‘Industrial Echoes’, Faraj Srour & Neomi Maggeni

Israeli musicians Neomi Maggeni and Faraj Srour’s intention was to not only highlight the deeply traumatic experience that whales go through as a result of man made noise but the “far-reaching negative effects of mankind, which travel across great distances, like industrial echoes, and may do more harm than the good we think they do.”

“Some oceanic seismic surveys are so powerful, they’re able to silence whole communities of whales for weeks. This unfortunate fact prompted us to look into noise pollution in the oceans and its effects on marine life. We intended to highlight the facts, as well as connect to the listener on a deeper level using sound. We collected data about man made noise in the ocean, recordings of it, and merged them to create a sound experience supported by minimalistic visuals.

“Many people imagine the ocean as a calm quiet place, which was represented in the project by the background sounds of the ocean itself and the sounds of whale communications. However, the ocean is filled with man made noise. We intended to intensify this noise in order to simulate the disturbing environment whales are forced to live in and suffer through”. Faraj Srour & Neomi Maggeni.

About Neomi Maggeni

Neomi Maggeni, 36 years old, is a musician of different instruments, composer, and sound artist, currently studying at the department of music at Haifa University.

About Faraj Srour

Faraj Srour, 24 years old, is a former biologist, currently a pianist and music teacher, composer, and sound artist. He holds a bachelor’s degree in biology and medical sciences, and currently studies at the department of music at Haifa University. We both have been working together for two years to create original music and perform, but also to create art and sound projects about different topics. We have worked to create sound projects to raise awareness about ecological issues, as well as projects with a political undertone to engage audiences in a sound experience and turn their attention to social issues. Our first sound project, Industrial Echoes, was recently displayed at the 8th annual Haifa Conference on Mediterranean sea research, connecting science and art.