Coco Francavilla - re-oceaning

A Closer Listen

This past Sunday was World Ocean Day.  To honor the occasion, musical artist and activist Coco Francavilla launched the new Music for the Sea imprint with its premiere release.

“To reconnect with the Ocean is to reconnect with ourselves,” states Francavilla, who first introduced the concept of re-oceaning in a TED Talk and performance. She connects the ocean with the “soundscape of the womb,” as emphasized by the cover art.  The sounds of marine life, including hydrophone recordings of endangered seagrass, are woven throughout the set. As Ibiza is known as a party haven, it’s refreshing to see the region’s responsible side; proceeds benefit marine conservation and acoustic research.

The title track is presented in two versions, the original and a Rafael Anton Irisarri remix.  At once the listener is serenaded by the lull of the waves, along with whales and electro-acoustics.  A quiet melody develops, an ode to the sea and our connection to it.  The artist sings softly and wordlessly. A pulse develops like a heartbeat, while the music rises to a peak; then the pulse sinks into the mix to allow the ocean’s residents to have their say.  Irisarri’s rework is almost exactly twice the length, providing more space to the individual components; the opening minute is pure hydrophone.  The rework emphasizing the feeling of drifting or floating timelessly, no shore or stirrups in sight.  The peak this time is subtle, the recession more gentle, like a tide; and leaving no doubt, in this version the closing pulse is a heartbeat.

This leads seamlessly to the 18-minute “Ocean Womb,” which ebbs and flows with the rhythms of the sea.  In this extended piece (which we hope to experience on vinyl), the field recordings are as prominent as the music.  In the fourth minute, strings surface in the synthetic soundscape; have they been there all along?  To hear the cellos is to wonder how much we’ve missed in other places: for example, the precious biodiversity that keeps oceans healthy and allows ecosystems to flourish. “Ocean Womb” is a miasma of accumulated sound, imitating the soundscape of the womb, where bubbles, gurgles and flow communicate comfort and safety.  As the chimes enter, one thinks of a nursery, an expectant parent; in the eighth minute, the crackle of seaweed is vaguely reminiscent of a bicycle wheel.  The sea holds many wonders; one wishes to protect it like a child in the womb so that child will one day be able to experience them to the same extent as prior generations.

While everything about re-oceaning sounds hopeful and personal, it is also a cry of crisis and a call to societal action.  Francavilla hopes that by helping listeners to recall where they came from – the original womb of the sea – she might spark efforts to protect and preserve.  The music is lovely, but change would be lovelier still.  (Richard Allen)