the
walker
in
the
landscape
Synopsis:
The Walker in the Landscape began as a narrative script written and recorded by artist Caitlin Kiely in 2020. The spoken word audio was intended to be listened to as the walker or listener moved through a landscape or environment. The idea being that they occupy the space between the two characters – the Walker and the Narrator — as they temporarily locate the narrative in the physical space they occupy.
As a sound artist and experimental musician with a field recording component to their practice, David heard Caitlin’s script and immediately began recollecting sonic memories of landscapes and environments they’d experienced, leading to conversations with Caitlin around the research and contexts surrounding her work. This prompted a proposed collaboration which saw David conduct visits to re - wilding sites of prior extraction over the course of several years - in Wales, Cornwall and Kent (UK) - culminating in a series of field recordings and on-site material improvisations, which were then used as the basis for a composition that underpinned Caitlin’s narrative, alongside de-constructed folk instrumentation.
David was drawn to the performance of power within Caitlin’s characters, and how these repeat and play out across multiple layers both spoken and unspoken within the narrative; from the singular, small scale character traits of the walker/antagonist to the upscaled larger affects of organising around such traits - as the landscape changes through time with human intervention. These dynamics were considered and meditated on within the compositional processes, seeing field recording and improvisation as modes for listening to, and having dialogs with, landscapes. Contrastingly, acousmatic experimentation within the computer were seen as extractive processes but also useful for smudging the lines between the different intersecting membranes and voices held within the dialog.
This project has acted as a marker and springboard for an ongoing collaboration between the two.
Thanks to:
Grace Emily Manning - Voice - Narrator
Roland Ross - Voice - Walker
Dominic Lewis - sound assistance in Wales