Hear. Now. Where? A participatory sonic taxi ambulation curated by Saout Radio, at the 5th Biennale of Marrakech

here, now, where? is an urban sonic journey, initiated by the artists Younes Baba-Ali and Anna Raimondo for Saout Radio- a platform of sound and radio art. Upon Saout Radio’s invitation and following an international open call receiving more than 300 applications, a collection of 97 sonic works has been selected by a jury of field experts.

These works, employing different sensibilities, languages and formats, are being broadcast in eight local taxis. The taxi drivers act as mediators between the works and the audience.

here, now, where?invites taxi passengers to experience the city through a set of sounds coming from all over the world. The project requires the participation of the audience through discovering their own environment in an alternative way.

In resonance with Henri Lefebvre’s “right to the city“ and the Biennial’s theme of “Where are we now?“, Saout Radio raises the question of the delocalization in the present moment through the experience of listening.

The project questions the sonic transposition and translation of real or imaginary places, making the notion of the soundscape open to a new range of possibilities. Going beyond Raymond Murray Shafer’s definition of soundscape, which corresponds to a ‘specific sound environment’, we embrace the idea that a soundscape is also able to sonically recreate mental and imaginary settings, rather than solely physical or real places.

The selection consists of various formats and approaches: phonographies, field recordings, song collections, sonic compositions, sound poems, slam, radio art, alternative narratives, vocal experimentations, nocturnal sounds, and more.

here, now, where?offers a listening-time, made exclusively for each taxi, evoking physical places, but also builds and engenders landscapes which do not exist on geographical maps.