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The Best Field Recordings on Bandcamp | By Matthew Blackwell / November 2023
Lopa | Enrico Coniglio
Venice has historically been a symbol of man’s ingenuity, but the city is now at risk of destruction through man-made climate change; some experts predict it will be underwater within the century. Lopa was recorded outside of Venice, in the small islands and lagoons that surround the waterlogged city. Enrico Coniglio ventured out to those spaces in the middle of the night, in winter, to ensure that the presence of people wouldn’t interfere with the “voice of the environment.” Still, machines make their mark. “Route A” features the natural sounds of water lapping against the piers, but “Route B” soon runs into the overwhelming rumble of an engine. Similarly, the three-part “Lopa” suite features Coniglio’s own interventions into the soundscape, with alarming beeps and buzzes that seem to signal a cataclysmic end. At the end, only the quacking of Venice’s famous ducks remain. “The possible sound portraits of a place appear infinite, like a game of mirrors: among the many “Venices,” choosing to focus on one cannot claim any adherence to reality,” Coniglio writes. Still, the portrait that he paints is realistic enough, a beautiful snapshot of the city as well as a warning of its fate.