Unmask

Cities and Memory - remixing the world

""Unmask" is an electroacoustic composition that reflects on “masking” experiences related to migration and identity during the COVID-19 global pandemic. The piece draws from a field recording captured in July 2020 in New York City. The recording artist, newly arrived and feeling alienated, navigated a city transformed by masks and social distance, a scenario that resonated deeply with my own journey.
"Having migrated across continents during the pandemic - from a double-masked Peru to a maskless Germany - I too grappled with the dissonance of belonging. The mask is a powerful metaphor, extending beyond its intended physical protection to delve into the psychological and sociological functions of identity. Masking, both as a literal act and as a metaphor for minority stress and cultural assimilation, is the inspiration for this piece.
"From a technical standpoint, I explored sound synthesis techniques that are often referred to or closely related to masking, such as time-variant high and low limits for parameter ranges, periodical intermittency in granular synthesis systems, among others. Every sound in the composition originates from the original field recording."
Williamsburg soundscape reimagined by Gianni Bencich-Grigore.
Part of the Migration Sounds project, the world’s first collection of the sounds of human migration.
For more information and to explore the project, see https://www.citiesandmemory.com/migration