Hy Brasil: a Sound Installation by Chris Watson

Press Release 15 January 2014

HY BRASIL: A SOUND INSTALLATION BY CHRIS WATSON

Opera North Projects presents a brand new sound installation, Hy Brasil, specially commissioned for the Howard Assembly Room, from celebrated sound artist Chris Watson.

Best known as the sound recordist for BBC programmes including the award-winning Frozen Planet, and described by the Guardian as “the daddy of wildlife and sound recording,” Chris Watson was also a founding member of influential experimental music group Cabaret Voltaire and has released a number of albums of edited field recordings for Touch. He is a regular presence on Radio 4, most recently with Tweet of the Day, and David Attenborough’s Life in Sound.

He explores the undiscovered sonic landscape of the fabled island of Hy Brasil in this new sound installation created for the unique space of the Howard Assembly Room in Leeds.

The mythic land of Hy Brasil is a mysterious island rumoured to be hidden in mist somewhere off the coast of Ireland, which becomes visible to human eyes and ears just once every seven years. It appears on many seafarers’ maps of the Atlantic, finally disappearing from them only in 1870 . Chris Watson’s voyage of imaginative discovery through this uncharted territory explores the island through an astonishing array of animal inhabitants and natural environments, composed from compelling wildlife sounds from his global archive.

The installation takes its visitors on a daylong expedition through the island- from shore to summit, dawn to dusk, all in a cycle of rhythm, sound and beautiful lighting that lasts around 20 minutes. From the swirling pulse of the currents that pass around the island to the haunting siren-song of whales and seals, the otherworldly cries of Manx shearwaters and the deep roar of black howler monkeys, Hy Brasil moves around the visitor in three dimensional life, through ambi-sonic sound, enhanced by gorgeously atmospheric lighting by Lighting Designer Tim Skelly..

Jo Nockels, Opera North Projects Manager comments: “Sitting at the meeting of the natural world and the imagination, this installation inhabits a sound world in which creatures from the Galapagos Islands rub shoulders with those of the Irish coast, drawing out the innate musicality and sheer wonder of the natural world, which have forged human myth, storytelling and song for millennia”.

Chris Watson comments: “ The opportunity to lift the island of Hy Brasil out of myth and legend and re-create its soundscape is, for me, an exciting and unique prospect. The fabulous acoustic space of the Howard Assembly Room is an ideal setting and indeed part of the original inspiration for the installation.”

Performance Listing: INSTALLATION: Hy Brasil

HyBrasil is a mysterious, enchanted island, hidden in fog somewhere off the coast of Ireland. It reveals itself to human eye and ear just one day every seven years. This specially commissioned work by sound artist Chris Watson (BBC TV’s award-winning Frozen Planet), brings that day on HyBrasil to life in an immersive sound installation for adults and children of all ages.

Howard Assembly Room at Opera North, Leeds Friday 28 February – Saturday 15 March Open 2pm – 8pm Tues – Sat (Closed Sun and Mon) Online: www.howardassemblyroom.co.uk Free, no ticket or booking required

HyBrasil linked events:

Imaginary Worlds A morning of creative movement and dance for families. Suitable for ages 4-7. Saturday 1 March 10.00am – 12.00pm Box Office: 0844 848 2727 Online: www.howardassemblyroom.co.uk Adults £6 / Under 8s Free

The Art of Listening Chris Watson and special guests speak about his work and the fine art of listening. Tuesday 4 March 7.00pm Box Office: 0844 848 2727 Online: www.howardassemblyroom.co.uk FREE

Sound Recording A must for emerging sound artists. Join Chris Watson for a morning developing your sound skills. Saturday 8 March 10.00am – 1.00pm Box Office: 0844 848 2727 Online: www.howardassemblyroom.co.uk Tickets £10

For further information, images or artist interviews please contact: Rebekah Wadham, Press Officer, 0113 223 3528 [email protected] Julia Gregg, Interim PR Manager, 0113 223 3526 [email protected]