CREEK SPEAK
What if music wasn’t something you pressed play on, but something you stepped into?
WORDS BROOKE GIBBS
IMAGE BRITT GUY
THE ANSWER IS already unfolding, as part of Landcare’s Creek Connections Program. Here, sound doesn’t come from speakers or stages, but from the world itself, with the soft rush of water weaving through the creek, the layered chorus of birds overhead, and the crunch of footsteps along the bush track. It's the kind of music we’re constantly surrounded by, yet rarely take the time to truly hear.
Weaving together sound, field recordings and story to explore the rhythms and atmospheres of our waterways, Deep Listening by the Creek invites you to slow down and tune into these often-overlooked soundscapes. The gathering offers a chance to reconnect with the natural rhythms of the waterways and the environment around us. It’s less about performance and more about presence, noticing, listening and letting the landscape guide the experience.
Curated and performed by Kuya James (James Mangohig), an ARIA-nominated artist, this gathering offers a gentle space to slow down, tune in, and reconnect with the natural world. As the light softens into the evening, you’re invited to sit, lie down, draw, write, meditate, or simply be guided by a carefully curated soundscape.
Mangohig felt inspired after some trips down to the creek to record some atmosphere.
“There was just something really powerful about just sitting next to the creek as a backdrop to other things. And I was like, I wonder what it’d be like to do a deep listening,” Mangohig says.
“The creek and nature plays another dimension to what I’m playing as far as my curation of soundscape goes.”
The birds and water foreground this deep listening experience and one thing Mangohig has noticed is that even when you hear planes or construction work, it’s backgrounding
“The Wet season has only just finished, so the water is still f lowing and you get this beautiful, natural water rhythm,” says Mangohig.
“It’s obviously a sound that humans do relax with because some people put on these kinds of six-to-eight-hour YouTube videos of just water flowing. So, I think people will enjoy how it’s almost like I’m DJing with the creek.”
Surrounded by other artists who draw inspiration from the Territory’s nature, Mangohig says he wants the music he plays in these environments not to be harsh.
“It’s almost like I try to be inspired by the environment and think about what music I would make,” he says.
“I was down there yesterday afternoon and I was really thinking about how peaceful it is, so I think I want to kind of enhance that rather than try and fight against it.”
Whether you’re someone deeply connected to music or simply looking for a different way to spend an evening outdoors, this is an invitation to engage your senses in a new way.
You might just discover that music has been around you this whole time.
Deep Listening by the Creek
WHEN SUN 14 JUN | 5.30-7.30PM
AT LUDMILLA CREEK
COST $5
INFO creekconnections.org
