The Sound and Music Podcast – Détails, épisodes et analyse

Composers Blythe Pepino, Rocky Dawuni and Emily Hall share their music and thoughts exploring activism in the climate crisis. What is the place of music in climate activism, and how do composers take action in their music?  

From protest songs to upbeat afroroots music inspiring hope and action, we listen to the origins of Extinction Rebellion’s “Emergency” anthem, what is the vision of a future Zion, and how music can help make sense of climate anxiety. Join our CEO Susanna Eastburn MBE and composer Anthony R. Green for a unique insight into composing – and if you like this episode, check out Ep.4: Portals which features Anthony R. Green and his fantastic music. 

Our recommendation at the end is an invitation to join Music Declares Emergency and Earth Percent, and inspire your colleagues, employers, and collaborators to take one further step in this journey of addressing the largest challenge our species have ever faced. 

In this episode, you listened to the following music and sounds: 

Blythe Pepino 

• Emergency (2018), written for Extinction Rebellion  
• Crisis for Women (2020), written for a protest organised by Extinction Rebellion on International Women’s Day 2020 
• Now Is The Time (unreleased), by Mesadorm, inspired by Naomi Klein’s book On Fire 

Rocky Dawuni 

• Modern Man and Beats of Zion (2019), from the album Beats of Zion by Rocky Dawuni 

Emily Hall 

• Feed (unreleased), written/produced by Emily Hall, sung by Jodie Landau 

• So Far (2019), performed by Lady Maisery on their album Cycle. Originally part of Rest, a secular requiem by Emily Hall

This podcast was produced by Michael Umney (Resonance FM) and mixed by Chris Bartholomew, with the theme tune composed by Rob Bentall.  

Our heartfelt thanks to the record labels, performers, composers and organisations who allowed us to include excerpts of these recordings on the podcast. 

Composers Hanna Tuulikki, Colin Riley and Dai Fujikura share their music and thoughts exploring the importance of place in music. How does the more-than-human manifest itself in the composers’ music, and what does it mean to be composing music in times of the climate crisis?

From imitating birds to Japanese onomatopoeia, we listen to a song written for a stream in the Cairngorms, music that imitates the freedom and order of birds flying, and how can one make sense of climate grief through sound and movement. Join our CEO Susanna Eastburn MBE and festival director Fiona Robertson (Sound Scotland) for a unique insight into composing. 

Our recommendation at the end is for In Place, a collection of songs by Colin Riley which you can explore fully at InPlaceProject.co.uk 

In this episode, you listened to the following music and sounds: 

Hanna Tuulikki 

• cloud-cuckoo-island (2016), a solo camera performance by Hanna Tuulikki 
• Metsänpeiton Alla (Under Forest Cover) (2021), an installation presented at the Helsinki Biennial 2021 exploring climate grief 
• Deer Dancer (2019), part of an installation presented at Edinburgh Art Festival 2019, the audio is now available on Bandcamp 

 Colin Riley 

• Litanies for the Furness Fells (2018), featuring words by Richard Skelton and Autumn Richardson; part of In Place, released by Squeaky Kate Music  
• Water over Stone (2018), featuring words by Nan Shepherd; part of In Place released by Squeaky Kate Music  
• Earth Voices: I. Luften (2021), commissioned by and premiered by Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra at Helsingborg Konserthus, Sweden conducted by Alfonso Scarano 

Dai Fujikura 

• Secret Forest (2008), performed by Okeanos Ensemble and released on NMC recordings 
• Gliding Wings (2019), performed by Ensemble Nomad with Makoto Yoshida, Hideo Kikuchi (clarinets) and conducted by Norio Sato; released on Minabel records 

This podcast was produced by Michael Umney (Resonance FM) and mixed by Chris Bartholomew, with the theme tune composed by Rob Bentall.  

Our heartfelt thanks to the record labels, performers, composers and organisations who allowed us to include excerpts of these recordings on the podcast. 

Composers Jem Finer, Elaine Mitchener, and Chaya Czernowin share their music and thoughts exploring the theme of Time.

We listen to a piece of music lasting 1,000 years, explore the politics of history and time past, and get a flavour for what non-linear music sounds like. Join our CEO Susanna Eastburn MBE and composer Des Oliver for a unique insight into composing.

This podcast was produced by Michael Umney (Resonance FM) and mixed by Chris Bartholomew, with our theme tune composed by Rob Bentall. Our recommendation at the end is for the Excuse the Mess podcast.

Jem Finer (b.1955)

• Longplayer (1999), with the support and collaboration of Artangel

Elaine Mitchener

• the then + the now = now time (2019), commissioned by MaerzMusik – Festival für
  Zeitfragen 
• Sweet Tooth (2017), performed by Elaine Mitchener, Sylvia Hallett, Mark Sanders, Jason Yarde
• Rolling Calf – a black power trio featuring vocalist Elaine Mitchener, saxophonist Jason Yarde and bassist Neil Charles

Chaya Czernowin (b.1957)

• Hidden (2014), performed by The Jack Quartet with electronics by Carlo Laurenzi and Jérémie Henrot, released by Schott Music (CD) and Wergo Records
• Infinite Now (2017), performed by Opera Vlaanderen, courtesy of IRCAM

Our heartfelt thanks to the record labels, performers, composers and organisations who allowed us to include excerpts of these recordings on the podcast.

The new Sound and Music podcast is nearly here – a place where new music is brought to life, Susanna Eastburn MBE (CEO, Sound and Music) and composer Des Oliver explore the extraordinary creators, stories and concepts behind new sounds and music.

Composers Daniel Kidane, Clarice Assad, Lei Liang and Evelien van den Broek share their music and thoughts exploring the climate emergency in music. What does it mean to be a composer in times of a climate crisis? How does our awareness of the crisis enter our work, and how do we find meaning in our work in these times? 

From exploring cultural belonging and understanding our place on this planet through myth to the imperative of artists to be good storytellers, we listen to field recordings of extinct species and vanishing rainforests and music that reflects and inspires. Join our CEO Susanna Eastburn MBE and composer Des Oliver for a unique insight into composing. 

This episode features a reading of John Agard’s poem Inheritance (© John Agard 2015 and reproduced by kind permission of John Agard c/o Caroline Sheldon Literary Agency Ltd)

Our recommendation at the end is for Music Declares Emergency (https://musicdeclares.net/)  

In this episode, you listened to the following music and sounds: 

Daniel Kidane 

• Ruin (2020), the second movement from Song of the Prophets, a commission and collaboration between Christian Aid UK and Chineke! Orchestra 

Clarice Assad 

• Lemuria (2018), commissioned and performed by Left Coast Chamber Ensemble as part of The Sound of Nature (2018-19 season) 

Lei Liang 

• Lake (1999/2013), performed by The Awea Duo and available on Bridge Records  
• A Thousand Mountains, A Million Streams (2018), performed by Boston Modern Orchestra Project and available on BMOP/sound. Published by Schott Music, and winner of the Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition in 2020 

Evelien van den Broek 

• Endlings (2020), the album version of Biophonica, a stage work exploring biodiversity loss with Mark Nieuwenhuis, available on Bandcamp 

• Ecognosis (2021), created for an installation by BetweenTwoHands 

This podcast was produced by Michael Umney (Resonance FM) and mixed by Chris Bartholomew, with the theme tune composed by Rob Bentall.  

Our heartfelt thanks to the record labels, performers, composers and organisations who allowed us to include excerpts of these recordings on the podcast. 

Composers Reeta Loi, Michael Wolters and Maya-Leigh Rosenwasser share their music and thoughts exploring queerness in music. What does it mean to be a queer composer today, and is there such a thing as queer music?  

From the playful to the divine, we listen to a drag character lost in space, gender-bending tracks, and work that plays with failure as a creative starting point. Join our CEO Susanna Eastburn MBE and composer/researcher Ruari Paterson-Achenbach for a unique insight into composing. 

Our recommendation at the end is for the creative collective the mermaid café (Joanna Ward and Ruari Paterson-Achenbach) 

In this episode, you listened to the following music and sounds: 

Reeta Loi 

• Unki Yaad (2018), from Ek EP 
• Founder (unreleased) by Reeta Loi 
• Taken (unreleased), by Reeta Loi and James Perera – to be released in Autumn 2021

Michael Wolters 

• ‘Aria Cuntata and the Black Holes (2020), conceived by Michael Wolters and performed by Michael Wolters and Paul Norman 
• Queer Concerto for Nine Saxophones (2020), performed by Royal Birmingham Conservatoire Symphony Orchestra and Saxophone Department, conducted by Barry Wordsworth 

Maya-Leigh Rosenwasser 

• Bibliography and smash bros (2020), by flxnflx, a lockdown collaboration between Maya-Leigh and James McIlwrath 
• Attack (2018), by Equinox, which is Maya-Leigh Rosenwasser, Taner Kemirtlek and George Kypridemos 

This podcast was produced by Michael Umney (Resonance FM) and mixed by Chris Bartholomew, with the theme tune composed by Rob Bentall.  

Our heartfelt thanks to the record labels, performers, composers and organisations who allowed us to include excerpts of these recordings on the podcast. 

Composers Neil Luck, India Jordan and David Austin Grey share their music and thoughts on the place of distractions in the process of creating music – are distractions bad or are they necessary? We listen to the sounds of a dream, hear the power of music to heal, and dive into what it means to create music during lockdown. Join our CEO Susanna Eastburn MBE and writer Will Eaves for a unique insight into composing. 

Our recommendation at the end is the album Watch Out! by India Jordan. 

In this episode, you listened to the following music and sounds: 

Neil Luck 

• Phantasy (2020), by Chihiro Ono and Neil Luck 
• Severed Heads (2021) from the album Downturn Fantasies released by Entr’acte. 

 India Jordan 

• Dear Nan King and Emotional Melodical (2020) from the album For You released by Local Action Records 
• And Groove and Feierabend (2021) from the album Watch Out! released by Ninjatune in May 2021 

 David Austin Grey 

• Over Seas and Out of Reach (2020), a commission by Stoney Lane Records, performed by David Austin Grey (piano, electronics), Mike Fletcher (clarinet, flute) and David Duffy (double bass, electric bass)  
• A Dark Place to Nest (2019), a work developed at Snape Maltings 

Our heartfelt thanks to the record labels, performers, composers and organisations who allowed us to include excerpts of these recordings on the podcast.

This podcast was produced by Michael Umney (Resonance FM) and mixed by Chris Bartholomew, with our theme tune composed by Rob Bentall.

Composers Errollyn Wallen, Richard Ayres and Hannah Catherine Jones join Susanna Eastburn MBE and Des Oliver to share their music and thoughts exploring the gift of making music with and for other people.  

We listen to music written for billions of listeners and music written for a community orchestra, the gift it is to write music and the gift it is to rehearse it. Join our CEO Susanna Eastburn MBE and composer Des Oliver for a unique insight into composing. 

This podcast was produced by Michael Umney (Resonance FM) and mixed by Chris Bartholomew, with our theme tune composed by Rob Bentall. Our recommendation at the end is for Hannah Catherine Jones’ PhD research which is published by NTS Radio - tune in to Part 1 and Part 2 for an exploration of decolonisation through sound. 

In this episode, you listen to the following music and sounds: 

Richard Ayres 

- No.42 (In The Alps), performed and released Nederlands Blazers Ensemble in 2010 and released on their own label

- No. 50 (The Garden), performed by ASKO | Schönberg with Joshua Bloom (bass) and Martha Colburn (video artist); broadcast on NTR / NPO 4 (2018) 

Errollyn Wallen 

- Spirit in Motion (2012), commissioned for the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Paralympic Games, performed by Denise Leigh and the LSO 

- Cello Concerto (2008), performed by Matthew Sharp and Ensemble X, from the album Photography by NMC records 

Rose Dagul

- Part 2: The All Around from Ode To The Old Kent Hellraisers (2014), composed by Rose Dagul and performed by Peckham Chamber Orchestra

Hannah Catherine Jones 

- Owed to Diaspora(s) (2019), displayed as an audio-visual installation at Sydney Biennale 2020 and available on The Wire

Our heartfelt thanks to the record labels, performers, composers and organisations who allowed us to include excerpts of these recordings on the podcast. 

Composers Shabaka Hutchings, Alwynne Pritchard and Oliver Leith share their music and thoughts exploring the nature of the human relationships which shape the music they make.  

We listen to compositions rooted in friendship, explore attempts to decolonialise music, and intimate performances recorded in a toilet during lockdown. Join our CEO Susanna Eastburn MBE and composer Des Oliver for a unique insight into composing. 

This podcast was produced by Michael Umney (Resonance FM) and mixed by Chris Bartholomew, with the theme tune composed by Rob Bentall. Our recommendation at the end is for Alwynne Pritchard’s #RecordedDelivery project. 

In this episode, you listen to the following music and sounds: 

Shabaka Hutchings 

- Circadian Clocks (2015), performed by Cara Stacey and Shabaka Hutchings from Things that Grow by Cara Stacey, released by Kit Records 

- Beasts Too Spoke of Suffering (2020), by Shabaka and the Ancestors, from We Are Sent Here by History released by impulse! Records

Alwynne Pritchard 

- Stamp Club Report 1980 (2018), commissioned by Kammerkoret GNEIS and performed by vocalists Signe Bjorvatn, Lisa Braathen, Alexander Fiske Fosse, Jung-Jae Kim, Jone Kuven, Bendik Savstad, Tanja Silvestrini, Joar Simarud Stabell, Ørjan Hammar Vollvik and Emilie Wright. Recorded at The Grieg Academy (Bergen) by Cem Arapkirlioglu, mixed by Alwynne Pritchard 

- Recorded Delivery (2020), a lockdown project inviting people to send fragments, to which Alwynne responded with a video postcard. We heard extracts from Recorded Delivery No.3 (Peter de Moncey-Conegliano) and No.6 (Bernd Bleffert) 

- Heart of Glass (2019), performed by Zubin Kanga at the London Contemporary Music Festival (2019), recorded and edited by Reuben Penny 

Oliver Leith 

- Honey Siren (2020), recorded by 12 Ensemble in the album Death and the Maiden, released by PIAS / Sancho Panza Recordings 

- good day good day bad day bad day (2018), written for and recorded by GBSR duo, released by another timbre 

Our heartfelt thanks to the record labels, performers, composers and organisations who allowed us to include excerpts of these recordings on the podcast. 

Composers Anthony R. Green, Nathan Riki Thomson and Amble Skuse share their music and thoughts on what music might mean beyond just sounds, and how we connect to each other and the world around us through the act of making music.

We listen to the sounds of an augmented double bass, hear the inner workings of a digital opera, and dive into a social justice piano concerto. Join our CEO Susanna Eastburn MBE and composer Des Oliver for a unique insight into composing.

This podcast was produced by Michael Umney (Resonance FM) and mixed by Chris Bartholomew, with our theme tune composed by Rob Bentall. Our recommendation at the end is for the charity Castle of our Skins.

In this episode, you listen to the following music and sounds:

Anthony R Green
- Collide-oscope V (2019) for mixed quintet, performed by Sound of Late.
- Piano Concerto: Solution (2019) for piano and percussion orchestra, commissioned by Robert McCormick for the McCormick Percussion Group and soloist Eunmi Ko (piano).
- Collide-oscope II (2016) for string trio, performed by Desdemona.

Nathan Riki Thomson
- Seeds (2019), for solo augmented bass and electronics from the album Resonance, released by Siba Records / NAXOS.
- Ode to Nana (2019), duo with Nathan Riki Thomson and percussionist Adriano Adewale from the same album.

Amble Skuse
- We Ask These Questions of Everybody (2019), a digital opera by Amble Skuse and Toria Banks performed by an all-disabled ensemble; commissioned by Sound Festival and supported by Help Musicians, Mahogany Opera Group, Ignite Ticket Fund and Creative Scotland.
- Normalised Interfacing Karlsruhe (2017), a soundwalk of Karlsruhe commissioned by Zentrum für Kunst und Medien, Karlsruhe (ZKM)

Our heartfelt thanks to the record labels, performers, composers and organisations who allowed us to include excerpts of these recordings on the podcast.