Commissioned by Festival of the North.

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Fray is a body of work created in response to traditional textile manufacturing processes at the Ardanalish Mill, Isle of Mull. Fray interweaves digital and acoustic sound, projected video, poetic text and a ‘virtual orchestra’, in order to draw parallels between woven fabric and the social and natural environments. I initiated this research as part of my 2023 Associate Artist residency at An Tobar and Mull Theatre on the Isle of Mull.

“Fray captivated me with its sustained emphasis on metaphors of stitching and fabric as a means of investigating social and
historical hierarchies; it’s an intricately structured pamphlet
and the accuracy of its descriptions reminded me of Elizabeth Bishop.” —John McCullough

One of my aims was to achieve a closer integration between my poetic/written output and the musical/sonic dimensions of my work. This exploration was pursued under the auspices of an Arts Council DYCP grant, and involved experimenting with motion sensing technology, and also, more broadly, re-thinking my compositional process—conceiving of it less in terms of ‘exemplary works’, and more akin to a weaving practice, the routine production of humble pieces of cloth.

“These poems, filled so much with place, do exactly this — they trust to the exact description, to the plain music of the line. Yarns, wools — there is a wonderful tactility to the work.” —Niall Campbell

Fray Installation — stereo audio / video projection onto 100 year-old woven wool/cotton blanket (Dry Water Arts, Northumberland 25/10/25)

Experimenting with video projections, digital audio and live weaving with motion-sensing @ An Tobar and Mull Theatre (Isle of Mull).

FRAY — complete projection video (dur 40′)

FRAY_score_sketch (Handwoven Handmade Button)

“Piano Weave” — a snippet of one of my collaborative sessions with weavers & spinners at An Tobar & Mull Theatre, as part of my Associate Artist Residency.

Weaving and fabric-themed creative eco-writing workshop @ Dry Water Arts

Mohair Silk Iona Wool and Handwoven Handmade Button published in Porridge Magazine

Intermedial poem for BSL signer, ensemble, soundtrack and printed text.

READ Lockdown Lyric

SCORE 1 (A3 print)

SCORE 2 (A4 print)

Poem longlisted for the Live Canon International poetry prize.

Soprano Alison McNeill

Listen: *SANCTUARY_audio preview

(score in preparation)

Sanctuary is a bird-inspired work commissioned by Amble Development Trust.

Accessed via the bird trail app currently being developed by Animmersion, Sanctuary draws connections between the avian and the human by transforming people’s singing voices into ‘birdcalls’ and birdcalls into human-like vocalisations. The result is an audio work scored for a hybrid ensemble of singers, musical instruments, digital sounds and an unlikely chorus of people and birds.

Technically, the soundtrack element employs digital tools to alter the pitch and duration of audio material: bringing birdcalls into the human vocal range and sending human voices into the birdcall register. Sounds have been gathered from a variety of sources, including recordings of local people whose ‘birdified’ voices form part of the sonic texture.

Listen to SANCTUARY

Sanctuary is a smartphone audio installation commissioned by the Amble Bird Sculpture Trail. The work draws connections between the avian and the human by digitally transforming people’s voices into ‘birdcalls’ and birdcalls into human-like vocalisations. Scored for a hybrid ensemble of singers, musical instruments, digital sounds and an unlikely chorus of people and birds, the work encourages reflection on the intersections between bird and human life in terms of how each has a common need for a safe haven. I think of Sanctuary as a kind of meditation, offering bird trail walkers the opportunity to pause for fifteen minutes or so and experience Little Shore as an al fresco concert hall. This small beach close to Amble harbour is frequented by seabirds, and I like to think that people listening to Sanctuary might interpret the displays of bird flight there as part of the piece’s overall drama.

Sounds for Sanctuary were gathered from a variety of sources, including recordings of local people and members of Harbour Lights choir whose ‘birdified’ voices form part of the work’s sonic texture. Along with soprano Alison McNeil’s wordless singing (listen out for her brief duet with a skylark), and a hybrid score of orchestral and electronic instruments, these elements combine to treat human and bird utterances as interchangeable: transposing, juxtaposing and intermingling their ‘voices’.

My research involved observing and listening to birds, and reading various articles about bird flight, habits and habitats. I found migration a particularly telling metaphor for the contested ethics of human exodus and resettlement, and this guided me in sculpting the sometimes plaintive, sometimes playful music. As did stories about birds: in particular, The Origin of the Birds by the Italian author Italo Calvino. Calvino’s short tale highlights the sheer otherness of birds, and I was especially drawn to one scene where the central character, Qwfwq, takes refuge from a flock of attacking birds by hiding under the wing of a giant bird. I equate this idea of a safe haven to the stretch of coastline that plays host to the Amble bird sculpture trail, and which provides a habitat and a shelter for birds and people alike.

Sanctuary - site-specific, participatory harbour and beach spectacle. Little Shore, Amble, Feb 2024

Listen to SANCTUARY (Preview)