Cities and Memory - remixing the world

Hope Carries Us | The moment I heard the section of the Lech that I ended up working with, I heard these beautiful overtones, and voices and decided I wanted to really bring that out in the piece. Listening to the field recording as I wrote the piece, it felt over time like a history of the river unfolding, the narrowing, the widening, the people using it for transportation in much earlier times, the nature adapting and claiming it's space, the people who settled nearby and a hope for the future. 

Section of the river Lech reimagined by Michelle Breslin/Lostworldsounds. 

Additional credits - Salma-Caller-rowing oars sound fragment.
Singers - Adelaide and Madison Santos Julia Maja Scotch Camera, and Michelle Breslin.

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Flow is a creative exploration telling the story of a river through the power of sound. The project is a collaboration between the University of Padova and the University of Würzburg, with support from Cities and Memory. Explore the full project at https://citiesandmemory.com/flow.

"To create this piece, I used the completely raw recording of segment 3. Then, I cut a few seconds from it and layered them, processing them with different filters, delay, and equalizer to create distinct textures. I also wanted to layer my own recording from inside the Rio Negro (the river in my hometown) to give another perspective to the subjective listening experience, as well as to understand what a river sounds like from the outside, as can be heard in the original recording. 

"I chose to accompany the entire piece with a drone using a pad synthesizer, playing with different tones and effects. I simply let my imagination run wild and experimented with different textures and tones, like when we are submerged in the depths of a river while the world outside keeps turning."

Section of the river Lech reimagined by Rocío Colonizt. 

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Flow is a creative exploration telling the story of a river through the power of sound. The project is a collaboration between the University of Padova and the University of Würzburg, with support from Cities and Memory. Explore the full project at https://citiesandmemory.com/flow.

"I used the data and story of the river section to structure my composition and build a narrative of the river's evolution through time. The composition is started with the sound of the field recording, which means to represent the river in it's free, unchanged state. 

"Then an attempt to manipulate the course of the river is being introduced, first through the coarse manipulation of the recording itself and then followed by more and more introduction of synthesized elements, which mirrors the even more sophisticated ways of controlling the river's flow until in the midpoint in which the river itself became cramped with man-made elements, mirroring it's current heavily regulated shape.

"The composition goes more intense and emotional as to depict the realization of heavily regulating river flow may lead to ecological crisis. Then, the man made elements fade out one by one before ending in free flowing river again, mirroring the attempt of naturalization. Upon researching the origin of the name of the Lech river, I learned that the name means "The Stony" so I translated the name of the river into my native-Javanese language: Kaliwatu."

Section of the river Lech reimagined by 8110118.
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Flow is a creative exploration telling the story of a river through the power of sound. The project is a collaboration between the University of Padova and the University of Würzburg, with support from Cities and Memory. Explore the full project at https://citiesandmemory.com/flow.

"I was allocated a more traditional river recording of serene, meandering river (with agricultural sounds). This was the final “section” available in the allocation process after all other artists had chosen. A wild card approach. 

"My starting point was the splitting of the field recording into 16 evenly split samples. I then created using a Roland sp404 sampler, 16 x 1 minute loops where I could sculpt and create fragments of songs and melody sections. These featured a number of sounds from esoteric spring reverb feedback generators, sampling keyboards and white noise machines. The intention at this stage was to create 16 “streams” of sound that could be played live and interwoven like the currents in a river. Repeating the process ensured further degradation of sample, source material and traditional song structure. The remaining parts were then ready to be played live and put back together. Through the process of reforming loops, samples and layered sonic ephemera, the final track took shape and dominant melody resurfaced.

"I had written 8 statements at the start of the process and placed them above my studio desk next to aerial views of the river section I was working with:

You are the river.

They are the river.

The river is within us.

The river is part of us

The river washes us clean.

The river is us.

We try and control the river.

The river reflects our lives.

"These 8 statements became the beginning and end of the track in sonic form. The statements were fed into google translate creating a low resolution, machine like human voice. These were then sampled and manipulated before being layered into the final track which was played live and recorded in a single take."

Section of the river Lech reimagined by Andy Billington. 

Section of the river Lech reimagined by XXXX. 

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Flow is a creative exploration telling the story of a river through the power of sound. The project is a collaboration between the University of Padova and the University of Würzburg, with support from Cities and Memory. Explore the full project at https://citiesandmemory.com/flow.

"At the source of the Lech River near Warth, water and machinery sound together.

"This piece grows from a field recording made close to the river, where flowing water blends with the steady drone and metallic clanking of a nearby ski chairlift. Rather than treating this as noise, it becomes the core of the music. The orchestra and percussion amplify its energy, unfolding wide harmonic fields and sharp rhythmic gestures.

"River, infrastructure, and time unfold within one shared sound world."

Section of the river Lech reimagined by Paul Beaudoin. 

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Flow is a creative exploration telling the story of a river through the power of sound. The project is a collaboration between the University of Padova and the University of Würzburg, with support from Cities and Memory. Explore the full project at https://citiesandmemory.com/flow.

We followed the Lech for its entire length, watching it change through different phases. Here we witness its latest step, as it joins the Danube in its long trip across ten countries until it reaches the Black Sea.

Recorded by Riccardo Fumagalli.

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Flow is a creative exploration telling the story of a river through the power of sound. The project is a collaboration between the University of Padova and the University of Würzburg, with support from Cities and Memory. Explore the full project at https://citiesandmemory.com/flow.

The city of Augsburg is crossed by 29 canals, which contributed to its textile industry in the 19th century. Now its lively city centre combines stunning architecture and modern lifestyle.

Recorded by Riccardo Fumagalli.

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Flow is a creative exploration telling the story of a river through the power of sound. The project is a collaboration between the University of Padova and the University of Würzburg, with support from Cities and Memory. Explore the full project at https://citiesandmemory.com/flow.

The river runs its last few kilometres, going through a stretch of forest and one more dam. This sound is the river Lech's quiet goodbye.

Recorded by Riccardo Fumagalli.

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Flow is a creative exploration telling the story of a river through the power of sound. The project is a collaboration between the University of Padova and the University of Würzburg, with support from Cities and Memory. Explore the full project at https://citiesandmemory.com/flow.

Reservoirs are artificial: they only exist because there's a dam to control the flow of the river. But most of them turn out to be hosting pristine nature, especially this one, which can be only reached by foot

Recorded by Riccardo Fumagalli.

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Flow is a creative exploration telling the story of a river through the power of sound. The project is a collaboration between the University of Padova and the University of Würzburg, with support from Cities and Memory. Explore the full project at https://citiesandmemory.com/flow.

After driving along a dirt road marked by a "verboten" sign - thanks Google Maps! - we reach the last true natural part of the river Lech, before it gets tamed in the more densely populated stretch preceding the Danube. From up here the view is stunning, few sun rays pierce the clouds over a meander that looks like it's never changed for hundred of years.

Recorded by Riccardo Fumagalli.

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Flow is a creative exploration telling the story of a river through the power of sound. The project is a collaboration between the University of Padova and the University of Würzburg, with support from Cities and Memory. Explore the full project at https://citiesandmemory.com/flow.