1-54 Forum Paris

20 - 23 January and through February 2021

Curated by LE 18, Marrakech

Sonic Archaeologies

A radio performance by Abdellah Hassak in conversation with artist-performer Ghassan El Hakim, initiator of Cabaret Cheikhat, and artist Othman El Kheloufi, composer, saxophonist and theater director.

Turning to a history of sound allows one to “de-center” history. While political history draws us to the formal places of power (capitals, royal courts, parliaments, palaces), sound history takes us to much more varied places, both strange and wonderful. Political history is centripetal; sound history is centrifugal. – David Hendy, author of the BBC Radio documentary series entitled Noise, a Human History of Sound and Listening

Sonic Archaeologies is an invitation to experiment the multiple capacities of sound recording to re-construct and re-compose the historical narratives of territories, experiences, or policies. Proposed and animated by Abdellah Hassak, this spontaneous conversation, activated by a listening session of sound archives proposes to restitute the past, through an unconventional approach.

A record, a voice, a song, a rhythm, or a sound archive can be listened to and discussed, from their socio-political context and through their sound practice, their production, and the recording context. What do recordings from the past tell us? How do they shed light on some important events of Moroccan history?

The conversation, live streamed from LE 18 in Marrakech, will further reflect on the reciprocal influences between the recordings and the sociological, historical or anthropological evolution of Morocco.

Full transcript in English here: https://www.1-54.com/paris/1-54-forum-paris-2021-sonic-archaeologies/