cHeliđon fRAMe
sound-art _ data sonification _ electronic music
the dry stone [no sound of water]
data sonification
improvisation
audiovisual
"THE DRY STONE [NO SOUND OF WATER]" is a multimedia project articulated through a data sonification, an improvised electroacoustic set, and a series of reactive visuals. The data sonification transforms into sounds a selection of data about the Po river, which in the summer of 2022 faced its worst drought ever: this is the common ground on which the electroacoustic improvisation is set, in dialogue with the raw sound material. The images react to the sonification, guiding the set through its natural evolution.
The drought that hit northern Italy in the summer of 2022 was an unprecedented event that far surpassed the measurements of the annus horribilis 2003. At the same time, it was not a decontextualized event, with no warnings or symptoms indicating an almost certain drift: a long series of data, collected weekly by land agencies, showed a progressive deterioration of the Po river's indicators of good health, indicating an unprecedented worsening curve, in which the combination of reduced rainfall and scorching heat led to the 2022 current.
Saline wedge, level, river flow: this information has entered the journalistic and daily jargon, repeated over and over, decontextualized, without geographic references and without a comparison with previous conditions, where its dramatic nature is even more evident.
"The Dry Stone [No Sound Of Water]" thus wants to give weight and context back to these data, showing their monthly evolution over the two-year period 2021 / 2022, using data sonification as a tool to make the most immediate connection possible; it will focus on three data points -salt incursion, level, and flow rate - that succeed in describing the overall evolution of the Po river's drought condition.
Lasting between 20 and 40 minutes, it is accompanied by the improvisation of an electroacoustic trio that will perform in dialogue with the shifts in timbre and dynamics: Angelo Brezza on percussion and Andrea Marinelli and Chelidon Frame (aka Alessio Premoli) on electronics. The visual component is created by Gabriele Faoro, an industrial designer from Milan, who has produced a series of video patterns to accompany the event.
The project premiered during “Oltre Il Visuale,” the first Italian conference on data sonification, at MEET Digital Culture Center in Milan, organized by Sara Lenzi and Paolo Ciuccarelli. Other presentations include: Linechek (BASE Milano, 2022), Soundstainability (RSI Lugano, 2023), and Piano City Milano (Spazio Bianca, Milan, 2026).
performAnces
Oltre Il Visuale - MEET Digital Culture Center, Milano (27/09/2022)
Linecheck Festival - BASE, Milano (25/11/2022)
Soundstainability - RSI Radiosvizzera Italiana, Lugano (07/10/2023)
Piano City Milano - Spazio Bianca, Milano (16/05/2026)
