ReOceaning
by Coco Francavilla
Re-Oceaning is a call to reconnect with the Ocean through sound, memory, and deep listening.
Inspired by the idea that water is our first sensory memory, Re-Oceaning invites us to listen back, to reawaken our connection to the Ocean, and to remember that we are not separate from it. We all come from the water. It holds our earliest rhythm, our first breath. We are shaped by it, sustained by it, and responsible for protecting it.
ReOceaning
by Coco Francavilla
Re-Oceaning is a vision—a call to reconnect with the Ocean through sound, memory, and deep listening.
Inspired by the idea that water is our first sensory memory, Re-Oceaning invites us to listen back, to reawaken our connection to the Ocean, and to remember that we are not separate from it. We all come from the water. It holds our earliest rhythm, our first breath. We are shaped by it, sustained by it, and responsible for protecting it.
This vision was first introduced by Coco Francavilla, composer, sound engineer, and founder of the Ibiza-based NGO Music For The Sea, during her TED Talk and live performance at TEDxIbiza2025. Drawing on her background in electronic music and her deep personal bond with the sea, Coco uses sound as a tool for Ocean Literacy, public engagement, and emotional awareness—contributing to Challenge 10 of the United Nations Ocean Decade: “Restore humanity’s relationship with the Ocean.”
At the heart of this work is a guiding question:
Can sound help us protect the Ocean?
Re-Oceaning suggests that by inviting people into immersive listening experiences, we can spark deeper connection and inspire new ways of caring for marine life and ecosystems.
As a live act of Re-Oceaning, Coco presents a contemplative audiovisual performance that merges original ambient music with underwater soundscapes recorded in collaboration with marine scientists. Delivered through wireless headphones, the experience offers an intimate, focused environment to explore the Ocean’s acoustic life—while raising awareness about urgent marine issues like underwater noise pollution, ecosystem degradation, and climate resilience.
This performance is rooted in Posidonia Soundscapes, a transdisciplinary project led by Music For The Sea in collaboration with the University of Cádiz – INMAR Institute of Marine Research, Vellmarí Association, Tursiops, MUTEK, and the Ocean Decade–endorsed Actions Ocean World of Sound and Women From the Sea. The initiative uses Passive Acoustic Monitoring (PAM) to study the soundscapes of Posidonia oceanica—an ancient Mediterranean seagrass species essential for carbon sequestration, biodiversity, and coastal protection.
Despite their ecological importance, Posidonia meadows are increasingly under threat from anchoring, pollution, and rising sea temperatures. Acoustic research provides real-time insight into the health of these ecosystems, while transforming this data into music creates an emotional bridge—making science accessible, engaging, and shared.
By weaving together scientific knowledge and artistic expression, Re-Oceaning—through initiatives like Posidonia Soundscapes—contributes to the Ocean Decade’s vision of co-designed, transformative ocean knowledge systems. It offers a new way to engage with marine conservation—through creativity, connection, and a sense of collective
Artists & Scientists
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COCO FRANCAVILLA
COMPOSER
For me, the Ocean is memory, origin, and return.
It carries the first sound before language, the pulse before thought, the water we come from and still carry within us. In its depths, I hear something ancient and familiar, a resonance close to the womb: a place of immersion, safety, and belonging. The Ocean is not only a place beyond the shore. It moves through our bodies, our breath, and the invisible currents between us.
Through sound, I try to return to that space: to the hidden frequencies beneath the surface, to the living waters that hold our shared memory, and to the deep blue presence that reminds us we are never separate from the sea.To listen to the Ocean is to remember where we come from, and what connects us all. -
NEUS PEREZ
UNDERWATER ACOUSTIC RESEARCHER
As an underwater acoustics researcher, my work consists of listening to the ocean and understanding marine ecosystems through their sounds. For this project, I contributed to the design of the acoustic deployments, fieldwork for data collection, and the analysis of underwater soundscapes recorded in Posidonia oceanica meadows
The ocean has always been a source of curiosity and wonder for me. Through listening, I have discovered that the sea is not a silent space, but a world full of voices, rhythms, and invisible relationships. Sharing these sounds with artists allows me to connect science with emotion and bring the hidden beauty of the ocean closer to other people.
