Humans have always been influenced by rivers, and have also influenced rivers in return. Humans have settled by rivers, used them for transportation and trade, harnessed them for energy and irrigation, modified them for engineering and management, polluted them with waste and chemicals, restored them for conservation and recreation.

This is a performance based on processed field recording, a piece that explores the aural journey of a virtual cricket on a bottle, floating on the river Bega that crosses the city of Timișoara. It's a sonic journey of Bega, from its serene beginnings in the rural areas to its chaotic end in the urban center. Along the way, you will encounter the diverse sounds and stories that the river carries with it, revealing the complex relationships between humans and nature, culture and environment, past and present. You will also witness how the river is transformed by the noise and pollution of Timisoara, where it is reduced to a mere commodity and resource. Finally, you will experience how the river ends its journey in a cup, symbolizing the human domination and exploitation of nature.

Processed field recording is a term that we use to describe the artistic use of field recordings as sources for electro-acoustic composition and performance. It involves applying various techniques, such as granular synthesis, spectral filtering, pitch shifting, delay, reverb, and distortion, to alter and transform the original sounds. The aim is not to obscure or erase the identity of the sounds, but rather to reveal new aspects and dimensions of them, to create fresh sonic landscapes that are both familiar and eerie in the same time.

Biography

The Makunouchi Bento, or traditional japanese lunchbox, is a highly lacquered wooden box divided into quadrants, each of which contains different delicacies. It is also one of the most familiar images of Japan’s domestic environment.

Reading the box as both an object and a metaphor, Felix Petrescu (Waka X) and Valentin Toma (Toma Carnagiu, fka Qewza) founded this cinematic / experimental / electroacoustic project back in late 2000.

The two Romanians have somehow managed to put together quite a reasonable discography so far: 5 albums and 4 personal compilations, 7 OSTs, 26 EPs and 12 singles (released on netlabels you’d have heard of, back when that was a thing), a few live recordings, songs featured on more than 45 compilations, remixes and collabos with artists such as Selfmademusic, Silent Strike, Daniel Dorobanţu, Nagz, Kaneel, Tao, Adapt, Autorotation, Trompetre, and the list goes on.