Sounds of Rijeka


LAETITIA SONAMI - RIJEKA, CROATIA                                  


Strategies for gathering sounds for the Gates

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Voices of Rijeka

When looking for a sonic identity, I took a looser approach than expounded by Murray Shafer and other inspiring figures of acoustic ecology and proponents of the study  and preservation of evolving sonic environments. I came to Rijeka with 11 cassette recorders and mics and set about to find students interested in recording people on the pier and around the city. I had found in previous projects that microphones were powerful tools of engagement for children and adolescents. While shy at first, they quickly become emboldened. Microphones give them the right to ask any questions they wish. Tables are turned and they become engaged and approach whomever they wish. Groups of students from the  Gradevinska Tehnicka Skola came to the pier after school, led by Tanja Brkljaca,  and interviewed people walking by and fisherman working there. They eventually fanned out in the city and approached other people. While some of the questions centered around identifying  the sounds of the pier and sounds which had disappeared, they also asked them why they liked walking the pier, what they wished the pier would become, and personal questions about their lives.

I myself set out to walk the city with photographer Dean Miculinic who guided me towards places of sonic relevance, and we recorded the sounds of the city and people we encountered. I also concentrated on the 3Maj Shipyard, one of the few remaining active Shipyard in Croatia.

The city of RIjeka has a very rich sonic environment. What distinguishes it, to my ears, from other cities, is that its many sonic layers whether from the industrial and maritime activities, the rich social life (cafés are full, most of the time), markets (among which one fantastic fish market), natural environments (mostly the water front, birds are getting difficult to hear), and yes, many, many cars-- all these layers are still clearly distinguishable. The “sonic soup” is not overdone yet, and these layers can be distinguished over a crystal clear background.  Their threads can be followed. It is quite a feast.

The sounds heard when passing through the Gates are for the most part excerpts from the recordings. I tried to reach a balance between voices, industrial sounds and natural sounds. The selection had as guidelines: not to shock people as they walk under ( a lot of people walk the pier daily to relax and some are older folks), they had to be distinct (sounds with no “definition” such as the dense sounds from the fish market or the Shipyard,  would end up being garbled through the gates), and they had to be short, between 15 and 25 seconds- While some are mixes from a variety of sources, some are straight recordings.




Shorter sounds were excerpted for the Sonic Gates, and longer excerpts of the many interviews and recordings can be found here