Sound mosaics for a broken world

Many musical instruments, such as guitars, clarinets and violins, are made from tree species that are threatened with extinction. Rather than contributing to the biodiversity crisis, might there be ways in which music could help solve this problem? With contributions from composer and clarinettist Karen Wimhurst (https://www.karenwimhurst.co.uk/) and forester / musician Robin Walter (https://www.livingwithtrees.co.uk/). 

An interview with musician, author and podcaster Jack Chuter, exploring how sound art and experimental music can help save the world. Or at least, how they can enrich people's lives. The discussion mostly focuses on Jack's own podcast, Crucial Listening, which explores important records chosen by leading sound makers. You can find out more about Crucial Listening, and the equally wonderful Attn:Magazine that Jack curates, on this link: https://www.attnmagazine.co.uk/category/cruciallistening And some of Jack's own music, which we also discuss, is available here: https://chuter.bandcamp.com/

Rewilding is about letting nature recover from the impacts of people. Here we explore the ideas and practice of rewilding through a discussion with Sam Rose, who is a nature conservation consultant and rewilding specialist. Sam is currently documenting different rewilding projects through photography and a podcast; you can find out more about his work here: https://www.whatifyoujustleaveit.info/. But what does rewilding sound like? 

Exploring the work of the composer Alvin Lucier, and its relevance to environmental sound art. 

Profiling the work of environmental sound artist, Jo Kennedy. You can find out more about Jo's activities on her website, https://www.jokennedysound.com/. Listen out for her podcast 'Nature tripping', exploring the sounds of nature in the UK. 

A fungus foray in the company of John Cage. 

A mosaic of sounds from the COP26 climate change conference, held in Glasgow in 2021, superimposed over the sound of melting glaciers. 

A sonic immersion in the River Allen, UK, one of the world's few chalk rivers. With thanks to members of Wimborne Community Theatre, for spoken contributions. 

The blackbird has spoken. But what did it say?

Some reasons why Terry Riley's 'In C' is one of the most wonderful pieces of music ever written.

A celebration of Poole Park, in southern England, by the people who use it. 

An exploration of the hidden sounds of the coastal dunescape at Studland Nature Reserve, UK. 

Soundscapes from different forests around the world. If you listen carefully, can you hear these sounds reveal the impacts of environmental change? With thanks to all contributors to Tree.fm. 

An exploration of the wonders of freely improvised music. With thanks to all the contributors of the Safehouse collective. 

The sounds of a body healing itself, through sound. 

Perhaps as never before, we are now aware of how we are all connected to each other, through the air that we breathe. 

A meditation on complexity and simplicity.

A meditation on the process of leaf fall. 

We live in a society of hyper-consumerism. This is what it sounds like. And what it might sound like in the future, if we were able to transform it somehow. 

An exploration of the meaning and significance of deep time. 

Listen to the sound of artificial life-forms, forming virtual communities. Can you tell them apart from real-world ecosystems?

The mysterious sounds of underwater life, here recorded in a chalk river in southern England. 

During the pandemic of 2020, a wave of silence passed around the world, as people stopped travelling in cars and planes, and factories lay quiet. As a result, many people became much more aware of the sounds of nature. Here the wave of silence is traced through recordings of the dawn chorus, made each day throughout the early summer. 

The Dorset Cursus is one of the largest Neolithic monuments in Europe, stretching 10 km over chalk uplands, and connecting together the springs of several rivers. It appears to have been the site of funerary rituals and processions, deep in prehistory. Here a journey along the Cursus is evoked, travelling across the landscape then down into the underworld. 

The frequency and intensity of storms is increasing because of climate change. Why do they sound so threatening? And how might we transform them into something more benign?

Ocean plastic has become a huge environmental issue. But what will our oceans sound like, when there is more plastic in our oceans than fish? This podcast provides a journey through an ocean soundscape of the future, with all sounds created from plastic objects found on a beach. 

The interior sound world of ash trees, Fraxinus excelsior. These recordings were made to celebrate ash, which is disappearing from our landscapes because of ash dieback disease. 

A soundscape of ancient woodlands, recorded throughout the year. Accompanied by the sound of a ticking clock, created by breaking the twigs of trees killed by climate change.