From Galapagos to St Kilda, Skellig Michael, Surtsey, Hy Brasil and beyond, Chris Watson, Luke Clancy and Kevin Brew return to the festival for an evening of surround-sound listening.
Islands is a journey to the most remote places on Earth, devised by the team behind the RTÉ Radio 1 series, Sound Stories. The event will merge chronicles of island life with Chris Watson’s stunning archive of natural history recordings, diffused in the unique ambience of Abbeystrewery Church and with a live soundtrack by Irene Buckley.
Chris Watson was a founding member of the influential Sheffield based experimental music group Cabaret Voltaire during the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. Since then he has developed a particular and passionate interest in recording the wildlife sounds of animals and habitats from around the world. As a freelance composer and sound recordist Watson specialises creating spatial sound installations which feature a strong sense and spirit of place.
His television work includes many programmes in the David Attenborough ‘Life’ series including ‘The Life of Birds’ which won a BAFTA Award for ‘Best Factual Sound’ in 1996, and as the location sound recordist for the BBC series ‘Frozen Planet’ which also won a BAFTA Award for ‘Best Factual Sound’ (2012).
Watson has recorded and featured in many BBC Radio 4 and World Service productions including ‘The Wire’ which won him the Broadcasting Press Guild’s Broadcaster of The Year Award (2012). His music is regularly featured on the BBC Radio 3 programme ‘Late Junction’. He has also worked extensively for RTE Radio 1 on series such as ‘Sound Stories’
In 2013 Watson received a Paul Hamlyn Composers Award.
His installations have been commissioned by international galleries and festivals such as Sheffield Millennium Gallery, Opera North in Leeds, The National Gallery, London, The Louvre, Paris, the Aichi Triennial in Japan and Unsound in Kraków.