'They would come in with a chord change': Composer Jim Nollman has collaborated with turkeys, kangaroo rats and whales. Now he's dropping 'Orcas' Greatest Hits.'

Jim Nollman, a composer with a unique talent for collaborating with animals, has recently released his new album, "Orcas Greatest Hits," on the Smithsonian Folkways Recordings label. The album is a collection of songs centered around orca vocalizations, which Nollman recorded off the coast of British Columbia between 1985 and 2002 using underwater microphones called hydrophones.

Nollman's interest in working with animals began during his time at Tufts University, where he started incorporating animal sounds into his musical compositions. He became fascinated with the way animals, such as turkeys, wolves, and dolphins, would respond to certain musical elements, and he began to explore this concept further.

After graduating, Nollman continued to work with various animals, using their natural vocalizations as the basis for his compositions. He even spent several years consulting with the U.S. Navy on the use of animal sounds in military applications. Throughout his career, Nollman has had the opportunity to record sounds from a wide range of animals, including kangaroo rats, wolves, and beluga whales.

For his latest project, Nollman focused on orcas, recording their vocalizations in the wild for over 15 years. While he didn't always have a preference for working with orcas, he found that the animals' simple calls and complex communication patterns made them a compelling subject for his music. The title "Orcas Greatest Hits" reflects Nollman's desire to capture the most significant and memorable aspects of orca vocalizations in this collection.