Will you remember Lovholmen?

We often don’t just hear sounds, but feel them. From the warmth of a grandmother’s lullaby to the hum of traffic in the city you grew up in, sounds become part of our experience, shaping memories. In a world that’s constantly changing, preserving these sounds is as important as remembering the places themselves. They live in a collective memory, creating a sonic archive of communities, cultures, and traditions. These soundscapes serve as a historical record, helping future generations connect with the past.

Sound is elusive, beginning as vibrations in the air or other materials, which our ears convert into signals sent to the brain. But when does sound become “sound”? Is it just physical vibration, or does it exist as a mental experience in our minds?

Lövholmen is on the brink of transformation. The industrial sounds that once filled the area are fading as the neighborhood shifts from production to mainly housing. As the area awaits revitalization, some sounds—old factories, busy streets—are slipping away. The changes to the landscape will inevitably alter its soundscape. By archiving these sounds, we preserve the essence of the place at this moment, capturing the auditory history of a space on the edge of change.

Archiving sound isn’t just about recording noise. It’s about capturing the full sensory experience—through memory, technology, or language. While sound can’t be stored like written records or images, we can hold it in our minds or describe it through stories and words, sharing its texture and atmosphere.

Echoic memory, a brief, sensory memory for sounds, lasts about 4 seconds. If the sound is important, it moves to short-term memory and may eventually become a part of long-term memory. The more you replay it, the more likely it is to stay with you.

Some say the future of memory will be auditory, not visual. So listen closely, replay those sounds, and let them settle into your long-term memory. Will Lövholmen’s industrial past, or the natural sounds now reclaiming the space, become part of a collective identity passed down through stories and shared experiences?

Excerpt from “PUBLIC RETREAT RADIO: Fire” – Live broadcast from Färgfabriken on radiOrakel, October 2024