Tag: Sound Art + Composition

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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

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Memory Dream Encounter 1 Micro-Commissions

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.

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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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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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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 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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Creative Scotland Funding for Development 2021

Night Vision – ensemble research and development 2021

Thrilled to have the opportunity to develop Phase 1 of Night Vision with support from the Creative Scotland Open Fund. This funding supports me to work with an ensemble to develop my sound and performance ideas. Thanks to all who have supported this work so far. Sign up for updates at Newsletter…

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Dear Prudence re-imagined | Anne Colvin

I am delighted to be collaborating as a vocalist with artist Anne Colvin on her moving image artwork/experience Dear Prudence re-imagined. More information about the work is available at Dear Prudence re-imagined.

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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., in the hour before lockdown. Here’s a clip…

@zoestrachan
@NicholaScrutton

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Rough Breathing Shortlisted

Delighted 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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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. At the core of the project was a series of exploratory workshops, co-led with Malcy Duff who works with Bothy Learning Space. 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.

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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The Dwelling Series

The Dwelling Series - Nichola Scrutton

The Dwelling Series is a triptych of vocal works. Multiple concepts arising from the notion of the title Dwelling gave rise to an interactive process of improvising and recording with MAXMSP, through which I sought to explore a sense of ‘inhabiting’ the work. As inspiration for generating improvised material under this complex umbrella concept of ‘dwelling’ I used three general metaphors to articulate events or states: dust (nature), cycle (flow/journey) and echo (memory).

The compositional process consisted of creating successive  vocal improvisations, which were merged together, fully intact, after each improvisation was captured. Manipulation of the captured improvisations was strictly limited to the editing of gestures and textures in time and space to enhance or magnify relationships/conflicts that emerged by chance as each layer was added.

(i) Dwelling/In Dialogue: studio composition (17′). 

(ii) Dwelling/Encounters: pre-composed sound and live performance, in which two live performers merged and improvised with a pre-composed soundtrack projected through multiple loud speakers.  Swiss vocalist Céline Hänni and I undertook a short intensive residency to explore extended technique vocal improvisation that culminated in the final performance. (12’30). Listen

(iii) Dwelling/In Reflection: live interactive solo performance (18′). 

 

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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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Residency at Q-O2 in Brussels

Q-O2 residency

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.

 

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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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Rough Breathing at Tectonics Festival

Tectonics Festival
Setting up at the Old Fruitmarket, Glasgow

Excited to be performing  some of our Rough Breathing project this weekend at Tectonics Festival in Glasgow with Alex South. We’ll be in the Old Fruitmarket at 4pm on Sunday 5th May 2019. Read more about line up at Tectonics Glasgow 2019 announcement and more info…Also at Festival info and the Tectonics Facebook event …

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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.

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Co-commission – Outspoken Arts

Love Street – The Musical

Love Street Paisley ExpressMartin O’Connor and I collaborated once again  on a co-commission from Outspoken Arts Scotland. We were invited to develop a proposal for a  new theatre production in Paisley called Love Street – The Musical. We spent two months  out and about visiting organisations and gathering stories from people in Paisley who have memories and connections to Love Street.

Love Street research
Research at Paisley Heritage Centre

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Sonic Bothy Ensemble Album Launch

Sonic Bothy inclusive new music ensemble I work with launched its debut album Fields with a performance at Mono in Glasgow on 28th February 2019.  The album was recorded near the end of 2017 at Riverside Studios. Read more at Lost Art Agency and at Glasgow City Music Tours…The album 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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Lateral on BBC Radio 4

BBC Radio 4, 14th Feb at 11.30am.

A clip of my composition Lateral will be included in BBC Radio 4 prog Shaped by the River Clyde.  The programme is about artist and humanitarian George Parsonage, and features artist Minty Donald. Many thanks to Minty for including my work. Minty originally commissioned Lateral as part of High-Slack-Low-Slack-High for Glasgow International Festival in 2012. Following those performances, I created a studio version, which has been broadcast internationally.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0002hlk

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Rough Breathing – The Herald

181124 Keith Bruce Rough Breathing

Near the end of our CCA/AC Projects Residency we held an informal event in the Creative Lab. We shared a performance of work-in-progress and had a wonderful Q and A/discussion.

Many thanks indeed to Keith Bruce for including Rough Breathing in this nice piece about CCA Glasgow and the Counterflow Festival 2019.

https://www.heraldscotland.com/opinion/17241164.keith-bruce-glasgow-continues-to-host-ground-breaking-music/

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Sonic Bothy Updates 2018

Performance

Sonic Bothy Ensemble and Bothy Learning Space joined forces for some intensive rehearsals and a big performance, Diagonal Joy, in the Recital Room at City Halls in November 2018.

Nomination

Sonic Bothy ISME 2016 at RCS photo © SBEveryone’s excited that Sonic Bothy Ensemble has been nominated for a Scottish Award For New Music.

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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Rough Breathing CCA/AC Projects Residency

CCA:AC Projects1Delighted to have been selected for a month-long CCA/AC Projects Residency with clarinettist Alex South in the Creative Lab at CCA Glasgow – read more at the CCA website.

During our residency Alex South and I explored different elements through the Rough Breathing context – live electronics, audiovisual, and psychoacoustic and sonic relationships between voice and clarinet in addition to breathing practices informed by Pranayama.

Nichola and Alex recording CCASession with Wendy 181117

 

 

 

 

 

 

We posted some blogs at AC Projects Counterflows and shared some work-in-progress at an informal gathering at CCA near the end of the residency. Huge thanks to Alasdair Campbell/AC Projects, Creative Scotland, Alex Misick, Kenny Christie and all at CCA Glasgow, and our guests in the lab, sound designer William Aikman, filmmaker Wendy Kirkup and dance artists Joan Clevillé and Solène Weinachter.

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Rough Breathing at Sharmanka

Sharmanka Scrutton:South

Many thanks to John Cavanagh for inviting us to perform on 1st July 2018 at Sharmanka Gallery amongst the wonderful, atmospheric kinetic sculptures.

Alex South and I further explored our Rough Breathing collaboration for voice and clarinets.

Here’s a link to the Sharmanka event. https://www.facebook.com/events/181727232538481/

 

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Static Flux at Hidden Door Festival

Zoë Strachan and I performed Static Flux at the Hidden Door Festival in Edinburgh on 29th May 2018.

Programme Note

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.

@zoestrachan
@NicholaScrutton

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The Mark of the Beast review

***** (The Herald)

Read the review online

Presented by Martin O’Connor and Platform
Written and Performed by Martin O’Connor
With Nichola Scrutton and the North East Recovery Community
Platform, Easterhouse 13th-15th April
The Scottish Storytelling Centre 19th April

Creative Team:
Martin O’Connor – Writer and Performer
Nichola Scrutton – Composition/Sound Design
Fergus Dunnet – Set Design
Hana Allen – Stage Management
Davie Green – Lighting Design
Alan McKendrick – Directing Support
Eoin Carey – Image and Production Photography