The Ecco: Sometimes

Jeff Emtman (DE 2024)

10min

Thirteen participants sing a note at their natural pitch, then recite numbers between 1 and 100 for five minutes. Then, they reach into a bowl, pull out a slip of paper, and complete the sentence written on it (not knowing that every slip has the same, one-word prompt: "Sometimes..."). At times in the piece, the sung notes are mapped onto the participants' numbers: low notes for low numbers, and high notes for high numbers. In this 10-minute version, responses are condensed for time.

THE ECCO is an international non-commercial initiative designed to tug at the boundaries of the world of audio storytelling, journalism, and documentary work. We bring together talents in different parts of the world — journalists, sound designers, audio producers, sound artists, & writers— all united by a common goal: to push themselves and each other out of their work-related comfort zones and explore the different shapes audio documentaries can take, where they may intersect with art and what the impact of such playful exploration can have.

This was made during an immersive retreat where a curated group of talents collaborate, experiment, and support each other in crafting audio projects that are as diverse as they are profound

Producer: Jeff Emtman
Participants: Colin Shea, Yannic Hannebohn, Phoebe McIndoe, Ilona Toller, Sophia Wetzke, Jasmin Bauomy, Luisa Beck, Mitsuo Iwamoto, Lena von Holt, Sara Zarreh Hoshyari Khah, Marta Medvešek, Allison Behringer, and Johanna Gilje.

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