This augmented reality, locative sound project aims to get you out and about, exploring the areas around the waterways of Providence RI, using this app. You will be able to listen to and contribute to a growing body of place-based audio addressing the histories, sounds and stories connected to this city’s water. We call this an “augmented reality audio map” since the app allows you to augment what you hear at a particular location in Providence with whatever pre-recorded audio that the participating artists, or other visitors, have left there for you to find.

How It Works:
The project takes a multi-layered approach to providing you with a rich, on-site experience. When you arrive on location, start the Tidal Resonance app and put on your headphones; you’ll immediately be immersed in a layered soundscape. As you move through the physical world around you, you’ll also be moving through a sonic world that is overlaid on top of it. Within that world, certain sounds play in wide areas, and others are tied to specific points, marked by pins on your map. You’ll be able to walk towards these pins and trigger them, and even record and add new sounds yourself, adding your own stories, music, or ambiance connected to the waterways of Providence.

Our team:
The soundscapes available through this app have been composed and designed by our Sound Journeys team: Nadav Assor and Jake Sokolov-Gonzalez. They feature work by a group of artists, poets, musicians, and writers curated by Shey Rivera Ríos and Seth Tourjee. View the list of participating artists and the full Providence Waterways program on our website, pvdwaterways.org. The Tidal Resonance app is powered by Roundware, an open-source, contributory augmented reality audio platform.