LAUNCHING TODAY – MIGRATION SOUNDS

Today we’re extremely proud to launch one of our biggest projects yet, Migration Sounds!

The result of a year-long partnership with the University of Oxford’s Centre on Migration, Policy and Society (COMPAS), this is the world’s first collection of the sounds of human migration.

EXPLORE MIGRATION SOUNDS

The project contains 120 sounds of human migration and settlement from 51 countries – and the amazing stories behind them – using sound to help reframe the conversation around migration.

The sounds come from all over the world, from Argentina to Australia, featuring personal stories from diaspora communities all over the world as well as migration camps and dramatic sea rescues.

All of these sounds have been recomposed and reimagined by artists from a huge range of backgrounds to give us a whole new perspective on the migration conversation.

The project is packed with remarkable sound recordings, and – crucially – each is accompanied by the story behind the sound and what it means to the person who recorded it and the artist who worked with it. The collection includes:

  • Dramatic sounds of the rescue of migrants in the Mediterranean
  • Traditional ways of life, including nomadic Kazakh herdsmen in China, Bedouin tribes in Egypt or Inuit dog sleds in Greenland
  • Migration-related protests – against police brutality in France, against anti-migration laws in Germany and the USA
  • The sounds of diaspora communities including the Filipino community in Dubai, the Chinese community in New York, or Sikh, Polish, Jamaican and Bangladeshi communities in London
  • The production of razor wire to create fortifications for Hungary’s border fences
  • The aftermath of riots in a migration centre in Greece
  • The sounds of people crossing borders and making the journeys of migration, both forced and unforced
  • The essential role played by activities like traditional cookery and the playing of music for immigrants all over the world
  • Dozens of moving stories of ordinary daily life as an immigrant in countries all over the world and how sound helps to tell those stories.

Why sound and migration?

Migration is one of the most polarising topics in the world today, with many conversations retreading the same ground. Because sound transports us directly and vividly into the lived experiences of human migration, it allows us to reframe those conversations and throw a new light on its complex and multifaceted nature.

Sound also grounds our experience and shows that migration is about the everyday, settled lives of countless millions of people – not just about arduous journeys across borders.

The reimagined compositions add a whole new layer of emotion and complexity, revealing even greater depth to what is already an extraordinary collection of sounds telling so many rich human stories.

 

There are so many incredible sounds and amazing stories to tell in Migration Sounds, and we think the project makes a really valuable contribution to the global migration conversation.

We hope you enjoy exploring the sounds, and we’d love to hear your thoughts too.