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Salt Cellar with Zoë Strachan

Salt Cellar – live-to-broadcast performance – Zoë Strachan and Nichola Scrutton

Salt Cellar – a collaborative radio art work

Zoë Strachan and I first performed Salt Cellar as a live-to-air broadcast on Radiophrenia, 11th February 2022, in the Creative Lab at the CCA Glasgow.

Programme Note

What is a prompt? It’s an inciting, a bringing forth, an augury, an urge, a bringing to light. In this live to broadcast performance, Nichola Scrutton and Zoë Strachan employ a cootie catcher (also known as a salt cellar) to provoke a series of discreet but interlinked improvisations based on texts, photographs and physical objects. Thus they seek to enact an archaeology of embodied memory within the palimpsest of a time-limited performance space.  

Zoë and I collaborate to make sound art/experimental radio combining newly written and found text, composed sound, field recordings, found sound, voice and improvisation.

@zoestrachan
@NicholaScrutton

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Voice Workshops with Wendy Kirkup

Devising and delivering a series of voice workshops with Wendy Kirkup as part of her 2021 research and development towards a new film looking at 16mm film and improvised voice.

Performers/participants: Wendy, Catherine, Laura, Nicole and Emmie. The film footage was captured by Alex Hetherington, and Stevie Jones recorded the sound. See more of Wendy’s work at Wendy’s Instagram.

Group photo © Alex Hetherington. Film photo © Nichola Scrutton

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Memory Dream Encounter 1 Micro-Commissions

In another strand of research that emerged during Night Vision phase 1 in 2021, I curated a series of micro-commissions.

I responded to the main text through a series of improvised drawings, and photographed fragments of the drawings in process. Those images served as a prompt, a connecting point, a spring board for dialogue.

I invited composers/sound artists Ruth Wiesenfeld, Elisabetta Senesi, Dafna Naphtali, Julia Drouhin and Claire Docherty to create miniature sound compositions in response to the visual prompts and title Memory | Dream | Encounter. The sound compositions stand alone as individual works and as a collection.

On 31st August 2021 the six composers met in a virtual gathering to listen together, and discuss the creative process. Subsequently I edited the works into a programme that was broadcast on Radiophrenia at 9pm on 13th February 2022.

Many thanks indeed to:

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)

@NicholaScrutton
@radiophrenia

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hyphæ drawing collective at Folkestone

hyphæ drawing collective poster for group show in Folkestone

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.

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hyphæ drawing collective

One of ten artist who formed the hyphæ drawing collective. The collective met online during the lockdown of early 2021, through the inaugural Drawing Correspondence development programme (Feb 2021). Read more about hyphæ drawing collective at our website, where you can also contact us and sign up for our newsletter. We are also on social media a Instagram @hyphaedrawing 



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Giant Tank Pot Luck at Tusk TV

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.

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Colliding Lines Tape and Digital Album Artwork

I am delighted to have produced some new drawings for the cover of tape / digital album River . Pathway . Static – at Colliding Lines. Release date is Monday 19th July 2021. More info and link for tape purchase at Colliding Lines (which includes a digital version). The digital version is also available at Colliding Lines Bandcamp

Colliding Lines are also broadcasting on Resonance Extra – info and listening links at #18 Nettles and Chalklines.

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Sonic Bothy Updates July 2021

New Work

Sonic Bothy Ensemble produced a new digital work Verbaaaaatum for Tectonics Festival 2021. The festival was online for a month and hosted a fantastic array of digital and streamed music/sound performances. View the archive of the 2021 Tectonics Festival online at Tectonics Glasgow 2021

Hats off to Claire and all at Sonic Bothy for how everything has continued to grow and develop since the first lockdown hit in March 2020. In spite of the challenges, we’ve being actively involved in staying creatively connected to participants/musicians and producing new work, and it’s a joy.

Scottish Awards for New Music

Exciting that Sonic Bothy was shortlisted for The RCS Award for Education/Community Project at New Music Scotland. The awards were announced in an online event in July 2021 – congratulations to the winners. Read more about the category and shortlisted projects here…The RCS Award for Education/Community Project

Sonic Bothy Ensemble Album Fields

Sonic Bothy Ensemble’s debut album Fields is still available at Bandcamp in hard copy and digital formats…

https://sonicbothy.bandcamp.com/album/fields

More Information

For more information on Sonic Bothy Ensemble, and all the charity’s activities, please visit Sonic Bothy’s website.

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Drawing Correspondence Pilot Program

I was thrilled to be one of ten artists selected for the pilot of the Drawing Correspondence Program. The Program was developed and facilitated by artists / educators Anita Taylor, Chloe Briggs and Tania Kovats. In addition, we were fortunate to have guest artists to share and discuss practice.

The intensive six-week development period had an umbrella theme of Grow. Regular self-directed drawing practice was focused through an exciting range of activities and investigations, live online drawing classes, one-to-one and group discussion, sharing and presentations.

We produced a publication at the end of the Program – 10 Letters and 10 Drawings – initially published on Issuu, with a physical publication to follow. Link to Issuu publication

A huge thanks to all on the journey.

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Magnetic North Book – Restless Explorations

Lovely to receive this book Restless Explorations in the post – Magnetic North celebrating 21 years. Congratulations!

The book contains details of all their work & commissions by artists they have collaborated with.

I was delighted to be invited to make a contribution. I feel very fortunate to have support for work-in-progress Night Vision, which I initially developed through a Rough Mix Residency in 2019.

The commissioned image is called On Route and re-presents ideas from that development.

Limited Edition copies are available at the Magnetic North website

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Seasonal Yoga Academy 300hr Yoga RYT

I am very pleased to say that I finished my Seasonal Yoga Academy 300hr Yoga RYT Teacher Training in November 2020. This award combines with my 200hr training (2017) to complete the 500hr advanced training.

Many thanks indeed to all at the Seasonal Yoga Academy, particularly Marit, Claire, Julie and Sue. And huge thanks to my 300hr peers who shared the journey – what a wonderful , inspiring bunch of women!

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Up Closeness with Zoë Strachan

Up Closeness – a collaborative radio artwork

Zoë Strachan and I continue our exploration of performing live experimental radio artwork. Up Closeness is a dialogue between two green urban spaces, a close look at the local. An attempt to find small connections amid the dislocation from everyday life. Field recordings and voice sounds are combined with found and composed text to animate distinct temporal spaces. Live improvisation and embedded writing practice enact a mimetic re-inhabiting of space.

We first performed Up Closeness as a live broadcast at Radiophrenia Glasgow on 20th November 2020 in CCA Glasgow.

@zoestrachan
@NicholaScrutton

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Rough Breathing Shortlisted

I am excited to be shortlisted with Alex South for the Scottish Awards for New Music ISM Prize for Collaboration for our Rough Breathing collaboration. The Award event is on 14th April 2020 at the V&A in Dundee.

Read the category details at The ISM Prize for Collaboration
See the full shortlist  at Scottish Awards for New Music 2020

Please note, as of April 2020, the Rough Breathing sound clip will be removed from the public realm. Many thanks to BBC Radio 3  for the permission to use the clip for a year from the BBC’s live recording of the event.  A private clip will be available for professional use – please contact me if you are interested to hear it.

Many thanks to Alasdair Campbell, AC Projects, CCA Glasgow and all at Tectonics Glasgow 2019 for supporting Rough Breathing.

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Stolen Voices at CCA

stolen voices nichola scrutton 1
Photo © Alan Davidson

stolen voices nichola scrutton 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Necessary Notes: A Vocal Response  – solo performance as part of the Stolen Voices album launch on 8th February 2020.

Review

“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.

 

 

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Sonic Bothy Updates March 2020

Sonic Bothy Ensemble at TUSK Festival 2019

Performances

Sonic Bothy Ensemble Platform
SBE at Platform Glasgow (image © Brian Hartley/Sonic Bothy)

Sonic Bothy Ensemble enjoyed wonderful performances at TUSK Festival in October 2019 (photo above © Sonic Bothy) and at Platform Glasgow in December 2019.

Gateshead Jazz Festival – Covid-19 affected

Tectonics Festival – Covid-19 affected

Sonic Bothy Ensemble had two very exciting performances in the pipe-line – one in late March at The Sage, Gateshead for Gateshead Jazz Festival and one in early May at Tectonics, Old Fruitmarket. Unfortunately both were cancelled or postponed due to lockdown.

Meanwhile Sonic Bothy has resumed some rehearsals online. More news about future events will follow as and when available.

Performance Anxiety Research Project

Since September 2019 I have been Lead Artist on the development of Sonic Bothy’s Performance Anxiety Project, along with Creative Director Claire Docherty (Project Manager) and Malcy Duff who works with Bothy Learning Space (Support Artist). At the core of the project was a series of exploratory workshops, co-led with Malcy. The project aims, through direct experience in workshops, consultation and research, to increase awareness and create resources to support musicians with an ALSN in any aspect of performance anxiety and associated issues. The project has been detailed in an extensive research report, written up at the end of the practical work.

Sonic Bothy Ensemble Album Fields

Sonic Bothy Ensemble’s debut album Fields is still available at Bandcamp in hard copy and digital formats…

More Information

For more information on Sonic Bothy Ensemble, and all the charity’s activities, please visit Sonic Bothy’s website.

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Sonic Bothy Updates Oct 2019

Review – Sonic Bothy Ensemble: Immediate Buzz Shift, CCA, Glasgow

Image © Brian Hartley

 

“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…

Performances

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 Debut Album

Sonic Bothy Ensemble’s debut album Fields is available at Bandcamp…

More Information

For more information on Sonic Bothy Ensemble, and all the charity’s activities, please visit Sonic Bothy’s website.

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Radio Play | Ian Spink

Radio Play, Unfix Festival

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.

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Residency at Q-O2 in Brussels

Q-O2 residency
Portrait photo © Wendy Kirkup.

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. Part of my priority was to reflect on Night Vision – a new work-in-progress originally developed at Rough Mix Residency with Magnetic North Theatre Company. While I was there I also made some recordings, explored some visual artwork as an extension of the Night Vision text and, and gave an improvised performance with cellist Arnold Noid Haberl as part of a public sharing at the Q-O2 space.

Many thanks indeed to all at Q-O2!

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Rays & Correlations with Zoë Strachan

Rays & Correlations – a collaborative live-to-air broadcast

Zoë Strachan and I created Rays & Correlations  for a live broadcast from the Radiophrenia studio on 15th May 2019.

Rays & Correlations

Programme Note

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.

@zoestrachan
@NicholaScrutton

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Tectonics The Guardian

190507 Tectonics Review Guardian Tectonics Review The Guardian ****

7th May 2019

…”Downstairs in the Old Fruitmarket, Scottish vocalist Nichola Scrutton breathed deeply into a mic, the sounds mirrored by clarinettist Alex South across the room. In between, the audience were caught in a dexterous layering of breath that felt like the wash and roll of the sea.”…

Read the full Tectonics review online…

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Sonic Bothy Updates April 2019

Sonic Bothy Ensemble Performances

The next performance is at CCA, Glasgow on 26th April 2019. More details at Sonic Bothy’s Facebook page.

Article in The List magazine

Sonic Bothy article The List

Read the article at the link below…

https://www.list.co.uk/article/107892-sonic-bothy-aims-to-explore-glasgows-new-and-experimental-music-scene-as-a-source-of-dialogue-and-inspiration/

Review of SBE Album at Scots Whae Hae

Sonic Bothy album review Scots Whae Hae

Here’s a link to the review online – scroll down the page to find Sonic Bothy’s album write up…

Scots Whae Hae New Musical Success

More Information

For more information on Sonic Bothy Ensemble, and all the charity’s activities, please visit Sonic Bothy’s website.