Type: installation
Year: 2021
Duration: 18’ loop with continuous live feed
Premiere: Fuddlefest, 21st-22nd August 2021
In June I came to Fuddletown to do some field recording of the area. It was a beautiful sunny summer's day and the birds were singing, more or less constantly. In fact I was surprised by how often they sang. On listening back to the recordings there was hardly a moment when the birds could not be heard. I then began to focus in on another sound they made, which is perhaps less what we think of when we think of bird sounds – their wings.
The recordings featured many examples of their wings beating, flapping and fluttering and I began to process these and assemble a soundscape based around them. In this way this work became a kind of comtemplation of birds and their wings and the incredible journeys which they make with them.
The swallow also became a particular focus as a family had nested in the garage just beside the greenhouse where this installation takes place.
All audio environmental recordings were taken at Fuddletown on June 19th which were then combined with sounds and also video of the harmonium. (found video footage of swallows also features for the visuals)