Where are we when we walk? Are we here, in this place that our feet move through, or are we there, lost in thoughts and memories of other times and places? This playful and dream-like soundwalk aims to throw these questions into confusion. It can be taken while in Prespa or anywhere else, including indoors.
Each person takes a familiar walk while listening to this audio guide and we find ourselves in the unfamiliar: wandering through unlikely terrain, listening to creatures and soundscapes that do not belong together, with a description of a route that moves between city and countryside, perhaps passing through a Tokyo train station to a Long Island beach. Accompanying this misguidance are fragments of my singing and sometimes a remark from someone in one of the places. Listening prompts and questions may trigger memories (eg “Can you remember a sound from your childhood?”), imagination (eg “Can you imagine the sound of a flock of birds arriving from a distance?”), or a sense of being in the present moment (eg “What is the quietest sound you can hear now?”)
This walk arises from the pandemic experience, remembering those places we could not visit and our pent-up need for adventure. “Where am I” celebrates feeling lost and confused by this world as it tentatively begins to reopen and we bring ourselves into a new here and now. The sounds heard on this walk were recorded on my walking projects with people in many countries.