June 2017 i

The June heat means sound is travelling faster than it has all year (warm air increases speed of sound) which unfortunately allows for all the late night drunken Dublin sing song to reach my apartment window even quicker. Not that I'm a curmudgeon!

Anne Maree Barry's new work Otium Cum Dignitate (Leisure with Dignity) which I sound designed is currently on show in The Lab on Foley Street until August 20th. It's a fascinating exploration of gender and class division through the lens of early 20th century Dublin, specifically the notorious Monto area above Talbot Street.

Currently in the works is a radio adaptation of Orla Murphy's award winning theatre drama Remember to Breath

Set during a young Irish woman's attempts to learn to swim in a post-earthquake Christchurch, New Zealand, it explores themes of loss, disconnection, and identity as she strives to reconcile her old home life with her new home land. Sound design and mixing are almost complete and it will be broadcasting on Newstalk FM in the near future.

Georgie's Vision

We all know about Maud Gonne, but have you ever heard of George, aka Mrs. WB Yeats? Tune in to “Georgie’s Vision”, to learn more about this extraordinary but self-effacing genius who was the catalyst for her husband’s greatest poetry, yet said “thank-you for leaving me out”. Featuring Professor Margaret Mills Harper, official biographer Ann Saddlemyer, grand-daughter and harpist Caitriona Yeats, Benedictine Monk Mark Patrick Hederman, poet John Montague, Olwen Fouere, Ingrid Craigie, David Heap, and Pat Laffan, among others.  A Deirdre Mulrooney production for RTE Lyric FM with the support of BAI Sound and Vision Scheme.

The incomparable Olwen Fouéré provided the voice of Georgie Yeats, reciting the words from A Vision that Georgie channeled in her automatic writing, providing creative inspiration and guidance for W.B. 

I had a lot of fun on this creating some very atmospheric sounds for readings to try and create a suitably occult listening experience!

Georgie's Vision will be broadcast on RTÉ Lyric FM on September 30th 2016 at 7PM

Pro Tools Edit Window for 'Georgie's Vision'

Reassembled, Slightly Askew

Reassembled, Slightly Askew is the document of Shannon Yee's traumatic cranial surgeries, needed to save her life after suffering multiple infections, and the effects on her life post-surgery.

Greeted by a nurse as the show begins, you're asked to fill out an in patient form and then given a hospital wrist tag. Led to a hospital bed, you lie down, put on an sleep mask and headphones, and begin the journey into the living nightmare of Shannon's mind for the months that she spent in the hospital ICU. 

The narrative of Reassembled, Slightly Askew is presented through the medium of radio drama, and is an exceptional example of sound's power to tell a story, especially a story as subjective as this. Recorded and composed by SARC's Paul Stapleton, making special use of the Neumann KU100 Binaural dummy head, a soundscape of obscured voices and fractured ambiences puts you near the emotional core of Shannon's story; just outside the blast radius of  such a life changing event. 

It's a reminder of the fragility of our everyday lives and identities, with the greatest of reliefs being that you can cut off your wrist tag after the show and choose to become a person again, not a patient.