Exploring the British Library’s sound archive with AWATE
Channel: British Library
Date: 2020-03-24

What does migration sound like? AWATE journeys through the British Library’s basement stores, searching for rare and unique sounds from around the world telling the story of diaspora and human migration to use in his experimental musical piece, The Unearthed Odyssey.

AWATE is a critically acclaimed Eritrean rapper and producer raised in Camden, just a stone’s throw from the British Library. In the summer of 2019, AWATE joined the Library as Artist-in-Residence for Unlocking Our Sound Heritage, our major programme to save the nation’s sounds and share them widely.

After months scouring the depths of the sound archive and its hidden treasures, AWATE produced an experimental musical piece incorporating recordings from our digitised audio collections. Exploring the subject of diaspora and human migration, The Unearthed Odyssey weaves together voices, poems and music of people from around the world with innovative hip-hop production.  

Hear the sound archive come alive, as AWATE takes listeners on a moving journey beginning in the depths of the British Library and crossing continents and cultures through sound.
Find out how we’re saving the nation’s sounds: https://www.bl.uk/projects/unlocking-our-sound-heritage