Musical Noises

Fermynwoods Contemporary Art has been working with The Complementary Education Academy for ten years, bringing arts programming to students who have been excluded from mainstream education. Or, rather, we bring the students to the arts, using our site at Sudborough Green Lodge, deep in Fermyn Woods, for workshops.

Artist and musician Rebecca Lee returned last month to complete the recording and mixing of the students’ soundscapes.

We began by capturing even more adventurous sounds - including dropped ingredients from the kitchen and the flowing water from our bathroom tap - to add to those collected during our previous workshop. Then Rebecca introduced us to software that made it possible to loop, warp, and combine the sounds into a kind of music made from noise instead of traditional instruments. The most popular noises incorporated into these tracks were wind which resembled the deep bass of a dance club, various screams and shouts from the students, and the vibration of a wire fence.

Some clips are included of the mixes the students made. The complete finished soundscapes/musical tracks will be part of our year-end Fermynwoodstock festival, featuring a programme of music, performances and sound art made by our students with the help of a variety of artists.

To learn more about our Alternative Provision programming: http://fermynwoods.org/alternative-provision/