An Interactive, City-wide Music Project Has Landed In Brisbane

While the rest of the world was busy daydreaming about what their future would hold during the pandemic, music duo Textile Audio (comprised of acclaimed singer and composer Dr. Eve Klein and creative coder and engineer Ravi Glasser-Vora) were determined to pause, look back and reflect on the past of one of Australia’s biggest music cities; focusing on what makes the home of the Brown Snake so quintessentially “Brisbane” in their new project ‘CITY SYMPHONY’.

From the echoing booms of Riverfire to the distant sounds of The Beatles performing at Festival Hall, countless iconic moments line the walls of the city. The blistering sounds of music festivals and concerts past have embedded themselves in the flowerbeds that surround the botanical gardens. The eerie sounds of a dragon roller coaster and retro arcade machines are forever archived in the pillars of the Myer Center, and the faint sounds of a saxophone player who is blind hold a special place between the Victorian buildings that line the Queen Street Mall.

In more recent times, Brisbane city has become an important place for voices to be heard; a place of protests for Black Lives Matter, Women’s Rights and equality, and an important breeding ground for some of the country's best contemporary music.

Imagine walking through a mass choir singing a prayer to the Brisbane river, moving up to and through each singer's voice. Stepping onto a rock concert stage next to the bass player, with the crowd's roar surrounding you. Taking a seat at a pot-luck dinner and hearing the clinking of cutlery and stories by new Australians sitting across from you. Or listening to the drones and whirs of a spaceship looking back to planet Earth after the impact of climate change.

Thanks to the genius minds at Textile Audio, and the good folks at QMF (you probably remember them as the Queensland Music Festival before they underwent a major rebrand), this is now a reality.

Delivered via a mobile app, CITY SYMPHONY is an evolving, site-specific, interactive audio experience accessible to anyone with headphones and a smartphone who is bold enough to immerse themselves in the sonically mapped landscape. With audio experiences positioned in a collection of carefully curated locations around the city, from Queen Street Mall to the lush green City Botanic Gardens, Goodwill Bridge to King George Square and numerous streets across Brisbane CBD, audiences will be able to plot their own course to explore iconic city landmarks in a whole new way.

Made using video game creation technology, the CITY SYMPHONY app uses real-time data from the user’s phone to create unique and captivating music mixes that respond to how the listener moves through each space.

“We've had to innovate and handcraft the technology underlying the experience from scratch,” said Dr Eve Klein and Ravi Glasser-Vora from Textile Audio. “But the point of this is not to make shiny new technology for its own sake. We believe art can break down barriers and emerging technologies provide new lenses on our surroundings. City Symphony is an open invitation for the people of Brisbane to come and play, and experience their city in a whole new way."

Music from the likes of Kate Miller-Heidke, Keir Nuttall, Jesswar, Hope D, Ancient Bloods, Eve Klein and David Hudson is interwoven with iconic speeches and interviews from Sir David Attenborough, Greta Thunberg, Brisbane’s burgeoning youth and First Nations people, plus countless more diverse voices that make up this vibrant city. There are nine sites to explore, with each one presenting users with a different theme that will reveal itself in response to their movement. Ethereal new music compositions and contemporary music is seamlessly layered with original stories from Dr. Helen Marshall, Kathleen Jennings, and Anisa Nanduala, to inspire busy pedestrians to reflect, connect and contemplate tales of the past, present and future. 

“The cultural vibrancy of our CBD is such an important contributor to the way locals and visitors experience Brisbane,” said QMF CEO Joel Edmondson. “City Symphony will demonstrate how innovative arts and culture experiences can bring the CBD to life in a new way, and a timely expression of the power of music to reconnect and rejuvenate our community.”

CITY SYMPHONY launched at World Science Festival Brisbane as part of the Curiocity Brisbane program on 24 June and will be available to experience until 24 July. CITY SYMPHONY is a unique opportunity for locals to get a new insight into the rich, diverse, important and largely unknown stories of the city they call home.

Scroll down to check out all the spaces that you’re able to explore right now:

GOODWILL BRIDGE

A Call to Maiwar

Take a slow and steady pace across the Goodwill Bridge to reveal a meditative soundscape featuring the music of DAVID HUDSON alongside many voices offering messages, prayers and secrets to the unwavering natural force that connects Brisbane - the river Maiwar. Encounter more anonymous stories from the people of Brisbane each time you return. 

FORMAL FLOWER GARDEN, CITY BOTANIC GARDENS

Our Lost World

Resonating from the heart of the City Botanic Gardens is a mystical composition by KATE MILLER-HEIDKE and KEIR NUTTALL titled Your Ghost, My Pulse, nestled amongst 12 messages sent back to Earth from a dystopian future. Listen to soaring vocals and prayers of hope from The Bone Girl among the warning sirens. Stay awhile and walk through the gardens to discover the scattered messages in sequence or wander around at your own pace and enjoy a musical meditation that shifts and evolves as you move around. 

QUEEN STREET MALL

The Meeting Place

An iconic meeting and fashion precinct, Queen Street Mall is a gathering place for generations of young people from all walks of life. As you walk through the mall, hear the beats of Brisbane’s best contemporary artists, the dreams of the next generations and meet two extraordinary cultural leaders reflecting on their experience of growing up in Brisbane. Catch glimpses of voices as you weave through the hustle and bustle of the mall or pause to hear their stories in full before continuing on. 

KING GEORGE SQUARE

A River of Voices

Discover the passionate poetry of ANISA NANDAULA and the soaring voices of the Maiwar Chorus. Together, these performances celebrate Brisbane’s resilience and our respect for the Maiwar river. The civic heart of Brisbane, King George Square has been the centre of public life for decades. Brisbane gathers here to celebrate, protest, mourn and remember. Long before this, people have lived here along the shoreline of the Maiwar river for thousands of years, bringing life and prosperity.

REDDACLIFF PLACE

Many Cultures of Brisbane

Locate hidden voices alongside new music performed by a unique collective of artists, brought together in search of connection and the common language of music. As you explore you will hear many voices, some of whom have only recently begun to call Brisbane home. Uncover their thoughts and memories as you weave through the space. Reddacliff Place is a nexus point. From the Brisbane City Council office workers to tourists enjoying the casino, the pedestrians travelling to and from the Cultural Precinct to the regular markets and community events hosted here.

QUEENS GARDENS

New Place of Protest

For generations, this park has become a central rallying point for activists seeking to navigate a world in crisis. Most recently, it has been a meeting place for those most passionate about the future of our planet. As you wander around Queens Gardens, EVE KLEIN's urgent musical composition, I See, threads together the words from Brisbane's burgeoning youth with those of the world's most iconic speeches. 

GEORGE STREET

12 Observations Along George Street

One of Brisbane’s busiest and most central arteries, George Street hosts thousands of Brisbane citizens every day. Start your journey at any point along the pathway between Kurilpa Bridge and Alice Street for a symphonic experience along George Street. You will hear KATHLEEN JENNINGS' poetic observations of a typical city street that we walk every day. In stopping to observe it, we can uncover the extraordinary in the ordinary. Kathleen notes: "As I walked, a pattern emerged; new descriptions and sounds echoed against those that came before. At home, I edited by listening to the words, strengthening the melodies of myth, the ripple of rising water."’

ALBERT STREET

Rahim's Story

Greeted by traditional, melodious Middle Eastern music performed by CIEVASH AREAN, start at either end of Albert St to meet Rahim Mohammadi, a young refugee from Afghanistan who arrived in Australia in 2006. Rahim is a student, a passionate advocate for mental health, a survivor, and a poet. As you stroll through this site in the bustling city centre, listen to Rahim’s extraordinary journey and reflections on his new life in Brisbane.

BUNYA WALK

Bright Skies

As you make your way along the winding path, you will be greeted by ancient, lush bunya trees and the melodic calls of birds native to the region. Inspired by the countless unsent love letters that sit alone in a post office, EVE KLEIN's evocative composition creates an ambient nature walk that serves as a tribute to love.