based in Todmorden, West Yorkshire but I grew up in Surrey next to a railway embankment, where I spent many happy childhood hours scrabbling about, building dens, climbing trees and exploring the natural habitat. With an interest in the natural world and humankind’s impact upon it I went on to gain a degree in Environmental Science, followed by a Masters in Pollution Control, and in my early twenties started employment with the National Rivers Authority as field officer, tasked with investigating and preventing pollution in West Yorkshire’s Calder and Aire river catchments. Like my childhood days this involved a lot of scrabbling about, this time on river banks, with sampling cans. After a long career in the environmental sector involving team leader, project management and policy roles I decided to leave my job and pursue my creative interests, embarking on a full time degree in Creative Music Technology at Huddersfield University. Here I studied composition, music analysis, experimental music, sound art and music production, and undertook a placement year working as a studio technician for Hoot Creative Arts, a mental health and wellbeing charity based in Huddersfield.
Having graduated in summer 2019 I’m now taking forward my creative pursuits. Much of the inspiration for my creative work comes from my interest in nature and my local environment. I take field recordings and often make live and fixed pieces which incorporate natural sounds and explicitly engage with ecological issues. I’m interested in how sound art can be used to connect people with the natural world, whether that’s through people listening to it, or being actively involved in making and performing it themselves. Supported by ame, and funded by Arts Council England, I recently held my first solo show – ‘I am on my way to the sea’- at Dai Hall, Huddersfield, exhibiting a collection of audio and visual work resulting from a period of summer research on the River Colne, West Yorkshire.
To supplement my artistic activities I work as a recordist and sound engineer and run creative and technical workshops covering topics such as live sound, field recording techniques and ecological sound art. In the last year I’ve used my studio and field-based audio skills to co- create and present Nature Tripping – a podcast dedicated to connecting people to nature through engaging and informal chats, usually recorded on location, with an emphasis on listening in to the particular habitat being visited.
I’m a Co-Director of Yorkshire Sound Women Network and passionate about improving the experiences and opportunities for girls, women and non-binary people aspiring to make a living in the audio industry.
