Voices through Sand

Hosted by the Buitenplaats, Island of Brienenoord in Rotterdam, a concert performance of Voices through Sand, electroacoustic composition and improvised collaboration with Ishtar Bakhtali.

Voices through Sand is an acoustic exploration of more-than-human ecologies in a zone of heavy industry: boat traffic around the Port of Rotterdam, manufacturing, road traffic, and municipal management of the boundary between (rising) water and (eroding) land. Butterfly wings flutter against the sound of machinery, baby owls call through the resonance of distant sirens. By listening closely and improvising along with a composition of field recordings, we tested what our voices could contribute to this complex ecosystem.

Presented as quadrophonic audio interwoven with improvised interactions, the audience was free to sit in a circle surrounded by sound, or wander around the space.

Ishtar Bakhtali performed not only as a musician, but as the Speaker for the Living at the Zoöp of the Buitenplaats. Performance sponsored by Rotterdam's Parkenmaand. live audio mix by Laurens Voois.

Photo credits: Zsolt Szederkényi.