Cities and Memory - remixing the world

"All posts from the Flow project’s WhatsApp group were saved to a text document and numbered as 'segments'. "These segments were then recited as speech and played in random order. "Removed from their original sequence, the speech fragments illustrate how meaning is shaped by their place within a broader flow of communications. "(Phrases such as 'user name' were used to respect the privacy of group...

"Cuando el cauce recuerda (When the riverbed remembers) is a piece created for the Flow project, within Cities and Memory, which in this edition focuses on exploring the presence and memories of water in different territories. The work stems from a field recording made on the Lech River, on the outskirts of Augsburg. It is in this stretch of the river where the landscape opens up again: the riverb...

"I selected an area of the River Lech within the city of Augsburg, Bavaria. I was intrigued by the changing relationship between humans and river, and the different uses of the natural flowing water in this place. I discovered Augsburg is one of the oldest settled places in Germany (around 2000 years). This fuelled my imagination in considering the scale and scope of change- within both humanity,...

"生生不息 — translated here as Circle of Life — is one of the most profound concepts in Chinese philosophy, drawn from the I Ching (Yijing or Book of Changes), where it is expressed as “生生之謂易” (“the generation of life is what is called change”). Philosophically rooted in classical Chinese thought, especially interpretations of the Yijing, it views this perpetual becoming as the fundamental ch...

"For centuries, the river Lech has played an integral part in the city of Augsburg’s water management system, which is part of the UNESCO World Heritage. In this system, a network of canals carries water from the Lech into the city while a network of streams carries spring water from the forest south of Augsburg into the city for drinking. While the clear spring water is potable, the Lech water, c...

"I have been to Landsberg several times and am referring here to the place in the old town next to the weir. The piece represents the surroundings at this location with the constant sound of the river and people sitting in cafés and walking around, and imagines that you are in the river itself, drifting along. "I only used the field recordings in different pitches, slowed down and sped up, like so...

"I was struck by a paradox in this segment of the river's story. How at the same time, the river here is both so heavily modified - by channelisation and with a dam for hydropower - and yet, this reservoir also offers a kind of nature 'oasis'. As Martina Cecchetto explained; "widely lacking in natural geomorphic dynamics - so much so that there is a redirection of the layer of Quaternary gravels (...

"Lo-Fi River Flow reflects the landscape, the people, and the life unfolding along the river’s banks. The listening gradually narrows toward the movement of water itself, while remaining open to the presence of the animals that come to the river and live within its rhythm. "The story begins at the edge of the current. At first the river feels like a distant presence — a continuous flow of sound mo...

"This location of fish passage exhibits an imperfect balance as humans attempt natural processes, and while total success is not possible the effort is worthwhile. Water is clearly audible in the recording, and echoes reflect the human-created boundaries. Adding to these soundscapes of place, I introduce my own sounds, in the form of cello and vocals. All of the sounds in “Left and Right of Passag...

"Flume investigates the acoustic behaviour of a regulated river segment through a post-cinematic compositional approach. The piece originates from a field recording made inside the concrete tube of a fish pass, where water striking the walls produces a narrow resonance between A and B♭. This unstable microtonal field becomes the structural centre of the work. Granular and spectral processes, sine...

"The field recording and other materials immediately suggested a strong duality: natural flow versus human control. The description of a river heavily modified by channelization and reservoirs, combined with the image of a concrete fish passage designed to simulate natural conditions, felt deeply symbolic. The water moves peacefully, yet the echo reveals the artificial structure surrounding it. Th...

"For this sound piece, I did not have any recordings of water, only ambient sounds from a café and the bells from the square. I modified certain elements of the recordings by reversing them and adding reverb. I also added a synth drone that gradually transforms into an organ sequence in order to give the piece a more “sacred” character and to shape a coherent soundscape. "The title refers to the p...

"Listening to the field recording and reading about it immediately evoked associations with the sound of movement, electricity, power plants, moraines and the surrounding fauna and flora. First I did slow down the original recording to different speeds, listening closely while allowing the data and contextual information inspire me for my further process. "I then divided the field recording into s...

"At this segment of the Lech, the river has left its Alpine origins – its wild and icy rapids are just a memory. Data suggest that the Lech is “heavily modified” by human intervention (i.e., channelization, hydroelectric stations). However, at this point in its journey to the Danube, the river Lech (described as “widely lacking natural geomorphic dynamics”) does not merit restoration plans. Here,...

"Gregory Scheckler’s composition for Flow draws from field recordings at Epfach, where the Lech River bends beside the village. The recording’s distant church bells of St. Bartholomäus and fluttering water evoked memories of the composer's studies in nearby Innsbruck during 1987-88.  "Through deep listening, he found the recording's natural rhythm at 104 BPM and created a "Flow Snare" using granul...

"The combination of the church bells and textural water currents exhibited the relationship to the river from the community, building close to the river one assumes the ongoing relationship to the river. The water sounds shallow, passing over stones. I chose to bounce and defragment these sounds using 1/4" analog tape, a response to the water passing and breaking past stones.  "Breaking and disjoi...

"My process was pretty straightforward. I studied the photos and data of the river, attempting to get a handle on some of the terminology, history, and science. I then focused on my segment, specifically the reservoir and the surrounding forest. I didn’t feel the need to deconstruct the field recording, as there’s both mystery and clarity in it that I wanted to embrace. The heavy modification of t...

"This is an eco-poetic/mythic piece, a kind of swan song. Named after a line in the film IO, where, in a toxic environment, in a post apocalyptic time, you can no longer see swans. I was particularly inspired by the quietness of this segment of the river, and the description for segment 15 by the person who recorded it, that it was as if they had come upon a secret and secluded place, hiding in a...

"The river inspired the piece as a dreamlike walk. This composition focuses on birds as the first carriers of musical entities. The sound is shaped into an ancient story, told through evolving pads that mirror the gentle life surrounding the current.  "Influenced by the figure of David in the Old Testament, where music is discovered through nature and spirituality, the composition unfolds as a qui...

"Viewed from above, on maps and in satellite imagery, Litzauer Schleife (‘Litzau Loop’) appears as a gracefully looping meander. Sonically, on the ground, the field recording makes a similar gesture with the sounds of gently flowing water and the calls and wingbeats of birds. We were intrigued to learn this section of the River Lech is protected by conservation legislation and is one of the very f...

"The field recording and the satellite timelapse I chose speak of hydro-power, energy and discontinuity, they tell the story of a voice fragmented, amplified and impeded.  There is magic and mystery in the life of these ancient water-beings. Is a river a portal? Is the myth still alive? "Artist and researcher Elizabeth Gallon Drosde introduces us to the submerged at the beginning of the compositio...

"Entrophony — fusing 'entropy' with '-phony' (sound) — transforms a hydropower plant's acoustic signature into a meditation on energy dissipation. The project captures the plant as an entropy generator, extracting rhythm and noise from a single field recording through granular synthesis and sampling techniques.  "Hovering at the threshold between music and industrial noise, the composition positio...

"Submerged is a music piece that focuses on the perspective of living organisms in Forggensee Reservoir. The work incorporates field recordings capturing gentle water surfaces, subtle shifts in currents, distant passing vehicles, and the faint presence of aquatic life. The field recordings are used throughout most of the piece as raw material with minimal processing. The composition is structured...

"After reading about the Lech and looking at the images, my first impulse was to change or add nothing - just let the sound be - like it is... It took a while until i thought: Ok Lech - I'll "visit" you and bring some silent sounds - like the sounds that might show up in your head, when you are in nature.  "So I layered, spoken word, singing of different melodies that did not necessary fit, a bit...

"Some years ago, when we were still living in Poland, my partner and I drove to Füssen to collect a second-hand canoe that we had found online. Its name was Tukan. I’m fairly certain it had frequently travelled the River Lech with its previous owners who were keen canoeists and most likely knew their way around the water. "These days, Tukan sometimes glides along the tidal rivers around Southampto...