Swallow WaLK -Text

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Sandra: I usually visit Edwardes lake daily, and during Covid 19 restrictions I have spent even more time there, sometimes 2 or 3 times a day walking to the lake to have a break from my computer at home. I feel very thankful to have a place full of nature close by as I observe the changes which occur with the seasons. Different birds appearing, plants flowering, mushrooms sprouting, frogs singing, broods of baby birds on the land and water. I have seen many other people also enjoying the place during this time, which highlights to me the importance of public spaces and wildlife corridors for human and non-human creatures. I wrote the text for Swallow Walk this year, inspired by watching the swallows in flight and by the way they use the wind currents to manoeuvre themselves so swiftly. When Ria suggested the text would work well as part of an audio lead tour at the lake I felt very excited, as it seemed the perfect way for people to get outdoors, experience the lake in their own time.  

swallow walk - music

Ria: Music and sounds for accompanying the Swallow Walk journey were all recorded during isolation, in my home studio. The audio features vocal layers, exploring interlocking parts inspired by frogs (also a feature of many styles of Javanese and Balinese  music), and percussion.
Multi-instrumentalist Ron Reeves, kindly loaned his beautiful sonorous Sundanese gongs and added some percussion  - the frog like bamboo  tubes also from West Java - keprak.  
​A huge learning curve - recording and editing myself, with long term collaborator - tech/musician wiz Pin Rada assisting  patiently from Alice Springs. 
See Birdlife Australia  for information about the Welcome Swallow.

 See Darebin Water for Information about Edwardes Lake wetlands

Swallow Walk Artists


Sandra Fiona Long and Ria Soemardjo are long term collaborators creating immersive sound based performance experiences crossing live performance, theatre, audio walks and international online collaborations. Together they draw on expertise in writing, performance making, facilitation, extended voice and vocal improvisation, sound design and amazing collaborators across forms of design, performance and music. They are particularly passionate about inviting audiences to connect deeply with natural environments, by creating a space of heightened listening and contemplation. Their recent collaborations include: vocal-visual theatre work Hades Fading (Hades Memudar) in Bandung and Melbourne; audio walks Swallow Walk (2020) and Murmuring Walk (2021); and Waktu adalah temanku, an online work between Australia and Indonesia with Mainteater (2021); Their new work Of Frogs had a development with Speak Percussion's SD series early 2021 and will be premiering at Speakeasy Northcote in 2022, and they are also currently developing a performance work The Swallows.

RIA SOEMARDJO - MUSICIAN/COMPOSER/ CO-CREATOR
Ria Soemardjo is a Melbourne based musician with a passion for collaborating with artists across diverse range of genres and artforms. Born in Melbourne, her  distinct, haunting vocals and instrumental compositions  reflect her Australian/Indonesian cultural heritage.  Over the last 10 years, Ria has created and performed music for a wide range of independent contemporary dance, theatre and mixed media  projects in Australia and Asia. Her recent projects  reflect  her interest in  engaging audiences in powerful contemporary performance/rituals, often in response to a specific site.
www.riavoice.com
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SANDRA FIONA LONG - WRITER/CO-CREATOR
A writer and director across performance, installation and sound based works. Highlights include writer/director of vocal work Hades Fading (Hades Memudar) with Mainteater in Bandung and Melbourne, writer of ‘Birdcage Thursdays’ Big West Festival, regional Victoria and fortyfivedownstairs, vocal solo ‘Pancake Opus’ La Mama Theatre, co-creator ‘The Temple of the Wind’ installation Coburg Carnivale with Jo Mott (The Wind Crafters), writer of vocal work Duets for Lovers and Dreamers (recipient Ross Trust Script Development award), and many other projects. 

RON REEVES - MULTI-INSTRUMENTALIST/PERFORMER
Ron Reeves is a percussionist, multi-instrumentalist, educator and composer with a career spanning over 40 years. Ron has performed throughout Australia, as well as in Asia, Europe and North America. He has worked with a hugely diverse range of musicians and groups including the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Iva Davies, Bill Cobham, Trilok Gurtu, Okuta Percussion, Jugala Group (Indonesia), the Karnataka College of Percussion (India), Lebe Olarinjo Masqueraders (Nigeria) and many others. Ron has maintained a strong connection with Indonesia since 1977 and has studied  Sundanese, Javanese, Batak and Balinese traditional music, collaborating with many highly respected Indonesian musicians - in   traditional, pop and jazz worlds. In Australia Ron has played with Genggong (Indonesian/Balkan fusion), Anything But Roy (modern dance grooves with Indonesian traditional elements) and performs currently with Gamelan DanAnda (Balinese gamelan) in Melbourne. He and Ria Soemardjo travelled to  Banyuwangi in East Java in 2016, where they researched the local terbang (frame drum) tradition. This research has influenced their recent collaborations in The Echoe's Project Mapping Melbourne 2017/2018 - site responsive contemporary performance ritual  incorporating contemporary dance and music. 

Thank you's and acknowledgments: 
Ryan Hale, Adam Forbes, Jeremy Dullard, Gamalan Dan Anda, Fuse Darebin, Pin Rada


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