We’re pleased to share an update on Digital Bridge – a collaborative project between Mexico and the UK, from Sound and Music and CMMAS, in partnership with Supersonic and funded by the British Council’s International Collaboration Grants.
In April last year, we launched Digital Bridge, an open call for women and minority gender composers, music-creators and artists who work with electronic music and/or use digital technology within their creative practice. The project saw us matching two composers based in the UK with two in Mexico, and supporting them to create new sonic works through these international collaborations. The collaborative pairs are Sarmen Almond (MEX) & XEXA (UK) and Cutzi Hamid (MEX) & Freya Edmondes (UK).
We are excited to share their sonic works, which premiered on the British Music Collection earlier this month, along with a recent panel discussion featuring the Digital Bridge artists. Stay tuned for a more in-depth Q&A with the pairs to discuss their experiences, coming soon.
Sarmen Almond (MEX) & XEXA (UK) — Grain of Sand
Last year, XEXA and Sarmen were both selected to participate in Digital Bridge, and were invited to develop a collaboration together. We have been truly inspired by how they have worked together.
Grain of Sand is a binaural audiovisual piece that invites you to explore the world through the lens of a tiny fragment of the earth. Working in English, Spanish and São Tome’s, the artists imagined themselves each as a grain of sand, connecting two worlds and imaginary spaces through words and gestures becoming sounds.
Cutzi Hamid (MEX) & Freya Edmondes (UK) — Digital World
Last year, Cutzi and Freya began developing their collaboration, communicating through sharing recordings with one another digitally, and then meeting in person in Mexico to work on their piece.
Digital World asks: “how does the digital world that connects us sound?” Beyond the zeros and ones, beyond the modem noise, the artists imagine ‘the means of transport for the zeros and the sound of the ones’. They consider how the lives of these technologies, controlled by our lives, often have an impact on the environment and our development as humanity that, most of the time, is ignored.
Digital Bridge Panel — Visiones Sonoras festival
The artists also participated in a panel discussion at Visiones Sonoras festival, hosted in Mexico just over a month ago. Watch the panel discussion to find out more about the projects and the artists.
Find out more about the Digital Bridge artists
Learn more about Digital Bridge
Learn more about CMMAS