Manchester premiere for new work ‘The people of’

eQuarantine’s new audio piece ‘The people of’ will premiere in Manchester on 26 August along Northmoor Road in Longsight.

The people of is an audio walk that creates a fleeting portrait of an ordinary high street. Taking you along well-trodden route, past the bus stop, the greengrocer, the barber’s and kebab shop, it maps the voices, stories and daily routines of Northmoor Road against a sonic landscape of found and composed sound.

We first made The people of in Engelskirchen, Germany, last September, and we’re delighted to now be making it in our home city. We’re currently in residence at Northmoor Community Association, meeting people and recording interviews.

The work is being led by Quarantine ensemble members Kate Daley and Sarah Hunter, working closely with our ensemble associate Chi Emecheta and Manchester sound artist Jaydev Mistry. It’s made through interviews and encounters with the people who live and work in the area and local translator Rafia Batool is helping us to conduct interviews in Urdu. The walk will feature both spoken English and Urdu (with written translations).

The people of originates from a fascination with how we live together – how our daily lives depend on, and collide with, those we don’t really know. It speaks to the forces that shape our daily routines, how identity and a sense of place is formed and renegotiated, and the invisible lines that guide how we navigate public space.

We’re developing a bespoke app for the project. The app will guide you along the route, triggering the audio as you walk. We hope to make many more versions of The people of in the future – on other streets in towns and villages in the UK and beyond…

The people of is part of our 3-year ‘Locating the Commonplace’ programme, generously supported by The Rank Foundation. This version in Longsight is supported by Great Places Housing Group, Northmoor Community Association and The Granada Foundation. The people of was first made in September 2020 in Engelskirchen, Germany, for the festival ‘Nach dem Beaufsichtigen der Maschinen’ led by LVR-Industriemuseum & NRW KULTURsekretariat, curated by Florian Malzacher. 

The people of

Free & unticketed
Available from 26 August 2021

Download the app to begin your journey: thepeopleof.app

Handsets are available to borrow until Sunday 12 September – booking required via thepeopleof.app

Photos by Kate Daley