Lowlines

Trailer

00 |Starting Line: Petra in London

Where are you right now? If you were asked to recall the details of the ground you just walked on - the way it felt beneath your feet…the smell…  the sounds, the faces of the people you passed - could you do it? It’s possible you’re drawing a blank…and if that’s the case, you’ve come to the right place.I’m Petra Barran – a gatherer of people and food on the kerbs of London. I began as a food truck owner, cruising the UK, selling chocolate to any and everyone - and grew a whole multi-pronged street food organisation from there. But as my business took off and gave way to more and more meetings in glass buildings, the energy and genuine, spontaneous human connection that I thrived on started to fade away.I had this powerful urge to get…lower. To move down from my scrambled head and plant my feet back on the ground. So I stepped away from the business, packed up my stuff, bought a recorder and decided to let myself be pulled deep into magnetic places and meet those whose lives are shaped by them.No planning, no agenda and no neat conclusions. Just me, following and sharing threads, that are lower and closer to the ground. I call them Lowlines.To go deeper into Lowlines: low-lines.comProduced by Lucia Scazzocchio of Social Broadcasts, Executive-Produced by Lina Prestwood of Scenery StudiosPrologue Production and Sound Design by Lina PrestwoodMusic by Hannah Marshall

01 |Second Line: Footwork in New Orleans

New Orleans - the most human city I know has to be the first stop on my pull to tune into the pulse of place. It’s the most magnetic of places. Here it feels like the air is thicker, the light has currents in it and the ground is …bouncy. And bubbling up from those streets is the second line, a rolling block party, a neighbourhood parade, a high-voltage current coursing through the city’s veins every Sunday with music, community, freedom and culture. For many Black New Orleanians it’s the day when you own the streets, so you better bring that FOOTWORKWe kick off the series with me getting my feet back on the ground at the Ole & Nu Style Fellas parade in the 6th Ward. Then we step off the sidewalk to go find the wonderful Jarrad DeGruy, whose footwork is unmatched, and whose spirit behind it is key to understanding the relationship between the second liners of New Orleans and the ground upon which they dance.CreditsFeaturing the voices of  Jared DeGruy, and AJ, Keisha, Paula, Joe, Stanley, Ducky, Harold, Tana, Herman, Charles at the Ole & Nu Style Fellas Social Aid & Pleasure Club paradeProduced by Lucia Scazzocchio of Social Broadcasts, Executive-Produced by Lina Prestwood of Scenery Studios, Mixing & Mastering: Jobina TinnemansMusic by Hannah Marshall with featured live music from Da Truth Brass BandTo go deeper into this episode head to low-lines.com

02 |Floodlines: Downriver to Plaquemines Parish

Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana - bottom of the map, end of the world and one of the ‘fastest disappearing places on earth’. Once fertile farmland, the bird’s foot-like piece of land that stretches south from New Orleans is fraying and breaking away under the pressure of industrial canal systems, rising sea levels and a leveed Mississippi river, divorced from building up the land around her with all that rich sediment she carries. Something needs to be done - and fast - but for the communities of people who have been woven into this landscape for generations, it’s not a simple fix.In Episode 2 I meet up with passionate ecologist, Dave Baker under the shade of an ancient oak tree in New Orleans’ City Park to get the lowdown on the urgency of this local land loss. He’s terrified for the area, but what about those who are on the front line of it? I wanted to get onto the ground, so off we go down to the ‘end of the world’ to meet people who are watching it play out in real time.There are no neat tie-ups here, just a simmering sigh of foreboding and a hell of a lot of heart. Love you, Louisiana.CreditsFeaturing the voices of Dave Baker, Barbara at The Lighthouse Lodge, Mitch in his truck, Wade Pitre in his John Deere buggy, the Army Corps of Engineers guys up on the levy and Justine DeMolle at Changes RestaurantProduced by Lucia Scazzocchio of Social Broadcasts, Executive-Produced by Lina Prestwood of Scenery Studios, Mixing & Mastering: Jobina TinnemansMusic by Hannah Marshall To go deeper into this episode head to low-lines.com - including a BONUS EPISODE of the full conversation with Dave Baker.

03 |Trainline: Slow Train to Tucson

The Sunset Limited, Westbound - Fly or take the Amtrak? The journey or the destination? Taking the slow train to Tucson just felt right. You know when your whole body craves a more gentle, almost human tempo to carry you onto the next place? So, whilst keen to get to the wide open desert, the opportunity to stretch out the journey, savour the changing landscape through Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona, and have time to meet my fellow passengers was too much of a pull.  In Episode 3 we follow the lowlines of the train tracks and the hiss, groan and gentle gyrations of the 36 hour journey as I talk off-grid living, denture cream woes, magic mushrooms and marrying the same man three times with a raft of fellow travellers - all while trying to get a decent bite to eat and a bit of shut eye.CreditsFeaturing the voices of the King Brothers (Matt, Lenny, Lee and Bobby), Maria-Luisa Aguilar, Meredith, Brad, Konnor Broussard, the burrito lady on the platform in El Paso, Jackie in the cafeteria and Dwayne the conductorProduced by Lucia Scazzocchio of Social Broadcasts, Executive-Produced by Lina Prestwood of Scenery Studios, Mixing & Mastering: Jobina TinnemansMusic by Hannah Marshall with featured music via YouTube courtesy of Ry Cooder and Bobby KingTo go deeper into this episode head to low-lines.com