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Memory Dream Encounter 2 Micro-Commissions

The Memory Dream Encounter micro-commissions emerged during the development phase of Night Vision in 2021 as part of my research. I invited five composers/sound artists to respond in sound to a visual prompt – each received a variation on a sketch I made during that phase.

As part of this production phase of Night Vision 2022-23, I was delighted to organise another series – with Clara de Asis, Liew Niyomcarn, Ryoko Akama and Go Sing. The visual prompt this time was a photo from film explorations during a residency for Night Vision early in the year. In November 2023, we met to listen to our works and chat.

Many thanks indeed to everyone involved – it was so wonderful to connect and listen together. The pieces are standalone but also a collection that may be aired in the future.

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Radio Art Zone Book Launch Party London Iklectik

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.

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Radio Art Zone – a new publication

Radio Art Zone – curated and edited by Sarah Washington

“Radio Art Zone explores the central themes and techniques of artist-made radio, emerging from over 20 years of practice in the field by a multitude of artists. It is a reflection of the world’s largest exhibition of radio art, also title Radio Art Zone, a project by the artist duo Modile Radio (Sarah Washington and Knut Aufermann) in collaboration with Luxembourg community station Radio ARA, which broadcast for 100 days as part of the program of the European Capital Culture Esch 2022.”

Book Cover, Radio Art Zone, published by Hatje Cantz

I’m thrilled to have two drawings and a micro-essay included in this new book Radio Art Zone, curated & edited by Sarah Washington. The experimental publication contains a stunning array of visual & textual contributions from artists worldwide.

The book is available in bookshops, online, and direct from the publisher at:

https://www.hatjecantz.com/products/65229-radio-art-zone

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Lying Over Under Another Performances

Doors Open Day University of Glasgow Archives and Special Collections

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/

Radiophrenia

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.

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Hospitalfield Interdisciplinary Residency

August 2023

The residency at Hospitalfield was a very welcome break from my usual workspace, and I really appreciated the sea walks and open vistas. The combination of working on own projects and sharing time with the other artists-in-residence worked really well, particularly as some themes in the work resonated across our distinct practices. Everyone was very generous in many ways. I’m currently developing a film iteration of Night Vision. This focused time sparked a new direction in that work, as well as other seed ideas to carry forward in new work.

Many thanks to everyone at Hospitalfield and to all the August 2023 artists.

Night Vision is supported by Creative Scotland.

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New release with Ali Roberston / Chocolate Monk

Delighted that recordings made via the internet during lockdown 2021 by Ali Robertson and me have been released by the consistently wonderful Chocolate Monk.

The always excellent Chocolate Monk has turned this collaborative effort into a limited edition of 60 limited edition CD-Rs with gorgeous artwork by Karen Constance. You can get them at: https://chocolatemonk.co.uk/available.html

The Longest Forty Miles

“The last train is at 11:30pm and I wouldnae recommend the night bus. It’ll be full of Lothians troglodytes, Cumbernauld carbuncles and folks what like their improv idiomatic. Best hop in our taxi. It willnae be cheap and, with two drivers pulling in opposite directions on the same wheel, you’ll be unsure which way is up let alone which is East or West. Ensure you’re wearing your seat belt on this tour of the Scottish Central Belt as your escorts are predisposed to unleashing belters for strings, gobs & kerfuffle and you’ll get pure pelters if you dinnae subscribe to their version of the Highway Code.”

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Reviews – a few Interzone updates

Audio Crackle Non-Music Roundup June 2023

“‘Interzone’ is a mesmerizing and captivating work of experimental sound art. These haunting and beautiful soundscapes of layered vocals and various immersive noises effectively capture the dream-like twilight state that marks the end of the day, and also heralds the coming night…”
https://audiocrackle.blogspot.com/2023/06/non-music-roundup-june-23.html

The Skinny Scottish New Music Round-Up June 2023

“Sound design fans will be well-fed this month. Nichola Scrutton’s Interzone (15 Jun) earns its experimental distinction with innovations in performance and post-production, as well as themes of liminality, or in-betweenness. In-studio, Scrutton performs idiosyncratic vocal techniques, guttural chanting and sharp intakes of breath, which are intermixed with abstract accompaniments, modulating into the notes themselves. Unfamiliar methods of distortion create the sense that this is all a distant dream, or, as Scrutton’s voice becomes more overwhelming and antagonistic, a restless nightmare.” https://www.theskinny.co.uk/music/new-music/scottish-new-music-round-up-june-2023

MUSIC NOW playlist at The Skinny

Delighted Trio from Interzone to has been included on the Music Now: New Scottish Music playlist, 30 Scottish bands and artists. Listen at: MUSIC NOW – Spotify

Late Junction Radio 3

Quartet B was included in Late Junction 9th June 2023
“…Elsewhere in the show, we hear some energetic Cameroonian bikutsi from the late Roger Bekono, experiments on a toy glockenspiel from Australian producer Broken Chip, and vocal reflections on the space between wakefulness and sleep from Glasgow-based composer Nichola Scrutton.” More at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001mdc4

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Interzone Release on Nonclassical

New album Interzone was released on Nonclassical label on 15th June 2023, and is currently available in CD and digital formats.

https://nicholascrutton.bandcamp.com/album/interzone

The Interzone series of tracks on the album were composed with voice, field recordings and archive materials by Nichola Scrutton in her studio, then mixed and mastered by Jim McEwan of Bark Bark Dog Studios. The second second series of voice tracks were recorded live in Solas Sound Studios by Jim McEwan, and then mixed and mastered by Jim at Bark Bark Dog Studios.

Cover art: Nichola Scrutton

Interzone has been supported by the PRS Foundation Open Fund for Music Creators, Creative Scotland and Nonclassical.

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Night Vision Residency at Tramway

Residency 5th – 9th June 2023

Night Vision has several iterations underway through 2023, including an album, a performance and a film.

I’m working on the film with cinematographer Kirstin McMahon, and the Tramway residency is a space to explore additional visual/sound materials.

Team for Residency

Director: Nichola Scrutton
Cinematographer: Kirstin McMahon
Technical / SM: Jack Wrigley
Production Manager: Nick Millar
Producer: Nichola Scrutton

Additional thanks to performers – Alison Peebles, Ian Spink, Louise Montgomery, Nerea Bello, Belle Jones, to stand-in Deen Fredericks, and to Stevie Jones for sound recording experiments.

Many thanks to Tramway for supporting Night Vision, and to the super-helpful crew.

Main image: Nichola Scrutton © Julie Broadfoot

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Guest Artist at GLE4M Festival


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/

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Night Vision at GOMA Glasgow

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

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Night Vision Released on Bandcamp

The Night Vision album is now available to buy on Bandcamp in both limited edition CD and digital formats.

https://nicholascrutton.bandcamp.com/album/night-vision

Night Vision is a project I’m working on through 2023, and it has several iterations. At the core of Night Vision is a large body of text written in the middle of the night lying down in a semi-conscious state over a two-year period – a very different approach for me as a composer and artist. 

On the album, excerpts are performed by five vocalists in chronological order, set in a soundscape I composed with ensemble voices and my own voice/studio recordings.

Vocal performers on the release are:
Alison Peebles, Louise Montgomery, Nalini Chetty, Ian Spink and Mairi Morrison.

The live voices were recorded by Jim McEwan at Solas Sound Studios. All tracks were mixed and mastered by Jim McEwan at Bark Bark Dog Studios.

Many thanks to Sarah Praill for the cover design, which includes a few drawings/marks from the original journals.

Night Vision is supported by Creative Scotland.

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Night Vision at CCA Glasgow

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.

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Lying Over Under Another with Zoë Strachan

Lying Over Under Another is a collaborative sound performance with Zoë Strachan.

We were absolutely delighted to have been selected for a Second Life Award by the Edwin Morgan Trust to research, develop and produce the work through 2023. https://edwinmorgantrust.com/2022/10/14/nichola-scrutton-and-zoe-strachan-lying-over-under-another/

Responding to the visual richness of Edwin Morgan’s scrapbooks, held in Archives and Special Collections, we reimagine the scrapbooking and research process through sound and gesture. This improvised performance combines recorded and live sound with spoken word to re-present the diverse materials Morgan collected as bodies (entities) in relation to each other; offering new connections that may be physical, emotional, psychical. Elements of verbal disintegration and moments of absurdity and humour echo Morgan’s own poetic practice and its rootedness in the city of Glasgow.

Supported by the Edwin Morgan Trust through The Second Life Award.

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New Worlds with Martin O’Connor

Image © Nichola Scrutton

New Worlds is a spoken word / sound composition created with writer Martin O’Connor in Autumn 2022. The piece weaves together recordings from Your Voice in Greenock, Inverclyde, Martin’s poems, field and other recordings.

Read more about the project and listen to New Worlds at: http://www.martinoconnor.info/new-worlds.html

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Interzone – New Release in 2023

New Release in 2023

Pleased to share that new release Interzone will come out on Nonclassical in 2023. More details to follow.

Interzone has been produced with a PRS Foundation Open Fund for Music Creators award.

Join Mailing List

Photo credit: Jim McEwan at Solas Sound Studio

Nichola Scrutton is supported
by PRS Foundation’s
The Open Fund
nonclassical
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Second Life Award – Edwin Morgan Trust

Lying Over Under Another – a collaboration with Zoë Strachan

Really delighted to have been selected for The Second Life Awards with Zoë Strachan – thank you so much to the  Edwin Morgan Trust for such a fantastic opportunity to develop our collaborative practice and make new work! More info to follow…

Read more about the selected projects at: https://edwinmorgantrust.com/the-second-life-awards-2023/

In case it’s of interest, I also have a Mailing List for occasional news updates – Join Mailing List

@EdMorganTrust
@zoestrachan
@NicholaScrutton

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Dream Stream on Radio Art Zone

Radio Art Zone broadcasts from 18th June – 25th September 2022

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 – 22nd August 2022

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.

@RadioArtZone
@Mobile_Radio
@RadioARA
@NicholaScrutton

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Dream Stream

Dream Stream – a Radio Art Zone Commission

Dream Stream was commissioned by Radio Art Zone as part of their 100-day programme inviting 100 artists to create 22-hour long radio works for European Capital of Culture at Esch 2022, Luxembourg. https://radioart.zone

Programme Note

Dream Stream weaves together field recordings, voice, fragments of text, visualisations, stories, performance and archive materials in a sonic contemplation of inner / outer landscapes. The sound of water is a thread across the whole duration. From that constantly shifting ‘surface’, various other sound worlds emerge and recede in a transient dream-like encounter.

In case it’s of interest, I have a Mailing List for occasional news updates – Join Mailing List

Many thanks indeed to Sarah, Knut and all at Radio Art Zone.

Artwork © Nichola Scrutton

@RadioArtZone
@Mobile_Radio
@RadioARA
@NicholaScrutton

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Night Vision

2022-23 – Phase 2

I’m thrilled to say that I have been awarded Creative Scotland funding for the Night Vision project over 2022-23.

As part of a general website overhaul, I have temporarily removed background information, credits and plans for Night Vision so I can update all the details.

In the meantime, I’ll be posting news about select performances and a recording, to be released first on Bandcamp in early April and then across all music platforms on 28th April so please do connect / follow for updates. Many thanks.

Many thanks indeed to everyone who has supported Night Vision.

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Test-Pitting with Zoë Strachan

Test-Pitting – a collaborative residency

Zoë Strachan and I had a two-week residency at Glasgow Project Room in April/May 2022.

In our residency we were engaging in a process of ‘test-pitting’ to develop new work around themes of excavation as a means of opening an aperture onto fragile lines of connection between inner and outer landscapes.

In archaeology a test-pit is a trial, a delving in to reveal layers, fragments of artefacts, the potential of a site of enquiry. It enables a snapshot of composition and decomposition, of life cycle and decay in the earth. Grids and tracing map the process.

We shared some work-in-progress at the end of the residency in an event that included an informal performance and Q+A chat.

Zoë and I have an ongoing collaboration making sound art works and experimental radio combining newly written and found text, composed sound, field recordings, found sound, voice and improvisation.

@zoestrachan
@NicholaScrutton

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Julius Caesar Company of Wolves

Julius Caesar – Company of Wolves

More information and Scottish tour dates for summer 2022 at Company of Wolves website.

Director – Ewan Downie
Associate Director – Brian Ferguson
Set and Costume Designer – Alisa Kalyanova
Lighting Designer – Benny Goodman
Sound Designer – Nichola Scrutton
Cast – Lawrence Boothman, Esme Baylay, Oat Jenner, Belle Jones, Megan Lovat
Technical Stage Manager – Stephen Cunningham
Wardrobe supervisor and Costume-maker – Catherine Barthram 
Producer – Corinne Salisbury
Production Manager – Elleanor Taylor

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Radiophrenia and Mobile Radio Collaboration

Mobile Radio residency – Glasgow Calling Scale

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.

@radiophrenia
@Mobile_Radio
@NicholaScrutton