The Source

This soundscape poem traces the environmental water cycle of the Pyrenees, beginning at the summit with the ethereal, celestial drones of a handmade Aeolian harp made by the artist played by the mountain wind. This pure, high-altitude harmony gives way to the intimate, rhythmic clink of mineral water being captured in bottles at the Aulus-les-Bains spa, marking the transition of the wild flow into a measured, medicinal dose for Gallo-Roman legacy cures and modern cholesterol treatments. The poem reaches its chilling resolution as the water evaporates from the valley and rises as condensation, carrying human industry back into the air. This mist eventually cools and falls, completing the cycle as it returns back into the river. The piece concludes with hydrophone recordings of the river, where the submerged, percussive thrum of the water acts as a final, dark witness—the persistent echo of the valley trapped within the rising mist, a sonic residue of exhaust and pollution flowing once more through the current. It was first peformed live as an improvisation performance from Campfr France on RTM FM via live stream and was mixed for radio broadcast on BBC 6 Music feature in July and Radiophrenia in Sept 2026.