As part of the outdoor group show Audible Forces, produced by Oxford Contemporary Music, I created the artwork Sonic Reed Beds and a new online interactive soundmap. All the pieces in Audible Forces make sound in response to the wind. I had the privilege to be amongst a really amazing group of artists: Max Eastley, Jony Easterby, Mark Anderson, Dan Fox, Mike Blow, and Nathaniel Mann.

The Sonic Reed Beds were inspired by the movement of reeds in the wind. This ensemble of sound sculptures re-imagines the natural reed using steel rods topped with metal or stone. As they move in the breeze, the tops collide creating random compositions of varying densities, from the quiet, gentle collisions of pebbles to overlapping chimes of metal domes. The Reed Bed Bases made by Will Datson and Paul Sandimere.

The online Aeolion Soundmap was made in collaborations with Ed Holroyd. The aim is to collate sound recordings that occur as a result of the wind. The map can be played back like a musical score and customised in different ways to generate many different Aeolian soundscapes. Play with the map here – www.aeoliansoundmap.co.uk . You can upload your own Aeolian recordings using audioboo.

In the summer of 2013, Audible Forces toured to Brighton Festival, Ageas Salisbury International Festival, Norfolk and Norwich Festival, Greenwich and Docklands International Festival, Stockton International Riverside Festival, and Lakes Alive Festival. There will be more dates in the future.

Check out the review in The Wire magazine on a previous post here, and here is a video of the work at Brighton Festival…

http://vimeo.com/68288804

Audible Forces was Produced by Oxford Contemporary Music and Oxford Brookes University Sonic Art Research Unit. It was Co-commissioned by Brighton Festival and Without Walls. The participation of Max Eastley in Audible Forces has been supported by AHRC. Nathaniel Robin Mann is a Sound and Music Embedded artist in residence with Pitt Rivers Museum and OCM.