The Radiophonic Broadcast

Taking place in the 18th and 19th centuries, the Highland Clearances saw people from the Highlands and Islands of Scotland forced from their homes, with whole communities having to seek opportunities elsewhere. These events were sometimes violent and led to famine, displacement and mass emigration.  The Scottish writer and campaigner Kenneth Murray, along with the dramaturg Kirsty Housley, produced a script for a Radiophonic Travel Agency episode that explored this period in history through the prism of a fictional sound journey. The award-winning composer Ella Kay produced the sound design based on their script.Travelling through time, we hear Scotland from the 1700s to the present day from the perspectives of different characters. With sounds ranging from blacksmiths and farm animals to waulking songs and Gaelic psalms, this episode allows anyone from across the world to visit Scotland before and after the Highland Clearances. The journey is preceded by interviews with Murray and Kay, where we discuss their respective creative practices and approaches to this unusual time-travelling brief.Dramaturg - Kirsty HousleyWriter - Kenneth MurraySound Design - Ella KayThe recording “Wool Waulking Display at the inaugural Outlander Day at Highland Folk Museum” (Newtonmore, 2015) appears courtesy of Steve McLeish and Outlandish Journeys. “Gaelic psalms at Back Free Church” (Isle Of Lewis, 2003) was produced by Calum Martin and appears courtesy of Leum Music. Samples of dialogue are derived from “The Western Isles” (1941, dir. Terence Egan Bishop) and appear courtesy of the British Council film archive under a CC BY-NC 3.0 licence. Images courtesy of The MacKinnon Collection at the National Library of Scotland and David Brooks at Unsplash.                                                                               Co-produced by Ilia Rogatchevskia and Louis Gillespie for the Radiophonic Institute.Tracklist:Calum Martin - Gaelic psalms at Back Free Church, Isle Of LewisInterview with Kenneth MurraySteve McLeish - Wool Waulking Display at the inaugural Outlander Day at Highland Folk MuseumInterview with Ella KayFictional Sound Journey, Scotland Before & After The Highland Clearances

In this episode, we visit Cornholme Junior School in Todmorden, West Yorkshire to speak with Mark Williamson aka Spaceship Mark about his work with the Primitive Percussion Youth Orchestra. The project takes the form of an after school club and workshops. The children who take part create experimental soundscapes, improvised compositions and film soundtracks. In 2022, the PPYO submitted an entry to the children’s category for the Sound of the Year Awards: a reimagining of a Yorkshire Clough – complete with the sounds of a running brook, rustling leaves, and birdsong – all recreated in the classroom. The conversation with Mark and the children will be followed by a special performance by the PPYO recorded on location in Todmorden. Produced by Ilia Rogatchevski for the Radiophonic Institute. Track list: Triangles In The Snow - Primitive Percussion Youth OrchestraPPYO Soundcheck (Tabletop Guitar) - Mark WilliamsonPPYO Soundcheck (Spaceship Synth) - Mark WilliamsonRehearsal Session, 7 May 2024 - Primitive Percussion Youth Orchestra

The London-based duo Sue and Matt Harding discuss their work with Foley, sonic textures and expanded cinema. Sue Harding is a Foley artist with over 20 years experience in film, TV and animation who has worked on big Hollywood productions as well as countless other projects. Matt Harding is a songwriter, media artist and curator whose work examines the intersection of texture, performance and moving image – often focusing on repetition as the defining motif. In this podcast, the duo discuss extending their individual practices into a shared performance space, incorporating Foley techniques in their work and the challenges of scoring sound for film. Produced by Ilia Rogatchevski for the Radiophonic Institute. Track list: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Klingt Gut, Hamburg, 2017 - Sue Harding, Matt HardingUntitled Performance - Din, 195 Mare Street, 2023 - Sue Harding, Matt Harding and Angharad Davies

The Nuyorican artist and researcher Maria Sappho specialises in multispecies collaborative projects that are at the intersection of human, machine and organic communication. Currently based in Huddersfield, Sappho is a pioneer of “trans-species listening” – a practice that incorporates instrument building and musical composition developed in collaboration with artificial intelligence and fungal ecosystems. Sappho is a recipient of the Oram Award and her work with AI and mushrooms has garnered international acclaim. In this podcast, she discusses the intricacies of improvising with mushrooms, creating new forms of collaborative space with the AI Chimere and exploring the subversive, underground and political elements that underpin her practice. Produced by Ilia Rogatchevski for the Radiophonic Institute. Track list: Hans - Brutalust (Colin Frank & Maria Sappho) Performance at the UNESCO Week of Sound, Edinburgh College of Art, 20 October 2023 - Maria Sappho, The Ostoyae and Una MacGlone

Celebrate the sonic achievements of 2022 with the Sound Of The Year Awards.Mathew Herbert – composer and director of the Radiophonic Institute – speaks with the audio producer and SOTYA judge Alannah Chance, Drew Daniel and M. C. (Martin) Schmidt of Matmos, and co-host Naomi Paxton about the power of sound. They discuss its ability to represent political events, disappearing organisms, nature and society as a whole. Their discussion is followed by a multitude of amazing submissions from 2022, featuring sounds from Indonesia, Ukraine, South Africa, Canada and Taiwan ranging from cicadas and political protests to drift ice and poetry performed by Axel Kacoutié.Produced by Ilia Rogatchevski for the Radiophonic Institute. Track list: SOTYA Performance - Axel KacoutiéBlack Lives Matter Demonstration In Vancouver - AnonymousNYC Police Communication During Black Lives Matter Demonstrations - AnonymousI imagined a Sound. - CLIP Sound and Music (read by Axel Kacoutié)A Yorkshire Clough - Primitive Percussion Youth OrchestraMoodsonic Soundscaping - Fran BoardThe Sniffing Rock - Manja RistićMimpa Owa (A Duet with Javanese Gibbons) - Gardika Gigih PradiptaCurlew Bubbling Song - Merlyn DriverCalf Trying to Breathe After Dehorning - Mélia RogerBombina Bombina Mysterious Call - Jakub OrzęckiConversations at the Edge of the World - Emma Kate MatthewsControl - Tansy XiaoIn the Middle of Giants - Pablo CerqueiraMutations XX/XX/XX - Cândida BorgesGuide Me Across The Street - Leonard MaassenCommunity - Hamed Mafakheri'Capra' - The Goat Dance - Cosmin SanduKing & Bells - Sheffield 8th September 2022 - Duncan Chapman​​Remuage - Cà Del Bosco - Giuseppe Cordaro and Riccardo CaspaniWonderwash - Berk Offsetbroken metronome concrète - Owen DuffPhoton Smasher - CLIPPhotosynthetic Beats (Utricularia) - Ludwig BergerMusic for PlayStation - Jesse Austin-Stewartgestures of thaw (Sólheimajökull, Iceland - July 2022) - Pablo DiserensRyuhyo - Yoichi KamimuraSolitary Seal Pup Screeching - Horsey Beach - Joe Harvey- WhyteWind Turbine Like Fingernails on a Chalkboard - Rick HannonSédiment Narratif - Audiotopie / La QuadratureVaillant aroTHERM plus - VaillantChanging Shifts - Chris HailsCrépuscule automnal à l'étang du Ravoir (Autumn Nightfall at Ravoir's Pond) - Jocelyn RobertWar Over Nature - Jet Fighters Training Over Wildlife Conservation Sanctuary - Samuel MonceauSilence of Sirens - Kyiv - Philipp MarkovichOne Minute in Bakhmut - Ihor BabaievFebruary 26 12.07 AM Chernihiv - Anton Stuk