My career and creative output to-date have primarily been in the role of collaborator - I’ve madesixteen albums and hundreds of performances with bands and ensembles of which I’m a part,as well as session work in the studio and for theatre - in this context I’ve worked with artistsincluding Mark Knopfler, Julie Fowlis, Duncan Chilshiom and Mike Vass. As well as making afair bit of music for moving image - primarily advertising and library music.

 

This has undoubtedly been extremely rewarding, but space, time, accountability and motivationto work in a more personal and self directed way has been a continual challenge.

 

I’d like to use this residency to work on the next stages of a project I’ve slowly been developing,entitled Open Water. The North Atlantic Islands Residency looks like an absolute dream both interms of its links to my subject matter, and as an amazing environment and opportunity toprogress this work.

 

Over the past year I’ve been slowly picking away at what exactly it is I’m looking to do. I think it'sabout embodying the relationship between my sense of music - aesthetic and cultural, and theworld around me - it's a recorded audio project. Making and manipulating samples of mysurroundings (primarily the sea and vessels on it) into new instruments and sounds, pushing thesonic textures and possibilities of my instruments in expressing the musical tradition of which I’ma part, and incorporating historic field recordings of family and community members, to articulatea musical outlook and sense of place in the world.

 

I can’t imagine a better way to continue developing this project than aboard Excelsior, among acrew of like-minded people. I think the combination of surroundings, space and time to think andwork, and collaboration - through conversation and sense of shared endeavour will prove to bean amazing catalyst for this work.