studios that I would be remastering the hidden orchestra of fish sounds into a festive Jingle Bells track.”