Rob Mackay is a composer, sound artist and performer. He gained a degree in Geology and Music at the University of Keele, studying composition there with Mike Vaughan, before going on to complete a Master’s and PhD with Andrew Lewis at the University of Wales, Bangor. Currently he is a Reader in Creative Music Technology at the University of Hull.

Recent projects have moved towards a cross-disciplinary approach, including theatre, audio/visual installation work, and human/computer interaction. Prizes and honours include: IMEB Bourges (1997 and 2001); EAR99 from Hungarian Radio (1999); Confluencias (2003); La Muse en Circuit (2004 and 2006). His work has received over 100 performances in 16 countries (including several performances on BBC Radio 3). Currently he is working with percussionist Evelyn Glennie on a composition project as part of Ruskin Rocks (http://www.leeds.ac.uk/ruskinrocks/).

He has held composer residencies at Slovak Radio (Bratislava), La Muse en Circuit (Paris), and the Tyrone Guthre Arts Centre (Ireland).

He is an improvisor working across many genres, and for several years played with the improvisation ensemble 'Imp'. He has also enjoyed improvising with Rhodri Davies and Jez Riley French. He has played, written and produced in a number of bands and ensembles, including the Welsh Hip-Hop collective 'Tystion' with whom he collaborated alongside John Cale on the film ‘A Beautiful Mistake’, as well as recording two John Peel sessions on BBC Radio 1 and supporting PJ Harvey. More recently, he has done session work for Gowel Owen and Euros Childs as well as playing in the Welsh Afrofunk outfit 'Drymbago'.

6 CDs including his compositions are available. More information and pieces at: www.digital-music-archives.com and http://www2.hull.ac.uk/fass/dramamusicandscreen/ourstaff/musicstaff/robmackay.aspx

Matilda finds musical inspiration from walking in the mountains. In 2019, she walked the length of Scotland solo, with her dog, carrying everything ! This new EP is inspired by this walk and draws upon many other mountain adventures.

John Levack Drever is a researcher and practitioner engaged in the critical and creative study of sound, listening, and hearing, with particular attention to their cultural, ecological, and phenomenological dimensions across society. He is Creative Director of Otoloci, an ambiance and soundscape consultancy, and leads Working Group 1 for COST Action CA23145, Architectural and Urban Ambiances of European Cities and co-directs the Cambridge branch of LAURA (Leverhulme Trust Aural Diversity Doctoral Research Hub). He is preparing plans to mark the centenary of London Street Noises (1928–2028).

Between 2007 and 2012, John investigated the soundscapes of public toilets, where the widespread use of ‘ecological’ hand dryers had created a hostile environment for many. This work led him to advocate for a new paradigm of hearing, which he termed auraldiversity—shifting from an otological notion of “normal” hearing to a socio-cultural understanding of auraltypical hearing. His inclusive agenda of auraldiversity now shapes thinking across music, sound studies, acoustics, and urban design. First presented at Harvard University in 2015, these ideas have since gained momentum, influencing research (AHRC Network, RMA 2020, Internoise 2022, Urban Sound Symposium 2023), policy (DEFRA, Welsh Government), and industry practice (ReSound, ARUP, Anderson Acoustics). With Prof. Andrew Hugill, he co-directs the Aural Diversity Project and co-edited Aural Diversity (Routledge, 2022).

An avid soundwalker and field recordist,John grounds his practice in acoustic ecology. Following his PhD in composition at Dartington College of Arts, he coordinated Sounding Dartmoor: A Participative Soundscape Study. In 1998, he co-founded the UK and Ireland Soundscape Community, affiliated with the World Forum for Acoustic Ecology, and chaired Sound Practice (Dartington, 2001), the UK’s first conference dedicated to soundscapes. He has also contributed a sonic perspective to many urban place studies with the Academy of Urbanism.

John has collaborated with Rachel Gomme, Yvonne McGuinness, Alice Oswald, Alaric Sumner, Tony Thatcher, Lawrence Upton, Tony Whitehead (RSPB), Louise K. Wilson, Suiji Okada, and comedian Mark Kelly, and is a member of Blind Ditch.

Jez riley French (b. 1965)

based in East Yorkshire, Jez has been at the forefront of developments in creative field recording and approaches to the act and art of listening for many years.  Alongside performances, exhibitions, installations, he lectures and runs workshops around the world and his range of JrF specialist microphones have become widely used by recordists, sound artists, musicians and cultural organisations and have had a significant influence on the development of sound culture in recent years.

In recent years he has been working extensively on recordings of surfaces, spaces  and situations and developing the concept of photographic scores. Jrf is particularly associated with the development of extended recording techniques, including the recording of structural vibrations, contact microphone recording, ultrasonics, infrasonics, internal electronic signals and recordings made with hydrophones.

Amongst his key recent works are pieces capturing the sound of the dolomites dissolving, ants consuming fallen fruit, the Tate Modern building vibrating, the infrasound of domestic spaces around the world, glaciers melting in Iceland and the tonal resonances of natural and human objects placed in the landscape.

JrF lectures in a guest capacity at various educational institutions including RCA, Goldsmiths, Leeds Beckett, Newcastle University, Lincoln University and Hull University.

jezrileyfrench.co.uk

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