Anyone that has followed the work of Glasgow-based, British-Finnish artist, composer and performer Hanna Tuulikki will be aware of the influence of nature on her work. One element of that which continues to fascinate me is her creations surrounding mimesis…in her own words:
I use the term to refer to a kind of imitation within music, movement and dance, specifically the mimesis of the more-than-human – mimesis of various critters, water, weather, and complex multispecies entanglements and assemblages.
In 2014 we interviewed her about her project Air falbh leis na h-eòin (Away with the Birds) which focussed on the mimesis of birds in Gaelic song (read it here).
On her latest release, originally commissioned by Mossutställningar for a sound walk in Stockholm, Sweden, she heads into Little Drum Wood in Glen Finglas at dawn – Glen Finglas is at the heart of Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park and is part of the Great Trossachs Forest National Nature Reserve.
Aided by Pete Smith recording, she performs a wordless improvisation based on musical patterns of four songbirds: Blue tit, Great tit, Song thrush and Wren. Described as an invocation to spring, in which Tuulikki explores what it might mean to become-with-bird.
The release is available via Bandcamp as a digital download here: https://hannatuulikki.bandcamp.com/album/little-drum-wood
It also featured a limited edition booklet of visual score drawings notating the sounds of four birds to accompany the recording (now sold out) which was originally created for Tuulikki’s Patreon subscribers. You can find out more about the benefits of becoming a Patreon supporter here – www.patreon.com/hannatuulikki – where Hanna offers some very tempting membership tiers including limited-edition small art, music downloads, monthly vocal workshop and more.
https://www.hannatuulikki.org/