SPACE

by Lena von Holt

I don’t usually sing. But since I started hearing people sing everywhere, I felt challenged to sing, too. So I tried, again.

THE ECCO

A time and place to playfully explore the world of narrative audio, documentary work & storytelling through sound

"THE ECCO" is an international non-commercial initiative designed to tug at the boundaries of the world of audio storytelling, journalism, and documentary work. We bring together talents in different parts of the world — journalists, sound designers, audio producers, sound artists, & writers— all united by a common goal: to push themselves and each other out of their work-related comfort zones and explore the different shapes audio documentaries can take, where they may intersect with art and what the impact of such playful exploration can have.

THE ECCO presents its very first cohort! 

We've gathered a group of 13 talented audio documentarians – reporters who have crafted audio stories, podcasts, long and short form features. They all have some ties to Berlin and came together for one long weekend in March 2024 to workshop their ECCO-ideas, learn from each other, and connect.

It takes a whole team to make an audio piece. That's why, some people from the cohort created pieces that were showcased and published, others refined ideas they had and contributed to other people's pieces, or they just wrote a script about an idea they've been toying with, or they just started thinking about a project they want to realize in the future.  Some folks were REALLY involved in the peer review process and others supported with mixing and mastering. Every member of the cohort contributed to the success of this first round. 

They are the pioneers of THE ECCO, the very first cohort. They all wanted to know: What happens if you take commerce out of the equation and you dare to playfully explore the medium of audio? And what happens if the thing you've been wanting to make can actually be made? 

Their work was showcased at the first-ever ECCO Sessions event, on May 31st in Berlin.