Blog Archives

Tone 43 | Chris Watson & Marcus Davidson – “Cross-Pollination “

May 17, 2011 » Permalink: Tone 43 | Chris Watson & Marcus Davidson – “Cross-Pollination “

CD in digipak – 2 tracks – 48:20
Art Direction: Jon Wozencroft
Cover image: Yusuke Murakami

Track Listing:

1. Chris Watson “Midnight at the Oasis” 28:03
The piece is a 28 minute time compression from sunset to sunrise in South Africa’s Kalahari desert and features the dense and harmonic mosaic of delicate animal rhythms recorded in this remote habitat. “Midnight at the Oasis” was first performed at the Marquee in Parliament Street, York, on 13th September 2007 as part of SightSonic’s contribution to the BA Festival of Science. The Kalahari desert is a vast and open space where most of the wildlife is nocturnal. After sunset the dunes, grasses and thorn bushes are patrolled by an emerging alien empire – the insects. Midnight at the Oasis’ presents an unseen soundscape from this beautiful and hostile environment.

2. Chris Watson & Marcus Davidson “The Bee Symphony” 20:00

A project conceived by Chris Watson originally for “Pestival” in 2009 to explore the vocal harmonies between humans and honey bees in a unique choral collaboration around and within the hives of an English country garden. Recorded live at The Rymer Auditorium, Music Research Centre, University of York, England on December 17th 2010 by Tony Myatt, using a Soundfield SPS200 microphone recorded onto an Edirol R4 (surround version), and 2 x Neumann U87 microphones via Grace Microphone Preamplifiers, recorded onto an Edirol R44 (stereo version). Composed and arranged by Marcus Davidson using recordings made by Chris Watson & Mike Harding, and diffused through a 4.1 Genelec system by Chris Watson. The Bee Choir: Dylan de Buitlear, Lisa Coates, Steph Connor, Lewis Marlowe and Shendie McMath. With thanks to Peter Boardman (the event producer), Tom Emmett, Celia Frisby & Bridget Nicholls, who originally commissioned The Bee Symphony.

Marcus Davidson writes: “The first thing that struck me about the bees was how tuneful they were. During the day, their pitch was always based around A an octave below 440, the note we tune orchestras to. I found that the bees formed chords around the A, which varied depending on their mood. I spent time notating these bee chords, or note clusters, and as the bees sing easily in the human vocal range, I then scored the actual bee music for choir.
The sound of humans singing bees was strangely engaging. I thought it was reminiscent of Aboriginal music, perhaps showing how in tune with nature the native civilisations are. In fact, all the chords and ‘tunes’ in The Bee Symphony are taken from actual notes sung by the bees in the field recordings. The score was written so the choir sings exactly with different aspects of the bee song in real time, so hopefully we indeed have humans singing in harmony with bees!”

Chris Watson’s CD ‘El Tren Fantasma’ will be out in September…

Buy Chris Watson & Marcus Davidson “Cross-Pollination” in the TouchShop

www.marcusdavidson.net

The Bee Symphony on BBC Radio 3 | 24th May 2011

Down There Among The Roots | Newlyn May – July 2011

April 28, 2011 » Permalink: Down There Among The Roots | Newlyn May – July 2011

13th May – 9th July 2011 at Newlyn Art Gallery

Down There Among The Roots features the sound recordings of BAFTA award-winning Chris Watson, and the site-specific clay installations of recent V & A artist-in-residence Phoebe Cummings.

Through the exhibition both artists investigate the passage of time in relation to specific geographical locations; revealing aural and visual elements that are often overlooked. The lower gallery space will be filled with the haunting sounds of Chris Watson’s recordings of wires and water, sounds which were captured by burying equipment below the ground and submerging hydrophones within the ocean. The room will be dark except for a spotlight illuminating Phoebe Cummings’ miniature landscape, intricately crafted by the artist from un-fired clay.

The upper gallery’s light, airy space has influenced the second of Phoebe’s specially commissioned pieces. This will be a large, clay installation comprised of exquisite small scenes and life-size fragments informed by details from the Cornish landscape, such as satellite dishes and palms. Alongside this will be Chris’ second piece, recorded in the air, which will create an immersive acoustic environment. The exhibition culminates in The Studio cafe which will be filled with telecommunication artefacts and books that shed light on some of the inspirations behind the work.

Co-curated by students from MA Curatorial Practice at University College Falmouth (UCF), this is the third year of a successful collaboration with Newlyn Art Gallery. As Blair Todd, Exhibitions Curator/Deputy Director at Newlyn Art Gallery & The Exchange says: “We are delighted to continue our partnership with the MA Curatorial Practice course at UCF. This is the third year of tutoring, mentoring and assisting the students to realise a public exhibition at Newlyn Art Gallery. Down There Among The Roots proves again the commitment and ambition of both the course and the gallery to bring the best of national contemporary art to the region.”

Down There Among The Roots 13th May – 9th July 2011 Preview 12th May 7 – 9pm
Newlyn Art Gallery, New Road, Newlyn, Penzance TR18 5PZ
Opening hours: Monday – Saturday: 10am – 5pm, Sunday: Closed Free Admission

 

Dialogues Festival | 22nd April 2011

April 15, 2011 » Permalink: Dialogues Festival | 22nd April 2011

Inspace

Dialogues proudly acknowledges the support of the Sound Design and Digital Composition and Performance MScs, the Informatics Forum, and the HSS Knowledge Transfer Office at the University of Edinburgh.

The University of Edinburgh’s Inspace is a public engagement facility that explores the cultural significance of informatics and new media practice. Inspace is home to a joint research partnership between the School of Informatics and New Media Scotland.
You can read more about Chris’s trip to Edinburgh here, and you can read an extended version by Neil Cooper on his blog.

ORF have made an announcement of his performance in Krems and a short portrait of Chris Watson.

Jules Verne’s Volcano | BBC Radio 4 14th July 2011

April 6, 2011 » Permalink: Jules Verne’s Volcano | BBC Radio 4 14th July 2011

Jules Verne’s Volcano
1130 14th July 2011
BBC Radio 4

It’s a year since a volcanic eruption in Iceland grounded air travel over Europe, and the skies fell silent. But it’s another Icelandic volcano which has always obsessed world renowned sound recordist Chris Watson. Snaefellsjokull , the glacier which conceals the fictional passage to the Centre of the Earth.

For BBC Radio 4, with a trunk full of those hi-spec microphones, (see photos below from the trip) he shares his passion for the Icelandic landscape with the many artists, painters and musicians who live in this unique environment. He also gains privileged access to cult Icelandic band Sigur Rós’s recording studio, to share his sounds and talk to Kjartan, the band’s keyboardist.

An expert in recording wildlife, for this programme Chris takes on the perils of this often hostile landscape to record its sounds from above and beneath the surface, in his own sonic adventure in the shadow of “Jules Verne’s Volcano”.
Producer and photos below: Rose de Larrabeiti

from The Radio Times 9-15 April 2011

and you can read a review in The Guardian.

roselab1

roselab3

On the TV… | 22nd March 2011

March 22, 2011 » Permalink: On the TV… | 22nd March 2011

This week, The One Show presents a series of films with Chris Watson

Donau Festival | May 2011

March 17, 2011 » Permalink: Donau Festival | May 2011

A Journey South

Chris Watson was not only co-founder of legendary Sheffield art-rock band Cabaret Voltaire, he is meanwhile also one of the most renowned collectors of animal and nature field recordings. His album “Weather Report” from 2003 is, according to the Guardian, one of the 1000 albums to hear before you die. For the donaufestival he has prepared an installation and a live-performance. As part of the former, “Sea Ice”, he captured the melting of Antarctic ice in five collaged soundtracks, while the latter, “A Journey South”, sees the familiar sounds of Europe slowly dissolving into dark and beautiful soundscapes at the end of the world.

www.donaufestival.at

Elegies from a Suburban Garden | BBC Radio 4 March 2011

March 4, 2011 » Permalink: Elegies from a Suburban Garden | BBC Radio 4 March 2011

Mon – Fri , 28 March – 1st April
15.45-16.00

Presenter: Phil Gates
Wildlife sound recordist: Chris Watson
Producer: Sarah Blunt

“If we’re lucky”, says botanist Phil Gates” we gardeners get to experience the seasonal rollercoaster of gardening emotions about 70 times. Just 70 spring, summer, autumn and winters in a lifetime … and with each passing cycle those that remain become even more precious”. This series, recorded over a year, explores the relationship between a gardener and his garden and the emotions evoked by each season. In a modern, high-tech consumer society cultivating a garden remains perhaps the most direct way in which we can maintain an emotional and sensual link with the natural world.

Caves – Kings College | London 14-17 February 2011

February 10, 2011 » Permalink: Caves – Kings College | London 14-17 February 2011

Anatomy Theatre & Museum

Programme:

A free programme of talks, performances, sound and film installations bringing together students, academics, artists and the public in long-table discussions and presentations to explore the figure of the cave from pre-history to post-humanism.
Chris opens the program at 1600 HRS on Monday 14th February

Curators:

Dr. Catalin Partenie (University of Quebec at Montreal & National School of Political Studies and Administration, Bucharest) and Alan Read (Professor of Theatre, King’s College London)

Entrance:

All CAVES events are free to staff, students and public alike, however so we can arrange sufficient catering, please register by sending an email to anna.ashton@kcl.ac.uk with CAVES in the title and details of which events you would like to participate in. In the unlikely event of excessive numbers, entrance will be arranged on a first come first served basis. We would like to apologise in advance should this inconvenience anyone.

SoundField ST350 Records Life on Earth

February 9, 2011 » Permalink: SoundField ST350 Records Life on Earth

Chris Watson, wildlife sound recordist par excellence, has purchased a SoundField ST350 Portable Microphone System for location recording.

Watson, whose career began as a founder member of UK electronic and musique concrete experimentalists Cabaret Voltaire before he became a location sound engineer, has worked closely with respected broadcaster Sir David Attenborough ever since work began on BBC series The Life Of Birds in 1996. In recent years, he has worked as a location recording engineer and sound consultant on feature films such as The Meerkats (Paul Newman’s last film), and National Geographic’s Galapagos, which required his recordings to be made in surround. After years of experimenting with multi-microphone arrays, he began working with SoundField microphones late last year.

You can read more about this here

The Wire | BBC Radio 4 2nd January 2011

December 8, 2010 » Permalink: The Wire | BBC Radio 4 2nd January 2011

The Guardian reviews the broadcast:

wiredlab

Sunday 2 January, 2011
13.30-14.00

Chris Watson visits The WIRED Lab project in Australia, which is inspired by the work of biomedical scientist and composer Alan Lamb, who has long been fascinated by the extraordinary sounds created when the wind and the weather interact with telegraph wires or fencing cables stretched across the landscape. Here, Chris not only meets Alan and his colleagues Sarah Last and Dave Burraston to find out more about the history and evolution of their work with wire structures, but also records for himself the music of the wires.

Presenter Chris Watson
Producer Sarah Blunt

The National Gallery | London, 3rd December 2010

December 3, 2010 » Permalink: The National Gallery | London, 3rd December 2010

Setting the scene for the Virgin – A tour of paintings with sound and candlelight

Imagine yourself beyond the walls of the Gallery with this special low-lighted tour of some of the most beautiful paintings in the collection…

Join lecturer James Heard to discover more about the original settings of the paintings and the symbolism within them. Your procession through the Sainsbury Wing galleries will come to life through contemporary interpretations by sound artists Chris Watson and Simon Fisher Turner. The tour will include four paintings, ending in front of a candlelit scene of the Coronation of the Virgin.

Australia | November 2010

October 31, 2010 » Permalink: Australia | November 2010

The WIRED Lab, in association with The British Council proudly present….

Rolling Stock
20TH NOVEMBER

A series of art happenings on a vintage train moving through the landscapes of Junee (SW NSW)

Featuring Chris Watson (UK), Renny Kodgers, Kate Murphy, Alan Lamb, Dave Noyze, PVI Collective, Public Assembly, Shannon O’Neill and more…

View poster here

TICKETS ON SALE NOW: www.rolling-stock.org

Chris Watson Live Audio performance

Evening also includes performances by the WIRED Lab.
When: Wednesday 24th November 2010, 7pm
Where: Chauvel Cinema, Paddington Town Hall, Corner of Oxford St & Oatley Rd,
Paddington, Sydney.
Cost: Adult $15, Concession $10
TICKETS ON SALE NOW: www.stickytickets.com.au

24TH NOVEMBER
Chris performs “A Journey South”
View poster here
You can read press and radio coverage here

Radio

14.11.10

Interview on ‘Canvas’ arts program on FBI radio, Sydney
24.11.10
ABC 1 hour interview with Margaret Thosby
21.11.10
JJJ Soundlab program with Fenella Kernebone
18.12.10
ABC Radio National ‘New Music Up Late’ special on Rolling Stock, 2 hour program featuring interviews with Chris and participating artists.
TBA
ABC Radio National ‘The Night Air’ prerecorded a special focus program with Watson, but this has not aired yet, will keep you posted on its broadcast date.

Press

23.11.10
Review in The Australian national newspaper

El Tren Fantasma (The Ghost Train) | BBC Radio 4 30th October 2010

October 24, 2010 » Permalink: El Tren Fantasma (The Ghost Train) | BBC Radio 4 30th October 2010

BBC Radio 4
Saturday 30 Oct, 2010
20.02 – 21.00

Sound recordist and Narrator: Chris Watson
Producer: Sarah Blunt

A thrilling acoustic journey across the heart of Mexico from Pacific to Atlantic coast using archive recordings to recreate a rail passenger service which no longer exists.
Ride the train from Los Mochis to Veracruz and soak up the atmosphere of Mexico in this immersive acoustic journey.

It’s more than a decade since the Mexican State Railway System operated its last continuous passenger service across country. Sound recordist Chris Watson spent a month on board the train with some of the last passengers to travel this route. He was part of a film crew working on a programme in the BBC TV series Great Railways Journeys. Now, in this ARCHIVE on 4, based on the original sound recordings, the journey of the ‘ghost train’ is recreated; evoking memories of a recent past, capturing the atmosphere, rhythms and sounds of human life and wildlife along the tracks of one of Mexico’s greatest engineering projects.

The Sunday Telegraph:

Sometimes, radio can awaken the mind and sharpen the senses like no other medium. This ‘sound portrait’ of a now-abandoned railway line that used to run between the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of Mexico is a good case in point. Captured by sound recordist Chris Watson more than a decade ago, it jostles with human, animal and mechanical life, and is more richly evocative of Central America than any TV travel show I’ve seen. [Pete Naughton]

The Observer:

It is over a decade since the Mexican state railway system operated its last continuous passenger service across the country but here sound recordist Chris Watson recreates its atmospheric journey with the help of the train recordings he made while working on the BBC television series Great Railway Journeys. His luxurious trip took him through desert and city, but it is the rocking rhythms of the train itself that prove most memorable. [Stephanie Billen]

The Financial Times:

El Tren Fantasma (8pm) is Archive on 4’s recollection of a trans-Mexico rail journey by sound recordist Chris Watson. From desert to rainforest, hummingbirds’ wings to the boom of heat rising from the Copper Canyon, it recalls a beloved passenger train system abandoned by privatisation. **** [Martin Hoyle]

The Daily Telegraph:

Sometimes, radio can awaken the mind and sharpen the senses like no other medium. This “sound portrait” of a now-abandoned railway line that used to run between the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of Mexico is a good case in point. Captured by sound recordist Chris Watson more than a decade ago, it jostles with human, animal and mechanical life, filling the room with an atmosphere that is more richly evocative of Central America than any TV travel show I’ve seen. Diesel engines thrum, cicadas chirrup and passengers chatter, sing and argue. Close your eyes and go on holiday for an hour. [Pete Naughton]

Chris Watson on Autumnwatch & Unsprung | 21st October 2010

October 22, 2010 » Permalink: Chris Watson on Autumnwatch & Unsprung | 21st October 2010

This year Chris was on location in Northumberland for BBC’s Autumnwatch. He also appeared on Unsprung and posed a sonic quiz to viewers and the studio audience.

The answers to the sonic quiz are:

1) Puffins
2) Grey Seals
3) Deathwatch Beetles

You can read more here

A Guide to Coastal Birds (repeat) | November 2010

October 14, 2010 » Permalink: A Guide to Coastal Birds (repeat) | November 2010

BBC Radio 4
8-12 November
14.45-15.00

Presenter: Brett Westwood
Contributor: Stephen Moss
Wildlife sound recordist Chris Watson
Producer : Sarah Blunt

In A Guide to Coastal Birds, a series of five programmes, Brett Westwood is joined by keen birdwatcher Stephen Moss on the north coast of Devon, and with the help of wildlife sound recordist Chris Watson they offer a practical and entertaining guide to identifying many of the birds which you’re likely to see and hear around Britain’s coastline.

A Guide to Coastal Birds, complements three previous series A Guide to Garden Birds (2007), and A Guide to Woodland Birds (2008), and A Guide to Water Birds (2009).

Calls of the Wild: Chris Watson and Sir David Attenborough in Conversation

October 12, 2010 » Permalink: Calls of the Wild: Chris Watson and Sir David Attenborough in Conversation

From 29 May to 5 September 2010, co-producers Sound and Music and Forma presented Chris Watson’s sound installation Whispering in the Leaves in the Palm House at Kew Gardens, part of Kew’s Summer Festival.

Chris Watson is a renowned sound recordist and BAFTA winner for his work on the BBC documentary The Life of Birds. In this video he talks to long-time colleague Sir David Attenborough about their experiences sound recording in the wild. The talk was held on 10 August at the Royal Institution of Great Britain and was kindly chaired by Richard Ranft, Head of the British Sound Archive.

Please note this is an excerpt of a 1.5 hour talk.

www.whisperingintheleaves.com
www.davidattenborough.co.uk

The Bee Symphony | York 17th December 2010

September 30, 2010 » Permalink: The Bee Symphony | York 17th December 2010

Tickets are now available for this live performance of The Bee Symphony from York Concerts at The Rymer Auditorium

The Bee Symphony

Celebrating the bee in science and art

Friday 17 December 2010 at 7.30pm
Rymer Auditorium

The Bee Symphony, consisting of recordings of bees by Chris Watson (‘The Life of Birds’, ‘The Life of Mammals’, ‘Life in the Undergrowth’ and ‘Life in Cold Blood’), Mike Harding (Touch) and a vocal score by Marcus Davidson (Spire) will be performed live by Chris Watson and five singers from the University of York, conducted by Marcus Davidson. The Symphony was originally commissioned as part of Pestival and performed in the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London.

“The theme of the evening is really for people to become immersed in the sounds and rhythms of the insects.” Chris Watson

In addition to The Bee Symphony the programme will feature other sound performances and talks by scientists on current research on bees and the current perils that they face.

Updated details of the full programme

Chromatologies Festival | May – June 2010

September 30, 2010 » Permalink: Chromatologies Festival | May – June 2010

For the final event of the Chromatologies Festival 2010, renowned wildlife sound recordist Chris Watson has kindly agreed to hold an additional session open to the general public. He will present his sound recordings of wildlife and natural environments entitled ‘The Songs of Summer’:

“Throughout May and June the British Isles resonate to some of the strangest and most beautiful sounds on earth; the voices, rhythms and music of our wildlife. In an acoustic journey from the vast seabird cliffs in the far north via a suburban garden pond to nocturnal soloists hidden in deep cover somewhere within Home Counties woodlands. Chris Watson celebrates the sonic biodiversity found across our unique landscapes.”
The event is very family friendly and we hope all age groups will attend and enjoy Chris’ beautiful work.

The session will take place on Friday 1st October at Rotherham Central Library and Arts Centre, Walker Place, Rotherham S65 1JH.

Doors open at 6:45 and the session will start at 7pm, so arrive promptly.

Entrance is free but please email info@chromatologies.com to let us know if you plan to come so we know roughly how many people to expect.

About Chris Watson:

Chris Watson is a world leading, and BAFTA award winning, sound recordist with a particular and passionate interest in recording the wildlife sounds of animals, habitats and atmospheres from around the world. As a freelance recordist for film, television & radio, Chris Watson specialises in natural history and documentary and is well known for his work with Sir David Attenborough. His recorded works, noted for their exceptional detail and beauty, were listed in the Guardians ‘1000 albums to hear before you die’.
“Calling Chris a sound recordist is a bit like saying George Best could kick a ball about, or Michelangelo was handy with a paintbrush.” Daily Telegraph 24th August 2010.

for further information see:
www.chromatologies.com

OWLS (repeat) | BBC Radio 4 1st October 2010

September 9, 2010 » Permalink: OWLS (repeat) | BBC Radio 4 1st October 2010

Friday 1st Oct, 2010
14.15 -15.00

A fictional story written and narrated by Paul Evans and based on an island legend about a brother and sister who were bound by a wish sworn on a barn owl feather, which in turn became a curse that proved fatal. Recorded on location in Scotland; isolation, human desire and the supernatural are explored in this unsettling drama about the relationship between hope and desire, Man and Nature.

Old man / young boy …. Jimmy Yuill / David McLellan
Old sister / young girl …. Alyth McCormack / Michaela Sweeney

WILDLIFE SOUND RECORDIST: Chris Watson
SOUND ENGINEER : Michael Burgess
PRODUCER / DIRECTOR: Sarah Blunt

Birdsong: the cure for all ills? | The Guardian 25th August 2010

August 25, 2010 » Permalink: Birdsong: the cure for all ills? | The Guardian 25th August 2010

birdsong

There was also a piece in The Daily Telepgraph on 24th August 2010