tag:www.chriswatson.net,2010://4 2010-02-22T11:53:24Z Chris Watson is a sound recordist specialising in natural history. His work as a wildlife sound recordist includes both work for film and television documentaries, and experimental musical projects. Movable Type 3.35 tag:www.chriswatson.net,2010://4.2473 2010-02-22T06:04:58Z 2010-02-22T11:53:24Z

Caught by the River, in association with Heavenly Recordings, is pleased to make available for the first time a collaboration between Chris Watson and the aptly named Doves. This is a remix that Chris has done of the song “Birds Flew Backwards” from Doves' last album “Kingdom of Rust”. This remix can be heard over at www.caughtbytheriver.net...

Caught by the River, in association with Heavenly Recordings, is pleased to make available for the first time a collaboration between Chris Watson and the aptly named Doves. This is a remix that Chris has done of the song “Birds Flew Backwards” from Doves' last album “Kingdom of Rust”. This remix can be heard over at www.caughtbytheriver.net]]> tag:www.chriswatson.net,2010://4.2464 2010-02-05T17:19:01Z 2010-02-06T18:01:36Z

Chris Watson contributes his third piece for TouchRadio. 8.02.10 - A Journey South – 50:21 - 192 kbps Chris Watson journeys to the South Pole for the forthcoming David Attenborough series 'The Frozen Planet' (BBC, 2011). Here he reports back with his experiences... Photos by Chris Watson & Jason Roberts. McMurdo Sound, Cape Evans, Ross Island (approx 78º S). You can hear his earlier pieces from the Galapagos islands here. Subscribe to the TouchPod podcast of TouchRadio via the iTunes Music Store Play "A Journey South"...

Field www.field.nu A Journey South – 50:21 - 192 kbps Chris Watson journeys to the South Pole for the forthcoming David Attenborough series 'The Frozen Planet' (BBC, 2011). Here he reports back with his experiences... Photos by Chris Watson & Jason Roberts. McMurdo Sound, Cape Evans, Ross Island (approx 78º S). You can hear his earlier pieces from the Galapagos islands here. Subscribe to the TouchPod podcast of TouchRadio via the iTunes Music Store Play "A Journey South"]]> tag:www.chriswatson.net,2010://4.2458 2010-02-03T14:48:16Z 2010-02-03T14:49:18Z

You can read an online feature on Chris by Peter Sterling at Green Explorer...

Field www.field.nu Green Explorer]]> tag:www.chriswatson.net,2010://4.2452 2010-01-30T16:06:08Z 2010-01-30T16:07:27Z

NATURE: A Local Patch (part 1) BBC Radio 4 Tuesday 2 February 11.02 (rpt Wednesday 3 February, 21.02) In the first of two programmes exploring our relationship with the landscape and the value of getting to know ‘a local patch’ three wildlife enthusiasts share their experiences of their own 'local patch'. For wildlife sound recordist Chris Watson, the local patch is his suburban back garden in Newcastle upon Tyne, where the recordings he has made over the years chart not only the changes in the landscape and the wildlife, but also trigger memories of the past. For wildlife cameraman, John Aitchison, it’s the sea loch which lies just beyond his home on the west coast of Scotland which is his local patch; a place which he shares with sea otters, curlew and migrating geese. The local patch of wildlife artist and writer Jessica Holm, is the woodland on the Isle of Wight where she spent four years studying red squirrels. Recordings from each location are weaved together highlighting the value of getting to know a patch of landscape so well that its 'like having a second skin’, says Jessica Holm. It’s a revealing and fascinating insight into the power of experience and the relationships between people and place, between Man and Nature. Wildlife sound recordist: Chris Watson Producer: Sarah Blunt (NATURE: A Local Patch (part 2) is on BBC Radio 4, Tuesday 9 February 11.02, rpt Wed 10 Feb 21.02)...

Field www.field.nu NATURE: A Local Patch (part 1) BBC Radio 4 Tuesday 2 February 11.02 (rpt Wednesday 3 February, 21.02) In the first of two programmes exploring our relationship with the landscape and the value of getting to know ‘a local patch’ three wildlife enthusiasts share their experiences of their own 'local patch'. For wildlife sound recordist Chris Watson, the local patch is his suburban back garden in Newcastle upon Tyne, where the recordings he has made over the years chart not only the changes in the landscape and the wildlife, but also trigger memories of the past. For wildlife cameraman, John Aitchison, it’s the sea loch which lies just beyond his home on the west coast of Scotland which is his local patch; a place which he shares with sea otters, curlew and migrating geese. The local patch of wildlife artist and writer Jessica Holm, is the woodland on the Isle of Wight where she spent four years studying red squirrels. Recordings from each location are weaved together highlighting the value of getting to know a patch of landscape so well that its 'like having a second skin’, says Jessica Holm. It’s a revealing and fascinating insight into the power of experience and the relationships between people and place, between Man and Nature. Wildlife sound recordist: Chris Watson Producer: Sarah Blunt (NATURE: A Local Patch (part 2) is on BBC Radio 4, Tuesday 9 February 11.02, rpt Wed 10 Feb 21.02) tag:www.chriswatson.net,2010://4.2450 2010-01-30T15:45:09Z 2010-01-30T19:29:34Z

BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play - The Ditch on Monday 1st Feb "A sound recordist is enticed by the disturbing aural landscape of Slaughton Ditch, with terrifying and fatal consequences. Written and narrated by Paul Evans." (The Radio Times) This play uses recordings taken from the CD "The Ghost Orchid: An Introduction to EVP" which is available from the TouchShop here. You can read more about EVP at parc.web.fm. Wildlife Sound Recordist: Chris Watson Produced & Directed by Sarah Blunt...

Field www.field.nu The Ditch on Monday 1st Feb "A sound recordist is enticed by the disturbing aural landscape of Slaughton Ditch, with terrifying and fatal consequences. Written and narrated by Paul Evans." (The Radio Times) This play uses recordings taken from the CD "The Ghost Orchid: An Introduction to EVP" which is available from the TouchShop here. You can read more about EVP at parc.web.fm. Wildlife Sound Recordist: Chris Watson Produced & Directed by Sarah Blunt ]]> tag:www.chriswatson.net,2009://4.2409 2009-12-31T14:16:07Z 2009-12-31T14:16:46Z

NATURE: Shingle Street BBC Radio 4, Tue 26 January at 11.02 (Rpt : Wed 27 January at 21.02) An unusual and haunting sound portrait written and narrated by Paul Evans about the watchers and the watched on the shingle spit of Dungeness. Dungeness is place to listen and to watch. It’s a place to watch new land being made by the sea’s shovelling of shingle; a place to watch the manufacture of power, a place to watch migrating birds and moths find a transitory refuge. But watching is about far more than just looking, as writer and naturalist Paul Evans reveals in this powerful and haunting sound portrait of one of Britain’s most unsettling landscapes; the shingle flats of Dungeness Sound recordings by Chris Watson and Andrew Dawes Producer Sarah Blunt BRIDGING THE GAP BBC Radio 4, Wed 27 January at 11.02 The sounds of the river, the wind and the wildlife are combined with local voices to tell the story of the Tyne Bridge, which spans the River Tyne between Newcastle and Gateshead; providing a link between north and south, past and present. The Bridge is both an engineering triumph and an icon of the North East. Sound recordist: Chris Watson Producer: Sarah Blunt...

Field www.field.nu NATURE: Shingle Street BBC Radio 4, Tue 26 January at 11.02 (Rpt : Wed 27 January at 21.02) An unusual and haunting sound portrait written and narrated by Paul Evans about the watchers and the watched on the shingle spit of Dungeness. Dungeness is place to listen and to watch. It’s a place to watch new land being made by the sea’s shovelling of shingle; a place to watch the manufacture of power, a place to watch migrating birds and moths find a transitory refuge. But watching is about far more than just looking, as writer and naturalist Paul Evans reveals in this powerful and haunting sound portrait of one of Britain’s most unsettling landscapes; the shingle flats of Dungeness Sound recordings by Chris Watson and Andrew Dawes Producer Sarah Blunt BRIDGING THE GAP BBC Radio 4, Wed 27 January at 11.02 The sounds of the river, the wind and the wildlife are combined with local voices to tell the story of the Tyne Bridge, which spans the River Tyne between Newcastle and Gateshead; providing a link between north and south, past and present. The Bridge is both an engineering triumph and an icon of the North East. Sound recordist: Chris Watson Producer: Sarah Blunt tag:www.chriswatson.net,2009://4.2375 2009-12-04T12:33:02Z 2010-01-01T10:03:30Z

Afternoon Play: The Ditch BBC Radio 4 Monday 1 February 2010, 14.15-15.00 Tom Saunders, a wildlife sound recordist, goes missing leaving only a collection of recordings and a notebook. These fall into the hands of his radio producer and the drama’s narrator who tries to piece together what has happened. His quest leads him back to the disturbing aural landscape of Slaughton Ditch where an obsession with hidden sounds has terrifying and fatal consequences. Recorded on location, this chilling tale is written and narrated by Paul Evans. Tom Saunders: Jimmy Yuill Narrator : Paul Evans Other parts played by Christine Hall and Richard Angwin WILDLIFE SOUND RECORDIST: Chris Watson SOUND ENGINEER : Mike Burgess PRODUCER / DIRECTOR: Sarah Blunt NATURE: A Local Patch (part 1) BBC Radio 4 Tuesday 2 February 11.02 (rpt Wednesday 3 February, 21.02) In the first of two programmes exploring our relationship with the landscape and the value of getting to know ‘a local patch’ three wildlife enthusiasts share their experiences of their own 'local patch'. For wildlife sound recordist Chris Watson, the local patch is his suburban back garden in Newcastle upon Tyne, where the recordings he has made over the years chart not only the changes in the landscape and the wildlife, but also trigger memories of the past. For wildlife cameraman, John Aitchison, it’s the sea loch which lies just beyond his home on the west coast of Scotland which is his local...

Field www.field.nu NATURE: A Local Patch (part 1) BBC Radio 4 Tuesday 2 February 11.02 (rpt Wednesday 3 February, 21.02) In the first of two programmes exploring our relationship with the landscape and the value of getting to know ‘a local patch’ three wildlife enthusiasts share their experiences of their own 'local patch'. For wildlife sound recordist Chris Watson, the local patch is his suburban back garden in Newcastle upon Tyne, where the recordings he has made over the years chart not only the changes in the landscape and the wildlife, but also trigger memories of the past. For wildlife cameraman, John Aitchison, it’s the sea loch which lies just beyond his home on the west coast of Scotland which is his local patch; a place which he shares with sea otters, curlew and migrating geese. The local patch of wildlife artist and writer Jessica Holm, is the woodland on the Isle of Wight where she spent four years studying red squirrels. Recordings from each location are weaved together highlighting the value of getting to know a patch of landscape so well that its 'like having a second skin’, says Jessica Holm. It’s a revealing and fascinating insight into the power of experience and the relationships between people and place, between Man and Nature. Wildlife sound recordist: Chris Watson Producer: Sarah Blunt (NATURE: A Local Patch (part 2) is on BBC Radio 4, Tuesday 9 February 11.02, rpt Wed 10 Feb 21.02)]]> tag:www.chriswatson.net,2009://4.2359 2009-11-09T11:44:34Z 2009-11-17T08:40:22Z

THE GARDEN BBC Radio 4 Monday – Friday, 16- 20 Nov, 2009 15.45-16.00 The story of an Oxfordshire garden through time and the seasons. Peter France narrates this fascinating series about an Oxfordshire garden from its earliest beginnings as a field in Mesolithic Britain to the present day. A fictional story based on fact, this is no ordinary story, but a dramatic and evocative acoustic journey, following life in the garden as the seasons change. The wildlife sound recordist is Chris Watson. Today more than at any other time in history, the vast network of Britain’s gardens plays a vital role in the conservation and survival of our native wildlife. The Garden is a story about the changing dynamics between man, wildlife and landscape across the seasons and over time. Producer: Sarah Blunt The Radio Times writes: "A beautiful and evocative portrayal of an Oxfordshire garden, from Roman times through to 2050, using sounds specially recorded by Chris Watson, the David Attenborough of Radio."...

Field www.field.nu THE GARDEN BBC Radio 4 Monday – Friday, 16- 20 Nov, 2009 15.45-16.00 The story of an Oxfordshire garden through time and the seasons. Peter France narrates this fascinating series about an Oxfordshire garden from its earliest beginnings as a field in Mesolithic Britain to the present day. A fictional story based on fact, this is no ordinary story, but a dramatic and evocative acoustic journey, following life in the garden as the seasons change. The wildlife sound recordist is Chris Watson. Today more than at any other time in history, the vast network of Britain’s gardens plays a vital role in the conservation and survival of our native wildlife. The Garden is a story about the changing dynamics between man, wildlife and landscape across the seasons and over time. Producer: Sarah Blunt The Radio Times writes: "A beautiful and evocative portrayal of an Oxfordshire garden, from Roman times through to 2050, using sounds specially recorded by Chris Watson, the David Attenborough of Radio." tag:www.chriswatson.net,2009://4.2312 2009-10-11T09:54:32Z 2009-10-11T10:50:07Z

Friday 30th October 2009 7-7:30pm Room 34 Admission free "Musician and leading wildlife sound recordist Chris Watson will discuss the sounds of wildlife and weather in The Cornfield and the changes in sound pollution since Constable’s time. He will end with a performance of the piece he has written in response to this painting for the new Sounds of the Gallery Tour." Chris writes: "Gazing through the woodland and out into the cornfield creates for me a wonderful and seductive sense of perspective. The mature trees frame a pastoral scene which is in turn bridged by clouds. I can hear birdsong billowing from the leaf cover and a great spotted woodpecker drumming on the trunk of a skeletal tree which temporarily distracts the Border collie from it's herding duties. Unseen and almost unheard a freshwater spring bubbles into the drinking pool, a resource that is shared by animals and people alike on days such as this. From behind, a gushing breeze ripples through the tree canopy and out across open fields where ripe corn heads swish and sigh on dry stems, their slow rhythm accompanying a skylark singing from high above, a pin point of silver sound lost to all sight, in a pewter sky. In the early 19th Century Constable could not only see into the distance but also hear it. From his memory no doubt the warm song of a yellowhammer and drifting tones and the church...

Field www.field.nu Friday 30th October 2009 7-7:30pm Room 34 Admission free "Musician and leading wildlife sound recordist Chris Watson will discuss the sounds of wildlife and weather in The Cornfield and the changes in sound pollution since Constable’s time. He will end with a performance of the piece he has written in response to this painting for the new Sounds of the Gallery Tour." Chris writes: "Gazing through the woodland and out into the cornfield creates for me a wonderful and seductive sense of perspective. The mature trees frame a pastoral scene which is in turn bridged by clouds. I can hear birdsong billowing from the leaf cover and a great spotted woodpecker drumming on the trunk of a skeletal tree which temporarily distracts the Border collie from it's herding duties. Unseen and almost unheard a freshwater spring bubbles into the drinking pool, a resource that is shared by animals and people alike on days such as this. From behind, a gushing breeze ripples through the tree canopy and out across open fields where ripe corn heads swish and sigh on dry stems, their slow rhythm accompanying a skylark singing from high above, a pin point of silver sound lost to all sight, in a pewter sky. In the early 19th Century Constable could not only see into the distance but also hear it. From his memory no doubt the warm song of a yellowhammer and drifting tones and the church clock would carry far in the humid air. Noise pollution was yet to reach rural Suffolk revealing a quality of sound that has, like the landscape, passed into history."]]> tag:www.chriswatson.net,2009://4.2283 2009-09-23T09:30:21Z 2009-09-23T09:33:20Z

Presenter by Paul Evans Feet-stomping termites, head-banging beetles, tymbal-clicking cicadas, stridulating crickets, whining mosquitoes, pulsating moths, toe-tapping plant hoppers and a whole choir of tuneful songsters join Paul Evans in this unusual sound safari around an ‘orchestra’ of insects. Their songs announce their presence, define their territory, lure potential mates, and even shock predators. This programme explores the ways in which insects produce sounds, and hears what this insect ‘music’ is all about. There’s a journey through a termite mound at London’s Southbank Centre during Pestival (see below),where recordings made within a Macrotermes mound were sent to wildlife sound recordist Chris Watson who used them to create a sound track which was played through speakers inside the Termite Pavilion (a scaled-up model of a termite mound), to recreate the sensation of being inside the mound... and the programme ends with an extract from an evening of experimental music curated by Chris Watson at Pestival, featuring recordings of a suzumushi ‘bell’ crickets by Hajime Matsuura (Natural Audio Laboratory, Japan) and voice musician Maria Jardardottir. Producer: Sarah Blunt www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/ for more information and to listen again to the broadcast which is available for a week after broadcast....

Field www.field.nu www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/ for more information and to listen again to the broadcast which is available for a week after broadcast.]]> tag:www.chriswatson.net,2009://4.2275 2009-09-18T08:17:31Z 2009-10-04T10:24:00Z

Japan: 2 day workshop at the Film School, Yokohama, followed by performance piece Australia: Open Frame in Brisbane In residency With Alan Lamb at The Wired Lab in Cootamundra: CHRIS WATSON PERFORMANCE: on the evening of Saturday 17th October, Watson will also give a  performance at the Cootamundra Creative Arts and Cultural Centre (CCACC). This will be your opportunity to hear Watson provide two live surround four channel sound mixes from his 'Midnight at the Oasis', a 20 minute time compression from sunset to sunrise in South Africa's Kalahari desert. Along with; 'Oceanus pacificus' recorded on location around the Galapagos Islands 1000Km off the coast of Ecuador, and 10m below the sea surface. The Performance is open to the general public, $5-10 door fee, with proceeds to the CCACC, a volunteer run facility. New Zealand: info to follow...

Field www.field.nu Open Frame in Brisbane In residency With Alan Lamb at The Wired Lab in Cootamundra: CHRIS WATSON PERFORMANCE: on the evening of Saturday 17th October, Watson will also give a  performance at the Cootamundra Creative Arts and Cultural Centre (CCACC). This will be your opportunity to hear Watson provide two live surround four channel sound mixes from his 'Midnight at the Oasis', a 20 minute time compression from sunset to sunrise in South Africa's Kalahari desert. Along with; 'Oceanus pacificus' recorded on location around the Galapagos Islands 1000Km off the coast of Ecuador, and 10m below the sea surface. The Performance is open to the general public, $5-10 door fee, with proceeds to the CCACC, a volunteer run facility. New Zealand: info to follow ]]> tag:www.chriswatson.net,2009://4.2269 2009-09-04T07:10:54Z 2009-09-21T08:09:05Z

Pestival 7:30 pm 6th September 2009 Chris Watson curates... Cross Pollination - An Evening of Experimental Insect Music Book tickets with performances by: Philip Jeck Marcus Davidson & The Bee Choir - The Bee Symphony As part of this piece Chris Watson multi-channel diffusion his own recordings of bees and also those made by Mike Harding in Kent in May 2009. A story of this recording trip can be found on the Touch Radio website Maria Jardardottir introduced by Atau Tanaka There is a feature in The Guardian (4th September 2009) which can be read here and you can hear Chris talking on the BBC World Service here and a blog here. You can hear an interview with Chris Watson on The Strand here....

Field www.field.nu Pestival 7:30 pm 6th September 2009 Chris Watson curates... Cross Pollination - An Evening of Experimental Insect Music Book tickets with performances by: Philip Jeck Marcus Davidson & The Bee Choir - The Bee Symphony As part of this piece Chris Watson multi-channel diffusion his own recordings of bees and also those made by Mike Harding in Kent in May 2009. A story of this recording trip can be found on the Touch Radio website Maria Jardardottir introduced by Atau Tanaka There is a feature in The Guardian (4th September 2009) which can be read here and you can hear Chris talking on the BBC World Service here and a blog here. You can hear an interview with Chris Watson on The Strand here.]]> tag:www.chriswatson.net,2009://4.2206 2009-08-11T09:04:07Z 2009-08-21T09:54:27Z

BBC Radio 4 Thursday 20 August 21.02-21.30 Noise is making itself heard. Man-made noise pollution is becoming increasingly invasive in our lives; in homes, offices, parks, gardens, oceans and wilderness areas, and the effects on both humans and wildlife are causing concern. Wildlife sound recordist Chris Watson presents a personal investigation into this acoustic pollution; exploring what noise is, the effects of man-made noise on both wildlife and man, and the possible long term consequences if we don’t turn the volume down. Presenter Chris Watson, Producer Sarah Blunt The Radio Times: The Times: This show is now available on the BBC iPlayer....

Field www.field.nu The Times: This show is now available on the BBC iPlayer.]]> tag:www.chriswatson.net,2009://4.2203 2009-08-08T11:18:28Z 2009-08-08T11:20:59Z

As part of the Staging Sound 2.0 programme. Staging Sound 2.0 is a three stranded (field/scavenged/homemade) exploration of experimental and DIY sound and music making around Bath. It features a two-day field recording workshop with Chris exploring the urban, rural and architectural spaces around Bath; an online commission by Matthew Olden scavenging sounds and noises from Web 2.0; a Sound Hack with Dorkbot Bristol; and a series of guerilla performances in some of the City's lesser known nooks and crannies. Media Art Bath Website Staging Sound 2.0 project page...

Field www.field.nu Media Art Bath Website Staging Sound 2.0 project page ]]> tag:www.chriswatson.net,2009://4.2177 2009-07-13T11:31:38Z 2009-07-13T11:34:13Z

Thursday 30th July Midnight Midnight at the Oasis Thursday 30th July 9pm Sound Stories with Luke Clancy and Kevin Brew from RTE...

Field www.field.nu Midnight at the Oasis Thursday 30th July 9pm Sound Stories with Luke Clancy and Kevin Brew from RTE]]>