Four journeys, London to Cape Town
A journey of several years, led by sound, following migratory birds between Europe and Africa to listen to how the places they live shape their voices.
Wings
Learning in Europe, entering Africa.
Wings Across Continents, 2022–2024
We started the project as two brothers, Axel and Ario: where are migratory birds going? How do they do it? We decided to follow the migration from south of Europe to the north, as birds do when they migrate back to Europe.
We found hundreds of migratory birds and learnt how they migrate from the field experts and NGOs we met through our partners, the Migratory Birds for People initiative and BirdLife International.
The birds took us to meet people. We engaged with over 1,000 people with headsets and loudspeakers: immersive documentaries made on the spot in every country.
Countries
Spain, Portugal, France, Germany, Italy, UK; then Morocco, Mauritania, Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea-Conakry, Sierra Leone
On the road
Axel and Ario, in two cars
We made
VR and spatial audio experiences, on the spot, in every country
Two brothers, two cars
Axel with the microphones, Ario with the camera: two brothers in two cars, following the birds along the flyway. His photographs show what we were listening to.
Ario's photographs
Year by year
Who was on the road, where we set up the installations, and the moments along the way. Scroll sideways.
Sounds
Deeper into Africa, local stories leading the path.
Sounds Across Continents, 2024–2025
Axel proceeded on his own, taking the loudspeaker system and focusing on the stories about birds told by local communities. It's always teamwork, with Ed Dingli joining Axel in Liberia and Ghana helping with illustration and documentation.
We found migratory birds and resident ones alike. On coastal shores, in the Sahelian savannah or in tropical rainforests, birds never ceased to surprise us. Elusive birds, incredible wildlife and local beliefs all intertwined into an expedition like no other.
The birds this time brought us closer to remote villages, where we made narrative, radio-documentary style spatial audio documentaries with local farmers, hunters and ornithologists, closer to the first idea: birds as messengers between cultures on different continents.
Countries
Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria
On the road
Axel, with Ed Dingli in Liberia and Ghana
We made
Radio-documentary style spatial audio stories
The birds
Whimbrel, Common Tern, Common Nightingale, African Golden Oriole, Common Reed Warbler, House Martin, Lesser Kestrel
Listen: the story we created and shared in Sierra Leone
Music
People and birds are the same soundscape.
Music Across Continents, 2025–2026
The focus is still the same; the way we told it evolved. Since Wings Across Continents, Axel found a way to create electronic music with the birds being the lead singers. He kept working on it during the other expeditions and this was the time to use it. Music connects us all, the medium where words are not needed, feelings are the drivers.
Some of the most challenging environments: the Congolese jungle and the Namib desert, they never stop surprising. Gorillas hanging out with Common Swifts, Sandwich Terns being hunted by Brown Hyenas in the middle of nowhere. This time, young people and creative communities were the focus.
In small and large cities we played live, making music with the living world: the local migratory birds as lead singers, alongside grooves and rhythms from the community itself.
The expedition stopped in Angola in February 2026, when Axel fell ill.
Countries
Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola
On the road
Axel, with Paolo (Axel's dad) for Angola
We made
Music and live sets with the birds as lead singers
The birds
Eurasian Golden Oriole, European Roller, Eurasian Hobby, Green Sandpiper, Eurasian Curlew, Willow Warbler, Common Swift
Live at The Forest Creative Loft, Cameroon
What’s next?
Wonder, live in London
Thursday 19 November 2026, Polygon Portal, Soho. Drinks from 7pm, show at 8pm. A small room: book early.
Wonder Across Continents
The last stretch · 2027 · Angola · Namibia · Botswana · South Africa, to Cape Town
In February 2026 malaria and dengue stopped Axel in Angola, just before one of the great crossroads of migration. Down there, flyways meet: birds from other continents share the sky, alongside some of the most extraordinary cultures and wildlife on Earth.
We’re going back to finish the journey. Through Namibia’s Zambezi Region, the former Caprivi Strip, into Botswana’s Okavango Delta, and down the full length of South Africa to Cape Town.
Which birds will we find? What stories will they lead us to?