Delighted to have a track from Scenes from the Blue broadcast on the New Music Show. Thanks so much to Kate Molleson for including me in such a fantastic line-up for an International Women’s Day special edition.
Now on BBC Sounds – https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002s4tb
I’m excited to have a Featured Artist Exhibition at Glasgow Print Studio. 🙏😊
A Kind of Scoring
Preview – 5th March 2026, all welcome!
The exhibition runs from 6th – 28th March.
More information at: Glasgow Print Studio Exhibitions
A Kind of Scoring presents a series of abstract landscapes that evoke experiences of sound and listening – part of a body of work I’m continuing to develop over the next few months. I’m grateful to Glasgow Print Studio for this opportunity to share the work.
I’m delighted to be performing at Radiophrenia Lost in Transmission #3 – a special event with Radio Atlas. I’ll be performing a solo set with new film material.
Wednesday 25th February 2026 at 7pm (doors 6.45pm)
GMAC Cinema – 5th Floor, Trongate 103, Glasgow
Free but ticketed – available through Eventbrite
From Radiophrenia – An evening of subtitled radio works drawn from the Radio Atlas archives. Veteran radio producer and the brains (and ears) behind the organisation, Eleanor McDowall will be there in person to introduce the programme. For this edition we also have a special live performance from Glasgow based composer and sound artist, Nichola Scrutton
Zoë Strachan and I are delighted to be performing Test-pitting live-to-air from the Radiophrenia Glasgow studio on Friday 18th April 2025 at 3pm.
Tune in at 87.9fm or online at https://radiophrenia.scot/listen/
Test-pitting is an evolving practice that gestures towards an archaeological process – delving into a site of enquiry to reveal layers of activity, fragmented artefacts, traces of presence. The emerging palimpsest of sound re-imagines lines of connection across time and place, between inner and outer ecologies.
For this Radiophrenia performance, we would like to thank the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency for the live river flow data used in the performance.
We first developed Test-pitting during a collaborative residency at Glasgow Project Room in 2022, which concluded with a public performance of work-in-progress (pictured above).
I’m delighted to share that Memory Dream Encounter 2 programme will have it’s premiere broadcast on Radiophrenia on Thursday 10th April 2025 at 9.45 am. Listen at radiophrenia.scot
The composers/artists and works in programme order are:
Clara de Asis – Compass
Go Sing – Casual Friday
Liew Niyomkarn – Third Place
Nichola Scrutton – Hues
Ryoko Akama – Sounding
Memory Dream Encounter 2 is a second series of micro-commissions that I curated in 2023 following the success of the first series in 2021. The invite was to produce a short sound work – up to 3 mins – as a free response to this image I took during a residency I had a Tramway Glasgow in 2023. Many thanks to everyone for being involved. Enjoy!
Micro-commissions supported by Creative Scotland
My limited edition etching Windborne (soundscape) has been selected for the Royal Society of British Artists | Annual Exhibition at the Mall Galleries in London. The etching was created and printed at the Glasgow Print Studio, Scotland.
The exhibition runs from 26th Feb – 8 March 2025 from 10 am – 5 pm.
More info about the exhibition at: https://www.mallgalleries.org.uk/exhibitions-events/royal-society-british-artists-annual-exhibition-2025
I was delighted to co-present at the 5th Annual International Symposium for the Arts in Palliative Care at St Columba’s Hospice, Edinburgh in November 2024. Caroline Hussey and I shared some reflections on our sound and performance project working with young adults at the Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice in Glasgow, which took place earlier in 2024. The project was a new collaboration between Sonic Bothy inclusive music/arts charity and The Art Room at the Hospice.
The theme of the Symposium was “Creative health care and dying” and our presentation title was:
Exploring sound and performance in sensory-based work with young people transitioning from paediatric to adult palliative care services: Some reflections.
More details on the Symposium and the presenters and guests is archived at:
Delighted to be performing at the Radio Art Zone book party at Iklectik in London, which is also broadcasting live on Resonance Extra / Resonance FM.
“an evening of ten-minute performances by 20 prominent radio artists and experimental musicians featuring performances by: Batophone, Caroline Kraabel, Sofia Vaisman Maturana & Itinerant Sounds, Ed Baxter with Steffan Cennydd, Catherine Kontz, Post Electronics, Shortwave Collective – Hannah Kemp-Welch and Georgia Meunster, C John Weaver & Adam Bohman, Tricia & Sebastian, Nichola Scrutton, Xentos Fray Bentos & John Glyn, King Alfaman & Needle Boy.”
The Radio Art Zone book, curated and edited by Sarah Washington, explores the central themes, concepts and techniques of artist-made radio, emerging from over 20 years practice in the field.
Date and Time: Thursday 26th October 2023 at 8.30 PM
Venue: The Lemon Tree, 5 West North St, Aberdeen AB24, Scotland
Delighted to be performing Night Vision in the 2023 SOUND Festival. More information and book tickets at:
https://sound-scotland.co.uk/event/night-vision
Ali Robertson and I will be performing a duo in a stellar line-up as part of Rob Churm’s event at:
The Old Hairdresser’s, Glasgow
On Friday 6th October 2023
More information and tickets at:
11th September 2023 – Zoë and I perform Lying Over Under Another in the Archives and Special Collections at University of Glasgow. Some scrapbooks will be displayed after the performance during a Q&A exploring how they inform the palimpsest that we create in our sound art collaborations. More info and book tickets at: https://glasgowdoorsopendays.org.uk/in_person_event/lying-over-under-another-performance-followed-by-qa/
2nd September 2023 – We are delighted that Lying Over Under Another had its premiere on Saturday 2nd September as a live-to-air broadcast on Radiiophrenia direct from the Creative Lab in the CCA Glasgow. Big thanks to the Radiophrenia team for making it a smooth and special sail on the airwaves as always!
Lying Over Under Another is supported by the Edwin Morgan Trust through The Second Life Award.
Delighted to be a guest artist at GLE4M Festival at Queen Margaret Union, University of Glasgow – Ali Robertson joined me for a duo improvisation in the evening event on 25th May 2023.
“GLE4M 2023 returns with two days of concerts and specially-curated listening spaces in and around the Queen Margaret Union, University of Glasgow. The festival is a collaboration between the 4M netlabel and The Dear Green Bothy, which focusses on environmentally-conscious arts practices working at the intersection of technology and sustainability.”
Read more at: https://deargreenbothy.gla.ac.uk/event/gle4m-sustainability-resilience-stability/
A second performance of Night Vision at the Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA) Glasgow on Sat 20th May at 3 pm.
Read more at the GoMA Blog
Vocal Performers: Alison Peebles, Louise Montgomery, Ian Spink, Nerea Bello, Belle Jones.
Director/conductor: Nichola Scrutton
Live Sound: Stevie Jones
Outside Eye: Nicholas Bone
Producer: Nichola Scrutton
Many thanks to Curator/Producer Katie Bruce, and GOMA
Night Vision is supported by Creative Scotland and Glasgow Life-Glasgow Museums
MAIN IMAGE: pre-performance of Night Vision at GoMA, 20th May 2023 Photo. © Julie Broadfoot
The world premiere of Night Vision was at the CCA Glasgow in the main theatre on Friday 28th April 2023.
Details of the event are listed at:
https://www.cca-glasgow.com/programme/night-vision
Night Vision is a contemplative, dynamic, ensemble performance – a vocal sound work that crosses territory between concert, theatre, live art, visual art.
Night Vision live is one of various iterations of the work being produced in 2023. This CCA performance was filmed live, with cinematographer Kirstin McMahon and a roving camera part of the performance.
Vocal Performers: Alison Peebles, Louise Montgomery, Ian Spink, Nerea Bello, Belle Jones.
Director/conductor: Nichola Scrutton
Cinematographer: Kirstin McMahon
Outside Eye: Nicholas Bone
Producer: Nichola Scrutton
Many thanks to all at the CCA.
Many thanks to Creative Scotland, and to everyone who has supported Night Vision.
I’m delighted to be one of 100 artists creating a 22-hour programme for Radio Art Zone’s 100-day programme for Esch 2022 European Capital of Culture. Radio Art Zone is a project by Mobile Radio and Radio ARA.
Dream Stream weaves together field recordings, voice, fragments of text, visualisations, stories, performance and archive materials in a sonic contemplation of inner / outer landscapes. Read more, see the full 22-hour itinerary and listen at https://radioart.zone/monday-22-august
In case it’s of interest, I also have a Mailing List for occasional news updates – Join Mailing List
Many thanks to Knut, Sarah, and all at Radio Art Zone.
In collaboration with Radiophrenia and the Goethe Institut Glasgow ‘Mobile Radiophrenia’ is a cultural exchange and radio residency that will result in five new live broadcast works. The artist duo Mobile Radio (Sarah Washington & Knut Aufermann) from Ürzig in Germany have been invited over to work with five Glasgow based artists or artist duos on an intensive daily collaboration that culminates in a live radio performance at 5pm each day.
I’m delighted to be performing on Thursday 17th Feb – the performances have been devised within the following framework:
Mobile Radio residency – Glasgow Calling Scale live with Nichola Scrutton – 17 February 2022 5:00 pm – 5:30 pm
‘Glasgow Calling Scale: a verbal response series in five parts’
There are five grades starting with the most musical:
Mon 14th Feb – No verbal response
Eothen Stearn, Lady Neptune, Knut Aufermann, Sarah Washington.
Tues 15th Feb – Incomprehensible sounds
Elina Bry, Knut Aufermann, Sarah Washington.
Weds 16th Feb – Inappropriate words
Cindy Islam, Knut Aufermann, Sarah Washington.
Thurs 17th Feb – Confused
Nichola Scrutton, Knut Aufermann, Sarah Washington.
Fri 18th Feb – Oriented
Rebecca Wilcox, Hannah Ellul, Knut Aufermann, Sarah Washington.
In another strand of research that emerged during Night Vision R&D in 2021, I curated a series of micro-commissions. I created a series of abstract images, photographing fragments of drawings. Those images served as a prompt, a connecting point, a spring board for dialogue.
Under the umbrella title, Memory Dream Encounter, I invited composers/artists Ruth Wiesenfeld, Elisabetta Senesi, Dafna Naphtali, Julia Drouhin and Claire Docherty to create miniature sound compositions in response to the prompts. On 31st August 2021, the six composers met in a virtual gathering to listen together, and discuss the creative process.
Radiophrenia 2022
Subsequently I edited the works into a programme that was broadcast on Radiophrenia at 9pm on 13th February 2022.
The programme in order was:
Claire Docherty – Pulse dream fragment For Una MacGlone (bass) & Emma Roche (flute) (3’23)
Dafna Naphtali- Striations (3′)
Elisabetta Senesi – Under the Surface (3’50)
Julia Drouhin – Mer4 (3’50)
Nichola Scrutton – Gestures (3’44)
Ruth Wiesenfeld – the wool from which the ribbons were made (3’54)
The micro-commissons were supported by Creative Scotland.
Duo collaboration with Aya Kobayashi on a performance as part of Willie Sutherland’s exhibition Christmas Day Down a Goldmine in December 2021. Big thanks to Willie, Yvonne and everyone.
The recently formed hyphæ drawing collective are having a group show in Folkestone. The details are:
Dates: 9 – 14 September 2021
Opening hours: 11 – 17 h daily
Touchbase Gallery, 15 Tontine Street, Folkestone CT20 1JT
You are warmly invited to an afternoon of refreshments with the artists of hyphæ drawing collective to celebrate our exhibition, Letting it settle.
Saturday 11 September, 2021, between 14 –17h at the above address.
Please let us know if you intend to come along, so that we don’t run out of tea…RSVP
Read more about hyphæ drawing collective at our website, where you can also contact us and sign up for our newsletter.
I was delighted to be invited into a duo with Manuel Padding for Giant Tank’s Pot Luck, which was aired on TUSK TV on 6th August 2021. Big thanks to Manuel, and to Ali and Collette for hosting – connect to Giant Tank on their FB page – Giant Tank Facebook
Our duo track is available as part of TUSK Editions #5 – download the album at TUSK Festival’s TUSK Editions Bandcamp.
Necessary Notes: A Vocal Response – solo performance as part of the Stolen Voices album launch on 8th February 2020.
“Nichola Scrutton is, as ever, an absolute wonder- her voice can disarm, charm and bewitch….She takes the listener into otherwordly realms, an uncertain space between sleep and consciousness.” (The Tempohouse)
Read the full review by Lorna Irvine.
The album launch was part of a creative research project by Rebecca Collins and Johanna Linsley – more here. The event forms part of ‘The Sonic Study Series: Act I Sonic Practice’ and is a pop-up event for the Festival of Creative Learning 2020, University of Edinburgh. Many thanks to Rebecca and Johanna for the invitation. More info about the event at CCA Stolen Voices.
“Part of the wonder of Sonic Bothy is that each night is individual as a finger print. So it is with Immediate Buzz Shift.” (The Tempohouse)
Read the SBE CCA Review…
Sonic Bothy Ensemble are next performing at TUSK Festival at The Sage in Gateshead, which is very exciting! We’ll be in Hall 2 at 7:10pm on Sunday 13th October 2019.
In June 2019 we had a fantastic time performing at the Kelvingrove Museum and Art Gallery…Also in June we also had a wonderful time recording some new work in the studio at Gorbals Sound, Glasgow.
Sonic Bothy Ensemble’s debut album Fields is available at Bandcamp…
For more information on Sonic Bothy Ensemble, and all the charity’s activities, please visit Sonic Bothy’s website.
Delighted to be working with Ian Spink, Aya Kobayashi, Skye Reynolds, Selina Boyack and Stella Boyack to develop Radio Play. The immediate focus was a scratch performance for UNFIX Festival 2019. Here’s more info about the event on Sunday 31st March at CCA Glasgow Scratch Night. We re-visited the work for Batch2 Festival In August 2019.
Radio Play A and new work-in-progress Radio Play B performances at Batch Festival in the Borders on Sunday 18th August 2019.
With Ian Spink, Skye Reynolds, Selina Boyack, Rebecca Moore and Stella. Huge thanks to Claire Pencak for hosting. Visit Batch Festival on Facebook for more information.
I was delighted to be selected for a residency at Q-O2 in Brussels for two weeks May/June 2019. See more info at Q-O2. While I was there I worked on the early explorations of Night Vision. gathered a range of field recordings and produced some visual sketches for new work. I also joined cellist Arnold Noid Haberl for an improvised performance as part of a public sharing at the Q-O2 space. Many thanks indeed to all at Q-O2!
Portrait photo © Wendy Kirkup.
Zoë Strachan and I created Rays & Correlations for a live broadcast from the Radiophrenia studio on 15th May 2019.
Inspired by the patterns of cosmic ray interactions in a cloud chamber, we imagine the myriad signals and attempts at communication that might enter a sphere and intersect, cluster, miss or fade away. Rays & Correlations is a voice-focused improvised performance with layers of interactive soundscape.
The listener is invited to find a thread to hold onto amid interweaving sparse and dense streams of words and evocations – and to decide whether the sound space is literal, as inside a kind of radome, or metaphorical – representing any individual consciousness trying to make sense of human connection.
Delighted to be selected for the Magnetic North Rough Mix Residency. The residency took place in Perth Theatre, Scotland for two weeks in January 2019. I explored seed ideas for Night Vision and produced a work-in-progress sketch for the public sharing on 18th January 2019.
Many thanks to Nick and all at Magnetic North, and to the artists and performers involved in the residency. Special thanks to Lorna, Neil, Ian and Laurie for the first performance sharing of Night Vision., and Lise for recordings and tech support.
We were delighted to be invited to share work for the opening night of Beton 7 Festival in Athens on 4th June 2018. The event included an introduction by curator Demosthenes Agrafiotis, my solo performance When Night Comes, screening of Wendy Kirkup’s two films Touches Bloquees and film from a score, and a Q + A session in conversation with Simon Murray.
Festival dates: 5th – 17th June 2018. Festival theme: “Visions-V_Ideas, Performances”…
“Visions-V_ideas, Performances” celebrates 5 years since its launch at BETON7. In April 2014, it was stated that the set of actions of the festival aimed at exploring the interface between performance and video in the specific frame of the Votanikos neighbourhood – the site of BETON7, Center for the Arts.
A review may be necessary, not in the sense of a conclusion but an assessment for future adjustments. According to a terminology, performance is at the crossroad of the living arts (arts vivants), which rely on the human body as the main tool, in order to found its artistic idiosyncrasy or specificity (dance for example) and the visual arts, where physical elements allow to shape primarily spatial structures (e.g. sculpture). At this crossroad, the video is entering, which is the field, the opportunity to create a new version of what is happening at the aforementioned crossroad from aesthetic and social point of view.”
Many thanks indeed to Rania and Demosthenes for their invitation, welcome and warm hospitality.
Zoë Strachan and I performed Static Flux at the Hidden Door Festival in Edinburgh on 29th May 2018.
Static Flux is a sonic seance! In this spoken word/sound piece Zoë and I are exploring narrative and time through chance encounters with remnants, fragments and the ephemera of past lives. The performance was originally created for a live studio broadcast for Radiophrenia in 2017.
