Inverness to Edinburgh - Sonic Memories and Geographies is a series of recordings taken on a 200 mile journey by bike across Scotland, traveling over hills and wild camping. The real and imaginary space of the recordings is explored through presenting the original unaltered field recordings (Geographies) combined with sound compositions based on imagination and memory (Memories). 

The locations in the recordings are (in chronological order);

Loch Ness - Recordings taken from in and around the Loch using a combination of binaural microphones and hydrophones. The composed piece focuses on the resonance of the water - processing and rearranging the audio to reflect this.

Invernahavon - Contact mics were placed on the branches of a tree, picking up the ferocious wind as it interacted with the tree. The composition creates a hyper-real version of this, focusing on the tonality produced by the interaction between wind and tree, morphing the short impulse sounds into pitched material.   

Pitlochry Botanic Garden - The recording focuses on a wooden set of wind chimes. These were played in a performative manner to highlight the range of sounds possible. The core of the composition is the manipulation of a short melody written at the site, this is combined with the morphed sound of the wind chimes.   

Pitlochry Suspension Bridge - Explores the interior resonance of the Pitlochry suspension bridge by placing contact mics on the bridge itself. The composition enhances the lower frequencies of the bridge and slowly morphs them into tonal drones - reflecting on how I imagine the bridge to experience sound running through it.   

Edinburgh - Features the sounds of three different places, relating to the city's size in comparison to the other locations I visited. These locations are: the washing machine in the campsite (much needed after the long bike ride), an installation with running water at the Royal Scottish Academy and creaking floorboards in the Edinburgh museum. The composition focuses on the creaking floorboards in the Edinburgh Museum. A specific feedback system using a series of single sample delays was created for this, reflecting on the history of the place and how it constantly loops back to its own history through the displays. 

The original field recordings and memory compositions can be heard separately at Cities and Memory http://citiesandmemory.com/2014/05/searching-for-monstrous-sounds-in-loch-ness/ 


Inverness To Edinburgh: Sonic Memories and Geographies

Some Call it Noise is a documentary looking at the sounds, artist's and experts working with Very Low Frequency (VLF) sound. It presents these works and interviews layered together as a stream of consciousness sound work which can be experienced on multiple levels. It has also been presented in installation form as a quadraphonic sound work.

The artists, experts and works featured are:

Patrick Sykes, Sunsong: Featuring: Dr Simon Foster,  Stephen McGreevy,  Dan Tapper
  
Nasa Sound Archive: Various sounds of space radio and radio transmission taken from the NASA archive including audio from Kepler, Saturn, HASP and test transmissions 

Dan Tapper, various electromagnetic recordings of objects: Various sounds recorded electromagnetically of household objects including routers, mobile telephones and televisions 

Semiconductor - 20Hz 

Joyce Hinterding - Spectral, Antiopic

 Alvin Lucier - Sferics, Lovely Music

Dan Tapper - Changing Signals

Dan Tapper - Recording The Spirit Level 

Dan Tapper - Close Lightning Spherics

Honor Harger - A History of the Universe in Sound, TED

Some Call It Noise

A poetic sanctuary within the mind. ‘The Brain Garden’ is the place we cultivate memories and try to understand our experiences. Stuart Russell delves deep to explore his own internal landscape, from pre-existence to the fear of death.

Produced by Stuart Russell in association with Eyebrow Media.
'Silver' winner at the New York Radio Awards 2018. 

Warning: This programme contains sensitive themes that listeners may find distressing.

The Brain Garden

A short demo of the 'Drawing in the Dark' project.

Visual artist Stephanie Smith discusses her process of skin-mapping, and explores the sound textures of charcoal on canvas.

Produced by Jay Sykes as a Soundscape production for BBC Radio 4.

Drawing In The Dark - BBC Radio 4, December 2018 (extract)

"The Wound in Time", written by the Poet Laurette Carol Ann Duffy, and read by 24 members of Sunderland's community, young and old.

The poetry was played on headphones at the Pages of the Sea event, at Roker Beach in Sunderland, on 11/11/2018, making 100 years to the day since the end of the First World War.

This project was a commission by Sunderland Culture, in partnership with 14-18-NOW.  With thanks to Corinne Kilvington for her expert vocal coaching with some of the contributors, and to the University of Sunderland for use of their audio recording studios.

Featuring the voices of; Sue Boyd, Jack Breedon, Jordan Carling, Ryan Dickson, Gordon Donkin, Helena Donkin, Daniel Dryden, Len Gibson, Michelle Hudson, Susan Kerton, Samiya Khan, Holly Kneller, Stephen Marr, Monica Murphy, Thomas Potts, Eileen Robinson, Angela Salkeld, Ann Smith, Cassie Stevenson, Daria Sudomir, Dalia Toader, Dawn Turner and Kati Whiteoak.

Pages Of The Sea - The Wound in Time by Carol Ann Duffy

Award winning independent audio features by Stuart Russell.

The Brain Garden

Eyebrow Media

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