Toronto Transit

A walk through Toronto, with the express purpose of recording sound material… Finding electrical hums and the sounds of people and traffic was not surprising. More unexpected were the discovery of a cavernous underground drain or water cistern and urban cicadas alongside a busy road. For me, though, the most Toronto-specific sounds were those originating in the Subway (run by the Toronto Transit Commission): trains, public announcements and clattering turnstiles at the station entrances.

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Toronto Transit was realized on the composer’s laptop in 2011, while staying in Toronto (Canada), and premiered under the provisional title of We’re serious about your safety on August 20, 2011 at Wychwood Theatre in Toronto (Canada) as part of the Sound Travels Intensive. Thanks to Darren Copeland for the invitation to speak and perform at the Toronto Electroacoustic Symposium and the Sound Travels Intensive, and to Louise Rossiter for suggesting the city walk in the first place — although it did turn out to be much further than I had anticipated!

Premiere

• August 20, 2011, Under the provisional title We’re serious about your safety: Sound Travels Intensive, Wychwood Theatre — Artscape Wychwood Barns, Toronto (Ontario, Canada)

Clermont Horns

This piece is made one from one single field recording I made when I was in Clermont-Ferrand gathering data for a project with photographer John Perivolaris and writer Ed Welch. I heard the sound of car horns in the distance and immediately reached for my recording device, entranced by the harmonies of the constantly smearing car horn sounds. At this point, all three of us were unaware that this was the first weekend of the Gilets jaunes demonstrations in France in November 2018.

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Clermont Horns was realized in 2020 in the composer’s studio in Monymusk (Scotland, UK) and premiered on January 28, 2021 during the online concert Richard Ingham, saxophones and Pete Stollery, electronics, as part of Sound Festival 2020.

Premiere

• January 28, 2021, Sound Festival 2020 [2]: Richard Ingham, saxophones and Pete Stollery, electronics, Aberdeen (Scotland, UK)

Cullykhan Water

Cullykhan Water uses a number of recordings taken at Cullykhan Beach in northeast Scotland, ranging from tiny drips of rainwater to the crashing sea of the Moray Firth. It was composed as part of a project with artist Bryan Angus and poet Martin Malone, where each artist created a work of art in their own medium, informed by the same stimulus.

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Cullykhan Water was realized in 2020 in the composer’s studio in Monymusk (Scotland, UK) and premiered on October 14, 2022 during the Shoreline Listening concert at Warbler’s Roost in South River (Ontario, Canada).

Premiere

• October 14, 2022, Shoreline Listening, Warbler’s Roost, South River (Ontario, Canada)

OverBoard

On what was, for me, an unusually long walk around Boston, I encountered a beautiful soundscape created by a light breeze across the Boston Harbor: yachts straining at their moorings, their masts resonating with the gentle caress of ropes. The title comes from the boardwalks in the yacht club’s marina (and also references the ‘Boston Tea Party’ of 1773).

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OverBoard was realized in 2020-21 in the composer’s studio in Birmingham (England, UK) and premiered on May 13, 2022 in the Drama Studio of the University of Sheffield (UK) as part of the Sound Junction Spring 2022 festival.

Premiere

• May 13, 2022, Sound Junction Spring 2022: Jonty Harrison…, Drama Studio — The University of Sheffield, Sheffield (England, UK)

At the End of the Tunnel

To enable cars to drive the entire length of the transporter train which runs through the Channel Tunnel between France and the UK, the carriages are linked by overlapping floor panels and rubber gaskets. In motion, the friction between these elements creates a wealth of squeaks and squeals, all underpinned by the constant drumming of the wheels on the track. The space between the carriages (ie: inside the gaskets) is a wonderful place for listening (and recording)! The irony of composing a piece based on a major link between the UK and Europe at the very time that the Brexit negotiations were in their tense final phase (the stage referred to as ‘entering the tunnel’) was not lost on me.

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At the End of the Tunnel was realized in 2020-21 in the composer’s studio in Birmingham (England, UK) and premiered on June 5, 2022 in the Salle Molière of the Opéra Comédie in Montpellier (France), as part of the Klang! électroacoustique festival.

Premiere

• June 5, 2022, Klang! électroacoustique 2022: Concert, Salle Molière — Opéra Comédie, Montpellier (Hérault, France)

Gruyères Bells

Gruyères Bells uses a single recording of a herd of Red Holstein cows, carrying bells around their necks. The higher the ranking of the cow in the group, the deeper the bell tone, so there is a huge range in this particular herd. At the same time as enjoying this keynote sound of the area, I am concerned about the damage this is doing to the animals’ hearing and aware of the inevitable tension between the desire amongst certain stakeholders to preserve this emblematic sound and the possibility of silent GPS devices doing the same job in the future.

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Gruyères Bells was realized in 2021 in the composer’s studio in Monymusk (Scotland, UK) and premiered on June 5, 2022 in the Salle Molière of the Opéra Comédie in Montpellier (France), as part of the Klang! électroacoustique festival.

Premiere

• June 5, 2022, Klang! électroacoustique 2022: Concert, Salle Molière — Opéra Comédie, Montpellier (Hérault, France)

Awards

• Finalist, Sonic Arts, Scottish Awards for New Music 2023

WhirlPool

Based on a recording of a small rock pool in Poole Harbour (the second-largest natural harbour in the world, after Sydney, Australia), this piece attempts to place the listener inside the pool, by focusing on the character of the water’s restless motion, and only occasionally allowing in the sounds of the world beyond.

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WhirlPool was realized in 2021 in the composer’s studio in Birmingham (England, UK) and premiered online on April 22, 2021 during the BEAST FEaST festival in Birmingham. The concert premiere took place on May 13, 2022 in the Drama Studio of the University of Sheffield (UK) as part of the Sound Junction Spring 2022 festival.

Premiere

• April 22, 2021, BEAST FEaST 2021: Concert 2, Birmingham (England, UK)
• May 13, 2022, Sound Junction Spring 2022: Jonty Harrison…, Drama Studio — The University of Sheffield, Sheffield (England, UK)

Azet Gate (Squeaky)

In August 2022, whilst I was making recordings in the Vallée d’Arsoué near Azet in the French Pyrénées, I came across a metal gate leading to a shepherd’s shelter. I was struck by its silence, aware of its latent sonic characteristics, waiting to be sounded. I recorded an improvisation, using the gate as a musical instrument. In my studio, I listened to these recordings, processing them to create new sounds, whilst trying to preserve the musical phrasing from the improvisation. The piece begins with the recognisable sound of the gate opening but then takes a journey into the abstract, whilst always trying to maintain the integrity of the sound.

The title evokes not only the sound I recorded but is also a nod to the often quoted, pejorative description of new music, “It sounds like a squeaky gate!” In this case, it’s meant to…

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Azet Gate (Squeaky) was realized in 2023 in the composer’s studio in Monymusk (Scotland, UK) and premiered on August 4, 2023 in the Église Notre-Dame-de-l’Assomption in Azet (France) as part of Aure sonore festival.

Premiere

• August 4, 2023, Aure sonore: Concert 1, Église Notre-Dame-de-l’Assomption, Azet (Hautes-Pyrénées, France)

Grain of Glen Quoich

Grain of Glen Quoich is a short study on the sonic characteristics and behaviours of water, its graininess, its dynamic movement, with hints of what might lie underneath the surface of the water.

Grain of Glen Quoich was realized in 2024 at the composer’s studio in Skipton (England, UK). Under the title Grain it is the 3rd movement of On a Wing and a Prayer co-created with Katherine Wren and Joe Stollery with contributions by Charles Ross and Paul Anderson.

Off-Piste

Maybe I should have tried skiing when I was younger! Nowadays, I can think of few things more terrifying than hurtling off the edge of a mountain with a plank of wood strapped to each foot, holding only a couple of sticks! I can, however, still manage to climb aboard a cable car and, up above the clouds, another world is revealed: clear blue skies, stunning views over huge distances, the whirring and clanking of ski lifts… and the sound of people apparently enjoying themselves, whilst simultaneously courting disaster. Baffling!

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Off-Piste was realized in 2019 in the composer’s studio in Birmingham (England, UK) and premiered on May 2, 2019 in The Dome of the Bramall Music Building of the University of Birmingham as part of the BEAST FEaST festival. The work was revised in 2020 and again in 2024.

Premiere

• May 2, 2019, BEAST FEaST 2019: Concert 1, The Dome — Bramall Music Building — University of Birmingham, Birmingham (England, UK)
• October 18, 2024, Premiere of the 2024 version: L’Espace du son 2024: Concert portrait: Jonty Harrison, Théâtre Marni, Brussels (Belgium)

Crushed

On a trip to Iceland in search of new sound materials, I was introduced by Lisa Whistlecroft and Steve Benner to the rusting remains of an old crushing machine (part of an abandoned pumice working on the slopes of Stapafell, near Snæfellsjökull) which I recorded with both air and contact microphones. Despite the beauty of the coastline of the Snæfellsnes Peninsula stretching away to the east of the location, the sense of neglect and desolation was emphasised by the distant calls of seabirds and the low, heavy Icelandic sky.

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Crushed was realized in 2020-21 in the composer’s studio in Birmingham (England, UK) and premiered on October 18, 2024 in Théâtre Marni, Brussels (Belgium) as part of the festival L’espace du son. Thanks to Lisa Whistlecroft and Steve Benner for sharing their knowledge of places to record interesting sounds in Iceland — and to Ali, for helping carry the recording equipment.

Premiere

• October 18, 2024, L’Espace du son 2024: Concert portrait: Jonty Harrison, Théâtre Marni, Brussels (Belgium)

Barcelona Sketches

I’ve always been drawn to the sound of skateboards, particularly in areas where the sound reflects off nearby buildings. In this piece I wanted to use the sounds moving across a space, as well as their percussive characteristics when various moves are undertaken.

In the skateboarding community the word sketch or sketchy refers to a move that hasn’t worked or has failed in some way. I’d spent a good hour watching and listening to this group of skateboarders using the large open space outside the museum, as well as the handrails and steps, leading up to the entrance. Their overall performance was rather sketchy.

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Barcelona Sketches was realized in 2025 in the composer’s studio in Skipton (England, UK).

Plato del Día

Lunchtime service at El Tintero, a beachside restaurant in Málaga (Spain). Waiters wander between the tables, carrying trays of small plates and calling out (singing might be a more accurate description!) the names of the delicacies on offer. Customers raise their hands to indicate they would like to be served the dish in question. At the end of the meal, the empty plates are simply counted to calculate the bill (plus the cost of the wine, of course!). It’s a good system, offering both great food and wonderful entertainment!

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Plato del Día was realized in 2025 in the composer’s studio in Birmingham (England, UK) and premiered on April 18, 2026 in the PACE Building of De Montfort University during the Sonic Arts Forum Leicester conference.

Premiere

• April 18, 2026, Sonic Arts Forum Leicester, PACE Building — De Montfort University, Leicester (England, UK)

Sandhaven Jetty

Protected from the wind and from traffic noise from a nearby road, the peaceful ambience of Sandhaven Harbour (Aberdeenshire, UK) invited me in to listen more deeply. As the jetty was floating and the movement of the water in the harbour was minimal, the gentle creaking of wood and metalwork often sounded animalistic, sometimes reminiscent of whale song at other times, of injured or dying animals uttering their last breath. I worked with these “animalistic” groans, transforming them to create further utterances.

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Sandhaven Jetty was realized in 2026 in the composer’s studio in Skipton (England, UK) and premiered on April 18, 2026 in the PACE Building of De Montfort University during the Sonic Arts Forum Leicester conference.

Premiere

• April 18, 2026, Sonic Arts Forum Leicester, PACE Building — De Montfort University, Leicester (England, UK)

Awards

• Finalist, Prix Russolo 2026, Annecy (Haute-Savoie, France)