Below is a video that has a clip of the film we co-created and projected the length of the church with lullabies from across communities in Bristol.

Binaural Baby Prototype

As the lullabies project grew we moved into asking questions on how we could improve the recording of the lullabies

- how could we capture that immersive sound that the baby would experience the song in?

How could we make participants feels more comfortable about recording a personal emotional song especially if they were new to the recording process and non musicians?

How could we break down barriers to engagement?

After meeting Mike Large ( Real World Studios) as part of Roxana’s Expanded Performance Fellowship with Bristol and Bath R +D, and discussing Binaural sound, Roxana applied for a R + D fund from the Arts Council England, to record 5 binaural lullabies with a purpose built, prototype of a binaural baby.

We then created a large scale community performance at Trinity Community Centre. We collaborated with Squidsoup to create a Lullabies installation, we had local DJ’s re-mix the lullabies and have a family rave, we had a gallery of images of the community participants, sound design installations, and a big film projection. We took over the whole of the Trinity Centre, - one of the first events as we moved out of lockdown and it sold out completely and was a rip roaring success - some photos of the Lullabies Celebration Day by photographer Khali Akford

Here is a video where I explain more about the project and invite you to join a workshop

“Lullabies” celebrates the diversity of cultures that have come to call Bristol home.

I want to celebrate the incredible rich diversity of cultures in Bristol – there are over 90 different languages spoken here!  However, we are living in a time when that diversity is being threatened by divisive political rhetoric and race crimes are on the rise. I wanted to dream up a community-led artistic project that brings us together though a commonality of lullabies. I also knew I wanted it to be from the heart, emotional and moving – something that we can all connect with.

Why lullabies?

The idea for Lullabies came very instinctively. One night, after singing an Iranian song to send my son to sleep, I was looking out of my window and imagining how many others might be singing songs in different languages. I was curious to hear those songs and, equally, the stories behind the songs.  

I have been singing Iranian songs to my boys as lullabies since they were babies, and it is the one moment of the day when I feel this strong invisible thread connecting me back to my motherland and passing that heritage on to my children and evoking the landscapes of a country that as yet I can’t take them to visit.

  Through both my Associate Artist residency at Trinity and Research and Development funding from Arts Council England, Here and Now we are developing this project.   I recorded interviews and songs from communities across Bristol, including Somali, Kurdish, Irish, Israeli, Iranian, Hungarian, German and Afro-Cuban songs. As I gathered the material and had these rich conversations with people, I realised that this invitation to share a lullaby was becoming a deeper conversation about identity, parenting,  heritage and homeland. 

The sharing of these lullabies leads also to the sharing of the stories behind the songs and the various stories of heritage and migration to this city.

Lullabies team so far and ever growing!

AMAZING Communities from across Bristol and the UK who have come to workshops and shared their songs and stories ( you can listen to some of their voices below)

Creative producer Liz Counsell , Sound Designer Peter Vilk , coder Rebecca Saw, Binaural baby designer Aaron Hussain, Community Outreach Producer Abiir Omar Shirdoon

The photos below are from the workshops and then public sharing event we held at Trinity Centre and are taken by the brilliant photographer Alexa Ledecky and are copyright © Alexa Ledecky for Trinity Centre.

Behind the Scenes, the story of the creative process so far…

In 2020, the project was selected to be part of the Nationwide Here & Now project, celebrating 25 years of The National Lottery. Roxana continues to collect, record, and share lullabies from around the world, using them to find common ground between different communities and cultures.

Cambridge University Press included our Lullabies project in The British Journal of Music in an article called ‘Songs that live in the bones’

Images below are from our lullabies workshop in collaboration with Up our Street at Easton Community Centre. All images are are copyright © Alexa Ledecky for Trinity Centre.

For the audio recordings below copyright is © VILK COLLECTIVE - All rights of the recorded works reserved, unauthorised public performance and broadcasting prohibited.

AUDIENCE FEEDBACK FROM THE EARLY STAGES PUBLIC SHARING OF THE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE PIECE AT Trinity Community Arts Bristol

“ Very emotive sharing which spoke to everyone in the room in different ways and evoked memories and understanding, very powerful. Thank you”

“ I loved the way the visuals draw you into the spoken word, I also loved the individual stories and memories. I ‘d love to hear more stories and memories they were beautiful and  evocative.”

“ I adored the variety of visuals and their links to the elements. Also loved hearing voices from so many places. If possible seeing the faces of the voices / participants that would be lovely.” 

“ Belonging together for a moment through the lullabies of the displaced. Finding belonging, is not belonging.” 

“ So much love down the generations. Singing of fears and making them less. Can this project help more people learn these songs?” 

“ Melancholic, putting to sleep, story telling by song and singing, great to hear different languages and images” 

“ Multi-layered appeal to all ages, brilliant beginning with first lullabies heard in the womb. Nostalgic and evocative, so much potential for expanding in many directions. Loved the inclusion of male voices, not so commonly associated with lullabies. A great experience and great collaboration. Makes me love Bristol even more! “

“ Beautiful concept, stunning production, I want to see it again!”

“Loved the audio triggered visuals ( or edited to seem) - loved the starry bits especially.Loved hearing the stories along with the lullabies. More please!”

“ Beautiful songs, images, words and feelings. Thank you to all who shared. It has inspired me to explore my own heritage through song.” 

“ Loved scale of projections, scope for performance in front of the projection, i.e. Running baby! Lullabies - profound, healing, powerful opportunities.”

“would have loved to see words of the songs projected on the screen, less recorded voice and some projected text, audience closer to image. Some lovely images especially space and sea images.

“Loved the concept and authenticity,.”

“Brought up Feelings, memory, loss, happiness, grounding, honesty - universal....

Loved having kids around made it beautifully relaxed, comforting and accessible. 

Loved the mixture of recorded and live songs, loved the rickshaw.”

“ I liked the slow reveal of the moon, I liked the childhood, home, memories, belonging themes. I’d like to see more of the people/ characters.”

“Love the way it was put together, Felt connections through the voices. Love the stories people shared. We all connected through music.”

“ The notion of how we connect to home. Time layering of song live and recorded. Darkness. “ 

“ I loved the tactile sense of the film, it made me feel like I could feel the voices. I loved the variety of voices.” 

“ Loved hearing the lullabies, loved hearing the live music at the start and at the finish. Loved the interaction of small audience members! Going forward, more live singing and interaction alongside the film, thinking about who the performance is for, is it suitable for children? Is there a way you could build in people contributing their own lullabies and stories?


Below are some early in the process, behind the scenes images by ©Roxana Vilk of recording and collecting lullabies, meeting community members and getting inspired.