A unique sound collage and animation completed by the experimental folk song and storytelling outfit Harp & a Monkey has been accepted as part of the International Year of Sound Project for 2022.
Members of the northern collective spent four months during the summer of 2021 working on a commission to capture an aural representation of everyday life for inhabitants of one of Britain’s most well-known national parks; the Peak District in Derbyshire, England.
The local residents were encouraged to engage with their surroundings in a different way: by closing their eyes and listening to what was going on around them. They were then urged to press ‘record’ on their mobile phones and send the results to be used as part of the finished work.
More than 300 recordings were submitted, running the gamut from the cries of newborn children to the clatter of farm machinery and charm of birdsong.
The finished work can be enjoyed with eyes closed or alongside a visual put together by international award-winning animator and art photographer Simon J Jones, who is also the guitarist, harpist and viola player in Harp & a Monkey (Simon also recently announced his first debut solo album here).
Titled ‘Birdsong and Bells: The Peak Sound Project’, it will now be featured as part of the International Year of Sound project 2022 alongside other works from around the globe that encourage people to engage with sound in different ways. And we are delighted to be able to give you an advance preview…
Martin Purdy, Harp & a Monkey’s principal storyteller and the curator of the finished work, said: “We were amazed by the level of public engagement, and it was really interesting to see how people started to recognise the huge role that sound plays in their lives.
“There is so much that goes on around us that we have stopped hearing, from birdsong to children playing. It can be hugely beneficial for our wellbeing to find the time to pause, listen, and live in the moment a bit more.”
The project was funded and supported by the Derbyshire and High Peaks arts provider Live & Local, Arts Council England and The Peak District National Park.
http://www.harpandamonkey.com/