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THE ECCO - 2ND edition

THE ECCO presents its second cohort!

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This time, we're bringing together a truly pan-European group of 13 audio documentarians, sound artists, and reporters from eight different countries—Germany, Slovenia, Spain, Italy, Czechia, Switzerland, the UK, and the Netherlands. Between them, they'll be creating audio pieces in at least five languages.

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From April 9-13, 2024, this group will gather in a villa near Florence, Italy, to collaborate, experiment, and push the boundaries of audio storytelling.

SLIPPERY MEMORY

Prompt for this round >

The creative prompt for this cohort is "Slippery Memory."

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Memory can be elusive, unreliable, and constantly shifting. It can be personal, collective, or even fictional.

Here are some ways to approach the theme:

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  • The way memories distort over time

  • The merging of imagination and fact and felt truths

  • Sounds, smells, shapes that trigger forgotten moments

  • Collective memories shaped by culture, media, or history

  • Stories of misremembered events or altered perceptions

  • The role of memory in identity and belonging

  • Who and what gets to be remembered & have their stories told and by whom in which way

  • Think of slipping

  • Think of parallel worlds

  • Think of how you wished things were or had been 

  • Items that make you remember

  • Think of forgetting, forgiving, loving and hating for things long past

  • Think of the curse and blessing of memory

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Those are just some ideas to get you started. 

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And now the public can submit pieces for the same prompt.

CALL FOR AUDIO

While the cohort is working on their pieces, we're inviting you to submit pieces under the same prompt of "Slippery Memory".

Here's what's important to know: 
 

  • Your piece must not be no longer than 3 minutes

  • Your piece should be about 80%-90% done, meaning you should be open to a round or two with an editor and be able to make changes in time. 

  • Deadline: June 22nd, 2025 11:59pm CEST 

  • Send as .mp3 to audio[at]theecco.org  with subject line: "Slippery Memory Submission"

  • All languages are welcome (just send along a translated transcript in English if possible)

  • Out of all submissions, we'll be choosing 1-2 pieces that will be featured at our Listening Sessions at the end of September and on our website.
    The creator(s) whose pieces were chosen will be notified in the first 2 weeks of July.  

     

AND SOME AMAZING NEWS FOR ALL OF  YOU:


ACCESS TO AN AWESOME DAW
 

We've partnered up with Hindenburg for this round! They're offering anyone who'd like to produce a piece for this round of THE ECCO an extended trial license for their DAW.

The good folks at HINDENBURG are known in the industry to have a soft spot for creative creator-led projects. Not only that, they've got a big heart both for audio artists and folks who are making more commercial podcasts f.ex. 

Here's what Hindenburg Co-founder Nick Dunkerley has to say about why this sponsorship makes sense: 


"Hindenburg PRO was built specifically to give professional audio storytellers a voice—a tool for making stories that can be broadcast. But tools can’t stand alone. The art and craft of audio storytelling is something we learn as a community. That’s why we’re proud to support ECCO, which keeps this tradition alive. Great stories are something we create together."

 

So, if you've always wanted to try out Hindenburg, or if your DAW is getting too expensive, or if you've heard about Hindenburg's latest update, or if you just want to put an end to using Garageband and Audacity for your audio play and work, you'll find an extended trial license right here. And you can use it for your ECCO piece! 
 

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MEET THE COHORT: 

Here's the new and first-ever pan-European cohort of THE ECCO:
 

THE ECCO SESSIONS  a.k.a. the world premiere(s)

For this cohort, we're cooking up something particularly special: A world premiere in two parts that'll give people in different places the chance to attend and experience an ECCO Session. 

We'll curate the pieces by the cohort and the public submissions to be divided up and played at two different events.  That means, people who'll attend one event will not be listening to the same pieces as the ones at the other event. It's like a casette with an A-Side and a B-Side.

 

A-Side: 
 

We're excited to announce that one of THE ECCO listening sessions (A-Side) will take place at the XMTR Festival in St Leonards in the UK, somewhen between Sept. 26th and 28th 2025. 

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B-Side: 
 

Roughly around those same dates, the B-Side will take place in Berlin (details to follow in the coming months). 

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​WAIT! THERE'S MORE!!

On top of all these exciting things, we're so happy that the German podcast studio Pool Artists has decided to sponsor us. So, the Berlin event will be sponsored by them and any leftover funds will go towards paying the creators and organizers for their work. 

Pool Artists are known to be fiends of new and creative approaches to audio. Their co-founder Maria Lorenz is known to pop up at a bunch of international audio festivals and conferences. She and her co-founder Frida Morische are big cheerleaders of THE ECCO and clearly have very good taste when it comes to choosing their sponsorships ;) 

And we couldn't be happier about it. 
 

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Stay tuned for updates on all things THE ECCO (sessions, future cohorts, and ways you can get involved.)

 

If you’d like to support THE ECCO and help make future retreats possible, you can contribute via Ko-Fi or reach out directly.

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We're still looking for sponsors for this cohort (for example to be able to pay the creators, and help with the travel costs of the organizers of these events.)

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