An intimate tale of bird-human interdependence.

Eider ducks probably nested on Æðey - a small island in the Icelandic Westfjords - long before the first settlers arrived. And when the settlers arrived, the birds continued to nest there.

There is one house on the island and, with spring, an extended family of eider farmers gathers from all over Iceland for an annual ritual. The farmers tend to the eider ducks, offering them protection in exchange for a harvest of precious feathers. Acclaimed Danish feature-maker Rikke Houd captures a day - and a centuries old tradition - on Æðey.

First broadcast 8th March 2022, BBC Radio 4
Presented and produced by Rikke Houd
With specially composed music by Sóley Stefánsdóttir

Eider Island

During a residency at Full of Noises (Barrow-in-Furness) in September 2021, I built a series of antennas to pick up the Earth’s natural static. In this piece, I use Dan Tapper’s recipe for a hoop antenna and listen for lightning and atmospheric disturbances around Cumbria. This project was support by a DYCP grant from Arts Council England.

Searching for Sferics

Mario at the window

This comes from a groovy, slow-funk spy-thriller track— Fender telecaster and jazz bass, tenor sax, drums, synths, and percussion — originally written for a producer’s call that never made it through.

For this week’s challenge, I decided to destroy it.I kept just a few fragments — scattered guitar and bass phrases, some sax phrases— and rebuilt the track with ambient layers and unsettling textures from soft-synths fittingly called Thrill and Spooky Keys.And some distorted arpeggaitors barely heard.

What took a couple of days to construct only took two hours to tear down.I like the result: a dark, cinematic mood somewhere between spy funk and ambient noir.

Sax by Miguel Yanover
Photo by Stefano Pollio
The rest by me.

Project:
https://llllllll.co/t/disquiet-junto-project-0722-spook-street/

@disquiet

Spooky Spy - disquiet0722

Humourous and tender, this documentary takes a long-haul view of the life of modern truckers in Europe - exploring working class masculinity on the road, all nighters and long journeys from the inside of a truck driver's cab.

What does it mean to be a trucker in an era shaped by global events like pandemics and geopolitical crises? Where drivers often find themselves on the frontlines of change?

We follow these modern nomads across borders, exploring themes of in(ter)dependence, home, and the evolving identity of truckers within the European landscape.

First broadcast 30th October 2025, BBC World Service
Produced by Suvi Tuuli Kataja

The Last Cowboys

Saxophonist Pauli Lyytinen travels to Sápmi, to Ohcejohka (Utsjoki), the northernmost municipality of Finland and the European Union, to visit his friend, writer–musician Niillas Holmberg. The two artists go rowing in the river, improvise under the Sámi bridge, and make music with birds. Along the way, with researcher Karoliina Lummaa, they confront questions of understanding: do the birds understand them—or do they understand the birds? And does it even matter?

Sound design and field recording: Suvi Tuuli Kataja and Jussi Liukkonen
Script consultant: Elli Salo
Background research: Roosa Stenroos
Music: Niillas Holmberg and Pauli Lyytinen
Poem (in Northern Sámi and English translation): Niillas Holmberg
Production manager: Pinja Korhonen

First broadcast 2nd November 2025, BBC Radio 3
Produced by Suvi Tuuli Kataja

Ohcejohka - Saxophone, Joik and Birds

This mixtape, curated by Anton Anishchanka, explores the sounds and music Belarus. It includes archival recordings of traditional singing, whose meanings convey the hardships of people’s lives. The mixtape opens with recordings of a village yard and the sounds of chickens — an element of traditional farming — which gradually transitions into a lullaby and beyond. You will hear women’s songs about love and loss and leaving one’s family after marriage, work songs, springtime songs, and other pieces from the calendar cycle. The selection also features a field recording of the sound installation "SAD Orchestra" — an experimental project dedicated to three important figures of independent Belarusian art. There are field recordings that were made in various parts of Belarus, capturing the purity and beauty of Belarusian nature and church bells recorded in the village of Raubich. 

TRACKLIST 1 - Anton Anishchanka - Kury 2 - Zinaida Majeiko archive - performer unspecified 3 - Anton Anishchanka - SAD Orchestra 4 - Hanna Silivonchyk - viasna 5 - Anton Anishchanka - Biełaja carkva 6 - Klukach Nadejdą - u sienokos (Zinaida Mažejka archive) 7 - Anton Anishchanka - the stream 8 - Nadziežda - Leta (Zinaida Mažejka archive) 9 - Anton Anishchanka - dawn chorus 10 - Unspecified performer - źviary 11 -Anton Anishchanka - Vyhanaščany 12 - Zinaida Mažejka recording - krapivuška (performer unspecified) 13 - Anton Anishchanka - birds tower 14 - Zinaida Mažejka archive - papańka rodnieńki (performer unspecified) 15 - Anton Anishchanka - Prypiać 16 - Anastasija Repetueva - ciomna nočka 17 - Anton Anishchanka - the island 18 - Taćciana Jankaviec - (recorded by Hanna Silivonchyk)


Shatkavalka - Belarus (#0003)

A compilation of Sika deer tri-whistle calls, recorded in County Leitrim during the rutting season (September to November). These were recorded using unattended AudioMoths, hence the distant and quite noisy quality. Worth noting that despite its name, the last example is composed of 4 calls, then again the call is shorter/faster than the 'proper' tri-whistles.

"Sika deer originate from Japan, These were introduced by Lord Powerscourt in 1860. A few years later some were moved from Powerscourt (Co. Wicklow) to enclosed parks in Fermanagh, Kerry, Limerick, Down and Monaghan. The present wild deer herds mostly originated as escapees from these parks in the early 20th century." (Irish Deer Commission, 2022)

Species: Sika deer (Cervus nippon)
Date and time of recording: 6 October 2021, 4pm
Location: County Leitrim, Ireland
Habitat: Forestry plantation
Gear: Open Acoustic Devices AudioMoth mixed with Sennheiser Mid-Side setup for background ambience
Picture: Ashtonpfaffen (Wikimedia Commons CC3.0)

Recorded for the Arney Aquatic Acoustics EU Interreg project.

Sika Deer Tri-Whistle (Medley)

My contribution to the upcoming November group recital of super-prof Pablo Estigarribia's piano students. I couldn't film myself, so I enlisted some illustrious collaborators. That final code is... Dr. House, playing to revive a patient!

Schumann's "About Foreign Lands and Peoples" from Kinderszenen

A bunch of frogs right after a thunderstorm 

Really loud frogs in Todd River

For Caroline Bird, writing poetry has always occurred in 'seasons.' 'I'll have a year or two of frantic writing, where every billboard, every conversation, sparks a magpie thirst in me and the words just seem to connect and spark off each other. And then it will disappear. Suddenly, overnight...'

In this documentary, Caroline Bird seeks out the company of other poets to explore these anxious silences, where it feels as if words have abandoned you. She speaks with Marie Howe, Vanessa Kisuule, Liz Berry, Oliver Carmichael, Jack Underwood and Hannah Copley.

Original music composed by Phil Smith

First broadcast 9th November 2025, BBC Radio 3
Produced by Eleanor McDowall

When the Words Leave

new audio storyteller using this space for growth; sharing doodles, shorts, class assignments, challenge submissions, pieces of WIPs; listening for inspo (up next: https://batteryradio.weebly.com/archives.html)

Mario at the window

Lynn