SLOW RADIO - FAIR WINDS (320kbs-m4a/66mb/29mins)
BBC Radio 3 broadcast: 28th August 2022
Fair Isle sits between Orkney and Shetland and is the most geographically remote inhabited island in the UK with a population of around 60 people. The world-famous Fair Isle knitting patterns originate from there, and are still in production to this day on the island. It is also a stopping off point for migratory birds, and, as a result, is a mecca for bird watchers who visit the island to try and spot a 'blow in'.
Inge Thomson is a musician and composer who was brought up on Fair Isle and spent her childhood playing in rock pools and birdwatching. Her music has been influenced deeply by not only the traditional music of Fair Isle, but the sounds she grew up hearing around her - lapwings, the ever present and changing wind and the sea around her.
In this Slow Radio piece, producer Helen Needham accompanies Inge to Fair Isle after an absence of eight months. They explore the island together, from clifftop to cave, capturing the unique sounds of this special place. They also stop by the knitting studio of Marie Bruhat to capture her at work on her contemporary Fair Isle pieces. And finally we hear a sound composition created specially for BBC Radio 3 by Inge featuring sounds from Fair Isle.
Produced in Aberdeen by Helen Needham
Sound Composition by Inge Thomson
Mixed by Ron McCaskill
DAVID ATTENBOROUGH - ADVENTURES OF A YOUNG NATURALIST (OMNIBUS) (320kbs-m4a/156mb/68mins)
BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcast: 24th January 2021
An alarming encounter with a caiman in Guyana.
In the 1950s, David Attenborough, the naturalist and broadcaster grasped a life changing opportunity which led him to travel the world finding rare and elusive animal species for London Zoo and filming the expeditions for the BBC TV series, Zoo Quest.
Abridged in five parts by Richard Hamilton. Omnibus edition.
Producer: Elizabeth Allard.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in December 2017.
BEARDYMAN AND THE MIMICS (320kbs-m4a/64mb/28mins)
BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcast: 23rd September 2021
Champion beatboxer "Beardyman", aka Darren Foreman, is a master of vocal artistry.
He's able to make all manner of noises, including entire percussive music tracks, using only his mouth, throat and tongue. Darren's been inspired by the Lyrebird, king of the animal mimics and able to replicate sounds ranging from a kookaburra's laughing call to a tourist's camera shutter to a chainsaw.
In fact, he's been so mesmerised by this bird's Oscar-worthy performance, that he's venturing on a personal journey to unveil the secrets of animal vocal mimicry.
Along the way, he'll encounter ornithologist and musican Bill Oddie, birdsong scientific experts and a whole new world of sounds.
Producer: Kirsty Henderson
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2008.
SOUNDS NATURAL - BERNARD CRIBBINS (320kbs-m4a/68mb/29mins)
BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcast: 29th April 2022
From the Meadow Pipit to the Red-Backed Shrike.
Actor Bernard Cribbins talks to Derek Jones about his love of bird watching, fishing and the importance of conservation.
Aided by recordings from the BBC Sound Archive.
Producer: John Burton.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 1972.
DISCOVERY - WILD INSIDE: GREAT GREY OWL (320kbs-m4a/62mb/27mins)
BBC World Service broadcast: 28th November 2022
One of the world's large owls by length, the Great Grey Owl is an enigmatic predator of coniferous forests close to the Arctic tundra. It's most often seen hunting around dawn and dusk, when it perches silently at the edges of clearings. But as Prof Ben Garrod and Dr Jess French delve deep inside to understand its true secret to survival, they find the deep feathery coat belies a deceptively small head and body that‘s evolved unbelievably powerful abilities to silently detect and ambush unsuspecting prey.
BETWEEN THE EARS - JAMMING WITH BIRDS (320kbs-m4a/66mb/29mins)
BBC Radio 3 broadcast: 5th June 2022
"In May, I sing night and day,
In June, I change my tune,
In July, far off I fly..."
Ten years ago, musician Cosmo Sheldrake started making an album of bird songs, each track inspired by an endangered species on the 'Birds of Conservation Concern' list. The album is called Wake Up Calls, a nod to the dawn chorus, but also because it is doing a second kind of waking up. Each track is a celebration of the birds that we are rapidly losing. Birds like the nightingale, the mistle thrush, the skylark, the cuckoo. With their decline comes the loss of the musical, emotional and cultural richness they bring to our lives.
For Cosmo, the process of making music with these birds opened up a whole new way of thinking about composition. It's the birds who set the tempos and inform the melodies. You could even say it’s the birds who are the lead vocalists, provoking questions around intellectual property: who owns this music? Should the birds get publishing royalties? Are the birds collaborators of sorts?
Featuring, in order of appearance, writer Robert MacFarlane, poet Erin Robinsong, sound ecologist Bernie Krause, artist Marcus Coates, musician Brian Eno, musician Sam Lee and artist Rachel Berwick.
Produced by Becky Ripley.
.jpg)
