Along the Nile (Nuerland)

I came to this field recording by chance, yet I still remember the first time I listened to it, standing in my kitchen with headphones on, looking out the window. The second I pressed play, the singing moved me; it was abstract to me, yet full of movement, texture, and power. As I listened multiple times, different sounds and tones in the singing became noticeable. The sound felt alive and overpowering in a positive way. Later, the question for me was how to respond to this recording.

The process of creating the piece was slow at first; it took several deep listening sessions of the original recording, along with jotting down any ideas on how to proceed. Then, in a brainstorming session, I paired listening with drawing. I started with no preconceived notion of an outcome, just unrestricted flow. It was then that the piece's overall concept and structure became clear to me. Drawing helped visualise the number of elements the piece would have and their interactions and relationships with one another.

In this piece, my use of the original recording is more conceptual than based on actual samples. I intended to let the original recording dictate the form of my piece while using as little of it as possible. In the final piece, there are bits of the original recording that are some hiss noises from the original tape recorder, yet, perhaps because of their nature, they are not the sounds one would think to use at first listen. There is also a mysterious sound from the original. I hope listeners catch it!

As I listened more, I became aware that the recording was unfamiliar to me in terms of culture and understanding. I longed, and still do, to comprehend what the songs are about. The next question was how to use the recording in a way that would be respectful of the recorded group’s cultural heritage. The result was a narrative that unfolds as follows: pre-historical time in which there were no Nuer, followed by a vast period when the Nuer roamed the Nile savannah with their cattle, ending with a chance encounter with anthropological and colonial initiatives. The original recording informed the piece's structure by relying on a drumbeat and a choir-like sound throughout.

Yes, while the process was in an early stage and I was still deciding how to make the piece, I conducted research alongside the deep listening sessions. My idea was to gather knowledge on the Nuer worldview and way of life. As an artist, especially when working with sensitive cultural material, I find it vital to understand its origins. What stood out to me most about the Nuer was their nomadic, transient life and their heavy reliance on cattle. I imagined wandering through the Nile landscape as a livelihood, an act that the Nuer do and that inspired this piece.

Nuer people singing reimagined by Natalia Ludmila.

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Part of the project A Century of Sounds, reimagining 100 sounds covering 100 years from the collections of the Pitt Rivers Museum at the University of Oxford. Explore the full project at citiesandmemory.com/century-sounds