INTER-11 @ Stereo, Glasgow

Delighted to have my piece On/Under playing at Glasgow's experimental music and sound art night INTER-11 on Tuesday 27th February. It takes place in Stereo with a start time of 7:45. £5 on the door. The night also includes pieces from Pete Stollery, Lina Tobler, Enda Bates and many more. For info please follow the link to Stereo. I'll make the piece available on the website after the event.

Thanks to those who braved the arctic condictions and ventured out last night. For those who, quite rightly, stayed in you can listen to my piece On/Under below. Headphones or sub speakers recommended. 

On/Under
An experiment in field recording and detailed listening with focus on sonic morphology. Thinking about sonic identity, imagined identity and the city as a place of flux it is based on field recordings from on and under Glasgow bridges. The piece is made up of textural chapters punctuated by distinct events. These events trigger musical ideas, imaginary pieces of sound adding up to a real and imagined sonic space, a sonic image of a place in motion with flurries of activity, moments of stillness and moments of noise. The piece is written in stereo and is for concert performance or home listening.

Creative Scotland cuts to disabled and children's theatre.

In 2016 I was privileged to work with Robert Softley Gale and Birds of Paradise Theatre Company on their show Purposeless Movements. It was an ambitious, daring work that challenged perceptions on many levels. It was a show for everyone.

Yesterday BoP lost their three year Creative Scotland funding. They were not alone. Other disabled led artist organistations, community and children's theatre companies lost out too. I know strong and highly creative artists like Robert will find a way to make work in whatever the circumstance - the same can be said for any dedicated artist working in any medium - but this makes the creation of such work more challenging.

I'm delighted there are many worthy organisations who continue to receive funding but I'd like some answers as to the wider strategic meaning of such cuts and that's why I'll be writing to Creative Scotland and Fiona Hyslop. I urge you to do the same.

Fiona.Hyslop.msp@parliament.scot – Tweet @FionaHyslop

Dark Horse

Last year I had a productive few days songwriting with Icelandic musician and friend Biggi Hilmars. The results can now be heard on his latest album Dark Horse released last week.  We co-wrote the song Calm and I provided piano arrangements on others. I particularly love the sax which kicks in at the end! Enjoy.

Our Fathers

Over the past month I’ve been writing music for Our Fathers, a new show written and performed by Rob Drummond and Nicholas Bone co-produced by Magnetic North and the Traverse Theatre Company. This new play takes the classic book Father and Son (not the Cat Steven’s song, although I’m sure Yusuf Islam read the book) by Edmund Gosse as its inspiration. In the book Edmund describes in detail his strict religious upbringing and his gradual move away from his Father’s evangelical beliefs. Nick and Rob, both atheist sons of clergymen, look for their own answers to some big questions.

For the sound world I make use of choral singing, church organ, manipulated contemporary organ textures, voice over material from Rob and Nick’s fathers and the powerful sounds of the sea combined with the brittle sound of glass.

In the following clip Rob and Nick talk a little more about the book and this production.

Previews at The Traverse, Edinburgh Sat 21 Oct & Tue 24 Oct, 7:30

Opens at The Traverse, Edinburgh Wed 25 - Sat 28 Oct, 7:30

On tour 21 October - 18 November 2017 to Glasgow (Tron), Inverness, Banchory, Aberdeen, Greenock, Glasgow (Platform), St Andrews and Peebles. All dates and ticket booking websites can be found here.

The Hide - winner of best drama at WOFFF

Earlier in year I wrote music for Gaynor MacFarlane's drama short The Hide written by Beatrice Colin which follows a woman’s bird-watching obsession as she looks after her ailing mother and the turn of events after she discovers someone living in her hide. I'm happy to report that the film won best drama award at The Women Over Fifty Fim Festival last week in Brighton. Congratulation to everyone involved.

the majority - National Theatre

photo by Ellie Kurttz

Over the past month I've been writing music and designing sound for Rob Drummond's new play The Majority at The National Theatre in London. Narative drama coupled with a game show aesthetic, the audience dictate certain aspetcs of the show making it a different experience each night. Some questions have a direct impact while others are more hypothetical moral and ethical dilemmas designed to challenge our ideas in the time of Brexit, Trump and the rise of the far right in global politics. I should add it's also a brilliant piece of storytelling and fun.

Here's Rob talking a bit about it...

The show runs for another week. Please check out The National Theatre website for more information and ticket booking.

in the ink dark

photography by Brain Hartley

Dreamt as a living poem In the Ink Dark is the latest work by Luke Pell and collaborators. A multi-disciplinary project it takes in live art, podcast, dance, music and poetry. The work has developed over the past few months from conversations between Luke and residents of Edinburgh about things they have loved and lost. We opened in Leith theatre last friday and the piece continues in unique venues across the city this week. I've been priveleged to have been one of the collaborators and have written a score to accompany the dance.

Unusually for dance I've not spent much time in the room but rather developed the piece through conversation, poetry and my own memory. Inspired by the partly refurbished old Leith Theatre with its flaking paint, faded grandeur, heavily worn floor boards my starting point was to create something layered, something raw -  the feeling of musical material sitting on top of lost songs that are sometime revealed. I dusted down my 20 year old dictaphone for its broken grainy sound quality to start the composition and the result is a 45 minute piece for electonics, shruti box, electric guitar, autoharp, piano and string quartet. Live artist Brian Hartley and Luke are putting together a publication of words and drawing which will be published later in the year.

For more information on this fascinating project and to listen to the podcast series please visit In The Ink dark. And if you get the chance please pop along to one of the venues this week. Here's a review from The Herald to tempt you.

hope is the thing with feathers

I've had the pleasure of scoring a new aerial dance piece for Newtons Ladder. Directed by Liv Lorent we showcase the work in Newcastle on April 25th 2017. This work in progress performance will be streamed live via the Newtons Ladder facebook site at 4pm.

In the summer it will premier at The Stockton International Riverside Festival before touring.

Trapped - Experiential Dance

This week I'm off down the pits in Wakefield working with Experiential Dance on Trapped, a newpiece inspired by the story of the San Jose mine in Chile which trapped 33 miners back in 2010. I remember watching the story unfold at the time, and watched along with the rest of the world as all 33 men were rescued. It's not often I'm asked to write and perform underground and I'm excited by the prospect. So far I've read Hector Tobar's Deep Down Dark, a compelling account of the incident, which has given me a greater appreciation of simle domestic tasks! I've also paid a visit to Europen Metal Recycling to arm myslef with banks of industrial sounds. We have a free sharing of the weeks work on Friday so if you are in the Wakefield/Leeds area pop along. Hardhats provided! Details on the flyer below...

Hedda Gabler - Northern Stage

The past few months I've been writing music for Hedda Gabler at Northern Stage. It has provided the oportunity to write with a huge variety of sounds and textures (as well as some songwriting) and work with a brilliant cast and creative team. It's my fourth collaboration with writer and director Selma Dimitrijevic of Greyscale Theatre Company. We've just completed our second preview show and it runs throughout the rest of February and into March 2017. For booking and more info please visit the Northern Stage website.