Description:
Hitza Basa is a multidisciplinary project and sound research initiative published by Audiolab in 2020. This collective work was conceived and coordinated by sound artists and researchers Xabier Erkizia and Luca Rullo.
The physical format of the project consists of a hardcover book printed in black and white, which is accompanied by a separate audio CD that contains a total of 18 tracks.
The essay section of the volume features two extensive research essays written by historian Hillel Schwartz and independent artist Ainara LeGardon. These texts are complemented by analytical writings by the coordinators themselves, Xabier Erkizia and Luca Rullo.
The work’s central theme explores sound, listening, and the legacy of oral transmission from an anthropological and acoustic perspective. The field recordings compiled by the authors serve as a sound archive that seeks to recover the wild, the hidden, and the forgotten within human language. In this way, the project invites the listener and reader to reflect on the physical and political dimensions of the word.
Sound recordings: Xabier Erkizia, Luca Rullo, Iñigo Telletxea, León Azoulay
Texts: Xabier Erkizia, Luca Rullo, Ainara LeGardon, Hillel Schwartz
Translations: Paula Martín Ponz, Xabier Erkizia
Design: Sonia Ciriza, Miguel Ayesa
Publication funded by the Department of Education, Language Policy, and Culture of the Basque Government.