The Glasshouse

• Why did you decide to be an Artist in Residence at The Glasshouse International Centre for Music?

 I was looking for some support and development which would help me to apply for grants and projects in the future. I also wanted to think about what I could aim to do with the support of a team behind me to guide me through the process. I was keen to work with The Glasshouse and make connections with people to help develop my career.

• Tell us about your residency project…

I didn’t have anything I was immediately interested in working on, so I took some time to consider my options and came back to it again later. Developing a project that touches on climate change and new technologies can feel quite broad and I wanted to do something that felt personally relevant. I find it easier to approach big topics if I can find a personal link.

I get a lot of my ideas from non-musical references, things I read or listen to, which I write down (I tend to write as much as compose or play). At that point, I’d been reading quite a lot about solitude, isolation and alienation; it felt both personal and universal. During the pandemic, we were forced to think about issues like loneliness, which we don’t do so much now, despite the fact that is still an issue for many people. I was keen to figure out a way to talk about it.

• Can you tell us about the progress so far?

I have done some interviews and workshops and I’ve also been recording and writing throughout the process. I’ve kept a logbook of reflections and ideas to help recognise important moments, feelings and processes. This has influenced the music and lyrics, which I never feel happens very organically. I’ve also been trying new production techniques, using new tools. How to make the topic become musical was my main concern.

• What challenges have you experienced during the project so far? What were they and how did you overcome them?

Interviewing people about their own experiences of loneliness can be quite challenging. It’s hard to keep your own emotions at bay and encourage people to share their experiences in a way that feels trusting, open and not intimidating. I wanted to be respectful and make sure that people didn’t feel like they were part of an experiment.

I made sure that what came from the interviews was just a conversation where we all managed to open up a bit and share some of our experiences. Not just for the music or for the residency but to actually talk about loneliness.

• What have you learnt about yourself during the residency? What are the standout moments?

I’ve learned that it’s okay not to be even-paced towards the deadline, things don’t become clear and definite from the beginning. The biggest chunk of time is taken on thinking of ideas that go nowhere specific. I’ve learned to share with people, ask for advice and opinion on the music or on whether I was taking the right approach with the interviews and how to go about it sensibly.

Getting to know people’s experiences has been incredible. People are so resilient. I have a lot of respect for the people I’ve met.

• What can people expect from your performance?

The music is a combination of the ideas and techniques I’ve been focusing on. I wanted to give a disjointed, slightly alien and jittery feeling to it, where there is a theme, and a melody trying to push through.

The music is very full and saturated, quite big, in a sense. It’s all coming from vocal recordings. I’m not recording from a polished studio sound version, it’s a deliberate choice, as a comment on the saturation of our lives, the lack of connections and coherence in them. But I’m starting from a gut instinct, really. I’m also processing vocals live, which reference the themes on the interviews I’ve been doing and quotes from my notes about the project.

The project has had two parts – the workshop/interview process and the creative output process. The performance on the 23 June will be a reflection of both. I’ve also done a few previous performances and will do one more, with the same concept and similar material.

For now, and most likely for a while, the outcome of the project will be performance-based. I’d like to release some form of it digitally but that will take some thinking and time.

• Where do you see this residency fitting in your journey as an artist?

It’s helped me understand what I need to do in order to independently lead an art project, which I definitely want to do as an artist. I’d like to develop this theme further and apply for funding in the future using this residency as the prototype.

I’m trying to be a bit more careful and consistent on what I take on, so I’m going to take some time curating what I’ve done this year. This is an approach that I’ve taken from the residency period and want to carry through.

• What’s next?

I’m hoping the residency will give me a solid foundation as a working artist and enable me to demonstrate themes and approaches I can develop. It’s also going to give me new material, which I’ve wanted to create for a while. So, next I’d like to take some time to carry on creating it, developing what I’ve done so far.

I want to do more collaborative projects, so I’m looking to do some exhibitions with artists across different media forms. I’m in touch with a perfume artist who is keen on collaborating, so that’s quite exciting too!

Find out how to become our Artist in Residence 2024/25 here. Applications close on Wednesday 28 February, 2024.