Memory | Transition: (H)ANNA(H)

18-22 April

I spent last week collaborating on a project with choreographer Mhairi Allan and dancers Anna Gander and Hannah Venet (c/o Citymoves).  The project focused on transition and the fragmentary nature of memory.  I should have some video to post soon.  In the meantime, here are some sounds and images:

Three Cities Project – Bergen

10-12 April 2011

Composer Suk-Jun Kim and I have just begun the first stage of the Three Cities Project.  We spent three days in Bergen collecting audio and video material while making our way through the city to the sea.  The next stages will take place in Aberdeen and then St Petersburg.  The materials that we gather will later become an art installation as part of this year’s Sound Festival.  More importantly, though, the project is aimed at creating strong artistic links between the three cities and their communities.

The official site for the Three Cities Project can be found here: http://threecitiesproject.wordpress.com/

“What’s Going Off?” – Edinburgh Fringe Event

Three female performers are trapped in space, executing unfamiliar routines. Sometimes, we can get a glimpse of their individual movements. What do you see when you watch them? Do you feel what they feel? And, what is the role of the musician in this setting? Inspired by neuroscientific findings on empathy and the audiences’ kinesthetic response, the three performers have been working in collaboration with the musician to create this performance especially for the Fringe event.

Biodiversity Summer Project

12 – 30 July 2010

2010 is the International Year of Biodiversity. Aberdeen’s Natural History Centre Summer project explores the sights and sounds of nature and encourages people of all ages to engage with their environment.

Week 1: A Sense of Nature

“Explore our incredible senses and discover how they allow us to see, hear, smell, taste and feel the wonderful world around us…”

Week 2: A Glimpse of the Global

“A unique insight into the incredible diversity of animal and plants that exist in distant habitats from all over the earth…”

Week 3: Doorstep Diversity

“Experience the sounds and sensations of Scotland’s secret haven of habitats, from sea to summit…”

Further details of this and other events here.

Roxy Arthouse Audio-Visual Event

26 June 2010

An audio-visual live event “celebrating the collaborative synergy of music and moving image” at the Roxy Arthouse, Edinburgh on June 26th.  Colliderscope will be taking over the whole downstairs area, the old “Bowery” and bar area, on the evening of 26th June to create a night of audio-visual delights.

I will be having my work Fog installed as well as some of my other recordings performed.

Roxy Arthouse website here: http://www.roxyarthouse.org/

The Gaitherin 2010

5 – 9 April 2010

The Gaitherin is a 5 day festival of music, voice and drama based on the traditions of the North East of Scotland, with a contemporary style, and is open to young people from all over Central Aberdeenshire.

Further details here.

Transform Aberdeen: The Cabaret of Impossible Dreams

February – March 2010

As part of a project organised by the National Theatre of Scotland, I am currently working with pupils from Dyce Academy to create a variety of soundscapes for the forthcoming performance of The Cabaret of Impossible Dreams.

The Cabaret of Impossible Dreams explores the weird and wonderful world between sleep and wakefulness using a combination of music, puppetry, animation, movement and text.

Set in the decadent surroundings of The Forum in Aberdeen, The Cabaret of Impossible Dreams delves into the subconscious territory of this mysterious building to uncover stories, songs and dreams from the past and present.

Colourful characters, puppets and haunting songs will emerge from the shadows, coming to life for this magical spectacle.

Directed by Paddy Cunneen and created with over 120 Dyce Academy students and the local community, The Cabaret of Impossible Dreams is an enchanting National Theatre of Scotland event not to be missed.

Further details here.

Creative Identities

November – December 2009

This year during the sound festival, sound artists Claire Singer, Bill Thompson, Patrick Keenan and myself,  collaborated with groups of young people from Aberdeen city in a series of experimental music based workshops. Participants took part in circuit bending, improv sessions, and created compositions based on sounds collected from found objects. The workshops were supported by Peacock Visual Arts and Creative Identities.

An exhibition of the results of these and other workshops was held at Peacock Visual Arts (www.peacockvisualarts.com) between 28 November – 24 December, 2009.

Lisbon Diaries

This was a project conceived by dance choreographer Claire Pençak in which composer Louise Rossiter and myself wrote the music for.  The work consists of 43 “phrases” each representing a date from Claire’s Lisbon diary.

The first rehearsals took place at Citymoves dance space in Aberdeen.

11 October 2009 – Aberdeen performance

Lisbon Diaries was performed as part of the DanceLive Festival.  The finished piece lasted just under an hour.  The music included several works for piano, percussion, live electronics as well as a reworking of Hendrix’s Voodoo Child.

A shorter version was later prepared for a performance at the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh.  Rehearsals took place at Woodend Barn near Banchory.

27  November 2009 – Edinburgh performance