A few Fridays back, driving back from London,  after a meeting with two artists I’m working with and seeing the Anish Kapoor exhibition at the Royal Academy, listening to radio 3 – that’s my main listening nowadays, I find everything else does my head in – after 10 in the evening, I came across Charlie Gillet presenting World on 3. His guest was Michel Winter and it was inspiring to listen to two true music enthusiasts. The music they played was diverse, Fela Kuti’s Zombie next to Jimi Hendrix’s Red House next to to the beautiful and bizarre and hard to find Les Musiciens Du Nil. Generally I’m not a fan of ‘world music’, not that I don’t like music from different parts of the planet that  we find ourselves on, but because quite often people like it because it is labeled as such rather than for any other quality it may have. Music is music, and good music is good music. Anyway, World on 3 between 11.15pm and 1.00am is my recommended listening.

Just took a quick look at the SVA – Stroud Valley Arts – exhibition. Some good and intriguing and some truly dreadful and poorly executed.
Oogoo Maia’s sonic found object sculptures tickled me. The first, I thought a poorly executed play on music by Steve Reich, using feedback from swinging microphones over speakers – the sonic [...]

A journey through moving image and sound.
A series of thoughts and stories from the older generation filtered through the eyes and ears of young people. Informal interviews combined with animation, sound and film exploring the townscape of Addlestone. This has not intended to be either historical, or a reminiscence. The aim throughout has been to [...]

In tech week for a play at the studio space at Hampstead Theatre.
This is a new play by Lizzy Dijeh. The play revolves around Nigerian familiy, living in East London, coming to terms with the death of their daughter. It is a fantastically written and structured play and deals with grief with a lot of [...]

After a few days of listlessness at the beginning of last week I had to wind myself up to fire on all cylinders for the Friday night opening party of Colston Hall. I think I did pretty well as the cause of the apathy was one of those events that have knocked me sideways in [...]

I am at an end with Schtanhaus and Headlong Theatre’s production of The Winters Tale. Sunday morning I felt proud of the production, feeling proud of my contribution to my first professional Shakespeare production, now I want nothing to do with it.
There have been three previews so far and press night is tomorrow and I [...]

Managed a quick sound edit for my good friend Will Docherty for a trailer he has made promoting his documentary project Moving Image.
I think he as managed to say a lot with mostly images and a couple well chosen soundbites, and it gives a great feel to how the final 30 minute documentary will be.

Oh [...]

Managed to squeeze in a trip to the Cornish Coast for a couple of weeks amidst lots of busyness. I found my creativity flagging and was on the point of doing my work like an automaton. That has to be a sign to stop and take stock. And there is know better way than swimming [...]

When I start work on a production I find it best to start with making a creative reaction to the material. A piece music, that I might not necessarily use, that gives me a sonic landscape from which to draw elements. This helps the sound design to have a sense of cohesiveness, so that all [...]