A move towards a better shipping forecast

Shipping Currents

A coastal radio documentary here: https://soundcloud.com/anton-jarvis-206182017/fish-out-of-water

Radio 4 Coastal stations weather reports

An atmospheric gathering storm of a documentary exploring the extraordinary history of the Beaufort Scale - a system designed to help find language for the wind.

Sea like a mirror
Whistling heard in telegraph wires
Umbrellas used with difficulty...

In this programme we climb to the top of a lighthouse in the Outer Hebrides, labelled the windiest point in Britain by the Guinness Book of Records, and travel deep into the Met Office archives. With contributions from the writer Scott Huler, author of Defining the Wind; Ruairidh Macrae, the retained lighthouse keeper for the Butt of Lewis and Eilean Glas lighthouses in the Outer Hebrides; Catherine Ross, the library and archive manager at the Met Office; and John Morales, a hurricane specialist and meteorologist with 40 years experience in the field.

The Beaufort scale is read by Charlotte Green
Original music composed by Jeremy Warmsley, with additional music by Eleanor McDowall
Mix by Mike Woolley

First broadcast 1st January 2025, BBC Radio 4
Produced by Eleanor McDowall

Sea Like a Mirror

I was delighted to contribute a soundscape commemorating the 100-year anniversary of the Shipping Forecast being broadcast on the BBC. This audio piece was featured on a special edition of Front Row, and was recorded in front of a live audience at the iconic Cutty Sark in London, adding to the occasion's magnitude.

While researching and exploring artistic concepts for the soundscape, I discovered how important the Shipping Forecast is to many people, and most notably how it helps people in getting to sleep. This notion of the Shipping Forecast serving as the nations lullaby really resonated with me, becoming the central inspiration for shaping my composition.

It was an honour to be a part of this historical moment and to be featured alongside other incredibly talented poets, authors and musicians. 

Link to the full episode on the BBC https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002699w 

Released: 01 Jan 2025

Special thanks to: Julian May, Samira Ahmed, Royal Museums Greenwich “Cutty Sark” and the brilliant team behind the live recording.

BBC Shipping Forecast Soundscape for Front Row on BBC Radio 4

Uploading for my fellow fans overseas. Available on BBC Sounds in the UK.

Join Jarvis Cocker for a special edition of the Sleeping Forecast as he guides you on a restful journey through his own selection of 'sleepy' music paired with excerpts of the Shipping Forecast as read by Jarvis himself and calming sounds of the sea.  On this exclusive 2-hour edition, Jarvis' picks span the classical, electronic, meditative and spiritual with music from Ryuichi Sakamoto, Eliane Radigue, Brian Eno and Ennio Morricone. So settle down and drift away on this unique and restful journey.   Produced by Alex Yates  A Reduced Listening production for BBC Radio 6 Music 

The Sleeping Forecast - The Sleeping Forecast with Jarvis Cocker

Sound Artist | Podcast Audio Post-Production

We make documentaries and audio art for radio, podcasts and public spaces.

At the heart of what we do is a belief in the imaginative possibilities of radio. Sounds that can reconfigure the world around you, move you through inner landscapes, sink into your dreams.

We are an intentionally small company that considers carefully the creative, social and political aspects of the work we put out into the world.

Falling Tree has two full-time Directors – Eleanor McDowall and Alan Hall – and we work with freelancers across our projects, including the core Short Cuts production team of Alia Cassam, Axel Kacoutié and Andrea Rangecroft.

We are one of the founding signatories of the Equality in Audio pact. 

You can listen to hundreds of our documentaries in the free, online Falling Tree archive.

Ex-BBC Broadcaster readings of poetry & stories + archive radio/audio features. PLEASE SHARE LINKS with others. 
I’m a self-confessed sound, speech and language nerd.

New tracks tagged #Shipping Forecast