As I am a bit of a nomad*, it will focus on solo improvisations in natural settings wherever I am drawn to on my travels, using voice, cello, viola da gamba, bowed psaltery, drum and possibly other instruments. I aim to tune in deeply and play music with nature, allowing it to ‘come through’ me.
*(though I’m aware this is a totally romanticised use of the word! Check out storyteller/academic Martin Shaw’s fantastic book Scatterlings for a great breakdown of this word, and his proposal for an alternative!)
I will also collaborate with others of musical or different disciplines along the way, and, perhaps, include field recordings of others’ music, with their permission. The pieces will be recorded with portable technology and shared online accumulatively. I will rework some of the music into compositions and intend these to eventually form an album – or albums. I’ll make notes and sketches along the way, perhaps include film and photography at various points if it feels right, and aim to create a final exhibition of all of these elements with live performance at the end of the project. The main intentions of 13 Moons are to develop my own attunement to nature – as musician and being – and to encourage a deepening of listening skills of both myself and others who find themselves connected with the project. During the project I will also run group vocal exploration workshops in natural settings (under the name ‘Improv-i-sing!)
Another part of 13 Moons is to log mindfully my experiences of making music and to keep written records of the existing sounds in each music-making environment – I will make every effort to source and notate the sounds I can hear, both natural and artificial, in a kind of sound-survey, and make notes on how these sounds feel and interact.
This blog is self-evidently for the written element of the project – I’m just getting started, so watch this space…
…and listen out for this one: http://www.soundcloud.com/13moonsofmusic
AND you can find more about me and my other musical projects here: http://www.ailsamairsong.com
Ailsa x
Gratefully funded by the Earth Pathways Seed Fund
