. located sound / field recording / listening as key element in sound culture, ecology and contemporary art practice
. sound art - place and space as material for performance / installation
. indeterminate scores / intuitive performance / listening events
. exploration through listening devices
+ conversations around:
phenomenology of auditory filters
situational acoustics & their effects on sense connectivity
micro listening
audible silence (inc. architectural elements)
structural responses to sonics
orders of listening & durational listening
the invention of nature (distortions of imposed perception)
interference of elements
the impact of recording media on declining auditory sensitivity
the gendering of sound
dissolving landscapes and structures
as a key element of my work within the workshop format I plans, deliver and lead workshops and field trips focused on the art and act of field recording and listening as a key element in sound culture / sound art, also working with other organisations as a freelance tutor.
My work involves extended field recording techniques, including the development of the use of contact microphones, hydrophones, coils, ultrasonic and infrasonic listening and the psychology of the listening response.
I am concerned with the materiality of sound and the content of the act of recording - the technology is there to be discussed of course, finding ways to deal with limitations, to work with them, but the focus is on how these tools can assist us to explore, to get passed the technology.
elemental is an exchange of knowledge, an open conversation and an opening up of field recording and its myriad creative possibilities.
different workshop models are structured for a range of abilities or for an inclusive exploration of the interplay and collaboration between artists / recordists at different stages of their exploration of sound and field recording.
workshops involve sessions on theory, field craft, practical work in the field and listening sessions. Suggested listening / reading lists can be supplied in advance, focused on an introduction to contemporary field recording practice.
alongside a way of discussing field recording that seeks to emphasise the creative response over a reliance on equipment I do also bring with me a range of devices for participants to try, allowing further exploration, including:
multiple JrF specialist hand built microphones - developed over many years and widely used and respected by a wide array of artists, composers, field recordists, sound designers and musicians - including:
. hydrophones (multiple sets)
. contact microphones (multiple sets)
. electromagnetic coils (multiple)
. different pairs of omni-directional microphones
. other microphones from various manufactures
. binaural microphones
. parabolic dish systems
. various wind protection systems
. boom poles
. long cables for remote working
+my own recording kit, with ultrasonic detectors, geophones, vlf receiver, Sound Devices recorder etc.
I am familiar with most recorders on the market - not because i'm obsessed with the equipment but so that I am able to make the content of workshops work for all - from those with entry level recorders to those working with professional, multi-channel devices.
I deliver workshops because I am fascinated by the conversation, the exchange and because i've been interested in the widest range of sound for a very long time. There are myriad subtle aspects of field recording that go way beyond conventional thinking around the subject, whether that be on the links between playback methods and audience listening to the relationship to the hardware and its impact on intuitive response.
workshops delivered include:
the 'murmuration' series
and for arts organisations and other institutions including:
Newcastle University
Goldsmiths
Royal College of Art
LCC, London
Hull University
Leeds University (fine art)
Leeds College of Music
Copenhagen Culture House
Wysing Arts Centre / David Roberts Foundation
National Trust
Leeds Beckett University
University of the West of Scotland
Digital Media Centre, South Hill Park, Surrey
Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus
Manchester University
Aveiro Art House
Lisbon University, Faculty of Fine Arts
Stockholm University of the Arts
PRS new music bienniale
Victoria Baths, Manchester
Elizabeth Gaskill House
Soundfjord
The Wired Lab, Australia
Skolska 28, Prague
Touch records
Allerdale Film Farm
Wildeye
and arts organisations in Sardinia, Italy, France, Sweden etc.
workshops / tutor positions:
workshop - murmuration # 3, Scotland - postponed
talk / workshop - Robert Schumann Hochschule Dusseldorf, Germany - March 2020
talk / workshop - Acoustic Ecologies Festival, Attenborough Centre, UK - January 2020
talk / workshop - Bartlett School of Architecture, London - October 2019
workshop - walthamstow wetlands, London - October 2019
workshop / talk - airy residency, vasternorrland - September 2019
workshop for DRAF resident artists, Wysing Arts Centre - July 2019
workshop - murmuration # 2, Scotland - June 2019
talk / workshop - york st johns university - november 2018
workshop - Strange and Charmed, Wendover - August 2018
talk / workshop - SSW (Scottish Sculpture Workshop) - August 2018
workshop - murmuration # 1, Scotland - June 2018
talk / workshop - Royal Danish Academy of Arts, Copenhagen - June 2018
talk / workshop - Leeds University (fine art) - November 2017
informal workshop with artists - Allerdale Film Farm, Cumbria, Aug 2017
workshop tutor / field trip leader (with Chris Watson) - Northumberland, June 2017
workshop tutor / field trip leader (with Chris Watson) - sweden, May 2017
workshop - turntable composition, Hull - Feb - Nov 2017
guest lecture / workshop leader - Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus, Denmark - October 2016
workshop tutor / field trip leader (with Chris Watson) - field recording / sound art trip, Orford Ness, UK, July 2016
workshop tutor / course leader (with Chris Watson) - field recording trip, south west Iceland, June 2016
workshop tutor / course leader (with Chris Watson) - field recording trip, Northumbria, May 2016
hydrophone workshop - Soundcamp, Stave Hill Ecology Park, London, May 2016
guest lecture / workshop / crits - Royal College of Music, London, March 2016
guest talk / workshop - Copenhagen, Denmark, March 2016
guest lecture / workshop - Leeds Beckett University, Leeds, July 2015
workshop tutor / course leader - field recording trip, south west Iceland, June 2015
workshop tutor / course leader - field recording trip, Northumbria, May 2015
workshop tutor / course leader - sound / field recording module, Uni of the West of Scotland, Ayr, Jan 2015
workshop tutor / course leader - field recording trip, north east Iceland, June 2014
workshop tutor - a quiet position - the act & art of field recording, South Hill Park, UK, November 2013
workshop tutor - a quiet position: victoria baths / elizabeth gaskill house, manchester, uk - September 2013
workshop tutor - a quiet position: sardinia, 4 day field recording workshop, sardinia, July 2013
workshop tutor / course leader - field recording trip, snaefellsness, Iceland, June 2013
workshop tutor - 2 day field recording workshop, malmo, sweden, may 2013
workshop tutor - a quite position workshop, CRIaAP, LCC, london, april 2013
workshop tutor - one day listening / field recording workshop, tottenham marshes, London - march 2013
workshop tutor - Touch records weekend sound course - december 2012
workshop tutor - field recording workshop, Sweden - October 2012
workshop tutor - field recording workshop @ wired lab, australia - september 2012
workshop tutor - 'a quiet position - a weekend workshop on the act & art of field recording' @ Soundfjord, London - June 2012
workshop tutor - wildeye field recording course, Sweden - May 2012
regular workshop tutor (alongside Chris Watson) - wildeye location sound recording courses (4 per year) - norfolk - 2009-2016