Sitting on the bus. Walking down the street. Running along the canal. Waiting in traffic.\u00a0We spend a lot of time moving (or not moving) through the city.\u00a0With our earbuds in, our movement through the city is often accompanied by our own unpremeditated\u00a0but ever-present personal soundtrack.\u00a0The connection between the city streets and music has a rich history. The city has rhythm that is hard to\u00a0deny. Though most of us take it for granted as background noise, it can be generative and inspirational.<\/p>\n
Few of us get to make it their job to think about how the city and music play off each other and how to get them working together. Kwende Kefentse\u00a0gets to tackle that question daily as a Cultural Planner for the City of Ottawa and continues to do so after 9-to-5. He is perhaps more commonly known around Ottawa\u00a0as DJ Memetic, one of the music producers, promoters, and DJs behind Timekode<\/a> and other projects around town.<\/p>\n We Skyped last month to talk about music, the city, and his Rideau2Richmond project.<\/p>\n Diving right into the big question about the connection between music and the city, Kefentse replied: “Music starts at home, right. Wherever you’re at, there’s a relationship between sound, between expressing yourself with sound, and that place.”<\/em> He continued,\u00a0“the way music animates all of our experiences as we move through cities is really, really relevant. I think the whole concept of sound-tracking a life or a path, rings of an urban experience. . . and I don’t know. . . maybe that’s enough.”<\/em><\/p>\n Sound-tracking the urban experience is the concept\u00a0behind Rideau2Richmond, a 28-track album released earlier this year. Partly inspired by and partly documenting the (infamous) OCTranspo #2 bus route<\/a>, the project\u00a0started as a commission\u00a0by the local technologically-based artist organization Artengine<\/a>. The project grew from there when Kefentse shared the tracks with his friend and local artist Colin White who suggested filming the accompanying video.<\/p>\n
![#2 bus route<\/a>, the project\u00a0started as a commission\u00a0by the local technologically-based artist organization](\"http:\/\/www.octranspo1.com\/images\/files\/routes\/002map.gif\"){kind=link}