Voices of Marrakech

2012’s Alexandria Streets Project saw German audio enthusiasts Julia Tieke and Berit Schuck provide what they called a ‘sonic map’ of the Egyptian port city of Alexandria, consisting of 20 audio pieces broadcasted on air as well as online. This year, after a sojourn in Lebanon for Speaking of Beirut and the City is Missing, Tieke and Schuck presented the Alexandria Streets Project alongside their latest project, Trading Urban Stories at the fifth edition of the Marrakech Biennale, which featured an audio installation, a ‘networked’ storytelling space, and a live radio event, Here and Now. Voices of Marrakech.

Elaborating on the experimental range of the Alexandria Streets Project, Trading Urban Stories mixes experimental recordings – gathered from the duo’s wanderings in Marrakech’s Medina – with live conversations and features contributions by both Moroccan and international artists. REORIENT’s Chitra Kalyani recently spoke with Julia Tieke to find out how the duo has been transforming cities into sounds.

How did the Alexandria Streets Project come about? How did you two end up working together?

We were introduced to each other by a common acquaintance, who rightly supposed we’d have many interests in common – first and foremost audio, radio, and the Arab world. When the Institute for Foreign Cultural Relations (IFA) launched a call for projects, the idea to create a sonic map of Alexandria came up immediately. We then elaborated the idea and wrote a concept for the Alexandria Streets Project comprising a sonic map, a mini radio academy, and a series of public events.

Continued here –

Voices of Marrakech