Sounds of the Chicago River sample pack

Shikaakwa Zibi nônwek

Listen, Download, and Submit your remixed beats here

Submit by December 1, 2025 to enter to win a river prize pack

Friends of the Chicago River is excited to co-launch the Sounds of the Chicago-Calumet River sample pack in collaboration with Solidarity Studios and Planet Chambo - nature’s record label. This sample pack features sound clips of the wildlife and waters of our rivers. We invite musicians, artists, and anyone inspired by these river beats to mix the sounds into their own unique pieces. The project aims to celebrate the river as a vibrant, living habitat; to increase public engagement; and to build community connection through music production and sampling. 

As part of Friends’ River Shallows Project funded by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s National Coastal Resilience Fund, Solidarity Studios engaged the public with their beats of the river at Kickapoo Woods Forest Preserve in Riverdale during Chicago River Day on May 10, 2025, Friends’ annual cleanup and stewardship day that galvanized 2,800 volunteers at 92 sites. The Shallows Project focuses on installing native plants in the riverbanks to improve habitat for animals, stabilize shorelines against erosion, and build climate change resilience for our rivers and communities. 

To highlight the Shallows project and connect people with the Chicago-Calumet River system in a unique way, Solidarity Studios pulled animal noises of wildlife that would benefit from the project, recorded various water motion sounds from the river, and mixed water sounds into beats. Solidarity Studios, a grass roots record label that gives marginalized communities the tools and resources they need to tell their story through music technologies and hip-hop, is working closely with Creative Capitol, to kick off this initiative and recruit local artists in the Chicago area to get involved. 

Get Involved

Click here to listen and get immersed in the Sounds of the Chicago-Calumet River system. Those artists and producers inspired to mix their own river beats can download the sample pack and use this submission platform to upload their creative works. Submissions uploaded by December 1, 2025 will be entered to win a river prize pack and an opportunity to showcase your production at the Friends’ Chicago River Student Congress in February. Panelists will prioritize productions that center healing, wellness, and meditative qualities. However, all genres and styles of music and audio production are welcome!