What happens if you present dozens of different artists with the same field recording to use as inspiration and sonic raw material?
The result, as documented here, is a staggering array of diverse and beautiful interpretations of the same moment in space and time – Rome, Italy, 1 June 2017.
The Orange Garden shows the range and depth of creativity that just a single field recording can provide, when different artists apply their individual perspectives, experiences and talents to it. We hope you enjoy exploring it.
The first sound in the playlist is the original field recording – all subsequent sounds are new compositions built using the original recording as inspiration and source material.
More about the recording
We’ve chosen this recording firstly because of its personal meaning, as we fell in love with the location and the views on a very special (for us) trip to Rome.
Secondly, the recording is rich with different elements, both natural and man-made, with quite a lot going on and plenty of raw material for different inspiration and different approaches to a composition.
The recording, made on 1 June 2017, opens with jet fighters from the famous acrobatic group the Frecce Tricolori flying over the skies of Rome, preparing their manoeuvres for the 2 June Festa della Repubblica celebrations (you can see what the resulting parade was like here).
We hear a busker performing “Can’t Help Falling In Love With You” by Elvis Presley for voice and acoustic guitar, while we hear tourists conversing in different languages and walking around.
From three minutes, the song ends, and we walk across the gravelled paths of the garden (with a little unfortunate handling noise!), pausing to listen to birdsong.
At 4.08 another jet fighter passes overhead, again practising manoeuvres over the city. We hear an electric gate closing, then the sound of a car alarm briefly lights up the soundscape.
We end at a fountain in the garden, and the recording closes with the sound of running water into the fountain pond, interspersed with the voices of pedestrians. Finally, as the hour sounds, there is a faint snippet of bells ringing through the air at the close of the recording.
