Photo by Caitlin Warren
Read our in-depth interview with the brilliant sound artist, composer, and documentary maker Alice Boyd. By exploring the exciting art of field recording alongside more traditional means of musical expression she is a most fascinating and creative artist who is releasing a wonderful new EP – Cloud Walking.
Welcome to Magazine Sixty, Alice. Can you tell us about the projects you are currently working on?
Thank you for having me! My focus at the moment is the release of my second EP Cloud Walking. The first single “Little River” came out on 17th October, and the full EP comes out on 28th November. It’s inspired by a trip I took to the Cairngorm Mountain Range in Scotland last year. Along with a group of eight other women, I retraced the steps of pioneering nature writer and mountaineer Nan Shepherd (1893-1981).
Cairngorms photo by Ameena Rojee
Over four days, we hiked, camped and faced the elements, drawing inspiration and solace from the landscape and Shepherd’s writing. The EP blends folk-inspired vocal harmonies and chamber pop instrumentation with field recordings I captured during the trip. Through the songs, I explore the emotional highs and lows of being immersed in the mountains. These songs reflect not just the journey through the Cairngorms, but the deeper exploration of self that can happen when we step out of the everyday.
How would you describe your direction of travel as you engaged with music growing up? Did tastes and musical styles evolve or change completely by hearing something revelatory? Has any particular artist remained a constant companion throughout?
My dad was always sharing music with me and my brothers as we are growing up. He showed us a wide range of artists, from Brian Eno (whose music I was born to!), through to Destiny’s Child, The Unthanks, Moby, Paul Simon, Minnie Riperton, Gorillaz and many more. I owe a lot of my taste to him and he instilled in me the joy of musical exploration as a fulfilling part of life.
However, there is one particular band who was a real ‘aha’ moment for me: Dirty Projectors. David Longstreth’s project has been a consistent companion for me since I was a teenager. While at first, I found their music a little hard to get into when my friend Isaac showed me their album Bitte Orca, upon repeat listens I was hooked. Ever since, I’ve looked forward to each release and have found so much inspiration from their music. One thing I love about Dirty Projectors is how the band transcends genres, from warm folk, to cinematic orchestral pop, through to electronic and R&B-inspired textures and beats – Dirty Projectors has done it all.
Photo by Caitlin Warren
Could it be said that Field Recordings are the opposite of Songwriting? Do they generate or connect with different emotions from each other? Are they saying different things? Or are they more similar?
For me, I have always regarded them as contrasting parts of my practice. Songwriting is creating something from nothing, whereas field recording is capturing something that already exists. I’d always thought of them as active vs. passive. However, in responding to this question, I’m not sure it’s so clear cut. Songwriting is also a form of observation, pulling ideas from our experiences and surroundings. Field recording is also creative, with a lot of choice going into how we capture sounds, and a lot of room for human interpretation and interference.
Perhaps a better distinction is songwriting for me feels like I’m turning the inside out, whereas field recording feels like turning the outside in… if that makes any sense!
Listen to Alice Boyd’s brilliant BBC Radio 4 documentary on legendary field recordist Martyn Stewart here
What impact did hearing about Pauline Oliveros’ ideas around Deep Listening have on you?
Pauline Oliveros coined the term ‘Deep Listening’, a practice which involves turning our attention to the sounds we can hear, whether they are man-made or natural, near or far, constant or interrupted. When I read more about her work, it encouraged me to think more about the sounds I hear, and in turn connect more with my environment. Field recording is the way I practice this most – it’s pretty much the only thing in my working life that encourages me to actually stop and listen. In a world that is incredibly fast moving and constantly diverting your attention, it’s something I want to keep carving out time and space for.
The music you perform live captures the beautiful essence of harmony as it does the more exploratory world of electronics. Do you think music should music always strive to move forward and create new sounds and ideas? Or could it be said nostalgia is the bigger driving force these days?
When I’m listening to music, I tend to yo-yo between songs that are warm and songs that push my boundaries. In my own work, I’ve feel I’ve explored both. My upcoming EP errs on the side of warm rather than experimental, and that’s partly due to the joy I’ve experienced singing with my band members Daisy Russell and Jacob Norris over the last year. Sometimes, there’s nothing better than a good melody and some harmonies, plus bells and whistles can get in the way. Having said that, I really enjoy pushing myself to learn new things – for my first EP, this was electronics, hardware creation and making music with conductivity data from plants. For my second EP, it was hiking in the mountains and recording the sounds I hear. We’ll see what direction it goes in for my next musical project!
I also wanted to ask a more general question about the place of the Arts in society. Do you see them as valued as they could be and in what ways could their transformative powers enhance more people’s lives?
There’s a quote I always bring up when the role of arts in society gets brought up, and that’s one from Alison Tickell, CEO of climate arts organisation Julie’s Bicycle. At a talk of hers I went to when I was starting out, she said “the arts is the difference between knowing knowledge and feeling knowledge”. That really stuck with me. For me, music and sound is a way to communicate my passion for the natural world, as well as (whether directly or indirectly) the perils it faces. Arts and culture has a really important role in creating change – it’s the stuff that can change hearts.
As for the transformative powers of art in people’s lives, the act of creating can have a huge impact on our sense of self. I love crafts – whether that’s knitting, embroidery, lino printing or clothes making – I’m not the best at it at all, but the feeling of peace it gives me is so important to my life. For me, both music and crafts can be important social elements of my life – a craft evening or a band rehearsal can turn around my day. Art and music mean community.
What do you think about the place or influence of AI in the creative process? Likewise what for you are the positive/ negative effects of social media?
Hmmm.. this one is tricky! My use of AI has been limited to some admin tasks that help relieve my work as an independent artist (e.g. creating a first draft of a press release or helping create a social media plan). I haven’t used it to create music and particularly given the environmental impact of AI, I have conflicting thoughts about its use. Who knows how it’ll impact us. It feels like a total wild card and I imagine will change the landscape of most if not all industries. I hope AI is used simply as a tool, but I think that’s probably naïve.
I’ve really enjoyed some musical projects that have utilised AI in fascinating ways, such as Holly Herndon’s 2019 album PROTO and Melanie Wilson’s Dreaming Species. So, I think there are interesting applications for AI in music and sound. There’s no denying though the dangers of AI and I am wary of it. It feels like the genie is out of the bottle now, so I guess we’ll have to strap in!
As for social media, again this is another conflicting topic for me. On one hand, social media has given an amazing amount of reach for independent artists. There is the potential to build huge audiences and create a living for ourselves without the approval of traditional music industry gatekeepers. However, the fast paced nature of these platforms and the never-ending requirement to make more content to capture audiences feel relentless and unsustainable, not to mention the negative mental health effects of being on these platforms as a user.
I realised the other day, social media has been a part of my life for longer than it’s not been. I’ve learnt so much from the creators on these platforms, and have been able to share my own projects, but it has sucked up a lot of my time and has no doubt impacted the way I interact with the world.
It’s inspired me to think about other forms of sharing my work, in particular by sharing a newsletter on Substack. It’s nice to know I have a growing community of people who are interested enough in my work to receive an email with my updates and stories. On my newsletter I don’t need to rely on an algorithm pushing out my work. These interactions are more about quality rather than quantity, and that’s something that feels missing with social media.
Is music the answer?
Whether it’s ‘the answer’ I don’t know, but it’s certainly important. It’s a form of expression, connection and reflection (and a trillion other -ion words). Music can make you elated, frustrated, cry, fall in love, change your hair colour, dance in the kitchen, make your day a little better. It soundtracks so many moments and memories and is such a key part of so many of our lives. Music is blimmin’ amazing.
Stream/Download Alice Boyd – Cloud Walking EP here
Alice Boyd website
Alice Boyd Substack
Alice Boyd on Spotify
Social media @aliceboydmusic
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