Thank you for following Uncanny Landscapes. Here’s a new episode of the podcast; an interview with musician, sound artist and composer Cheryl Leonard. As you know, this is a free project, both newsletter and podcast - nothing is paywalled. If you're able to support my work through a donation (aka paid subscription) - thank you!! I truly appreciate it. And if you're not, perhaps you can support by telling a friend (or two, or 100) about the Substack's free subscriptions and accompanying podcast.
The podcast (and all back ‘issues’) are also available at:
https://uncannylandscapes.podbean.com/
and on most podcast platforms. As always, books, records and events ‘n’at here: https://linktr.ee/oldweirdalbion
Links:
Cheryl E. Leonard’s website
Cheryl on Instagram
Antarctica album on Bandcamp
Littoral album on Bandcamp
Siân Landau’s Solstice project Long Night, Long Stones on EHFM
Cheryl E. Leonard’s website
Cheryl on Instagram
Antarctica album on Bandcamp
Littoral album on Bandcamp
Siân Landau’s Solstice project Long Night, Long Stones on EHFM
I met Cheryl E. Leonard over this past summer on Jez riley French’s momentous Murmurations workshop in Scotland. She was a guest artist, joining us to walk the Highland hills, stick mics in moss and - on the penultimate night of the week’s work - perform. Each of the performances by guest artists was, to put it mildly, revelatory. Cheryl’s, however, was far more analogue. She had a collection of what looked like rocks, shells, bones and glass with microphones hovering above or contact-mic’s clipped to the centre. It was sculptural in appearance, like a Goldsworthy piece evicted from its site and brought into the house. The sounds that emerged were even more compelling - buzzes and drones, sure, but melodies, bright sparkles and dark, basal hums all riding beside Cheryl’s field recordings of the Northern California coast.
I spoke to Cheryl a few weeks back, about her practice, about the philosophies around making compositions ‘with’ a landscape, about her acclaimed album of music based on her time in Antarctica, about martial arts and how it relates to field recording… about an awful lot of good, good stuff.
More episodes comin at ya soon, including a year-ender from writer James Canton, and an interview soon with above-mentioned creative field recordist Jez riley French. And lots, lots more. 2024 will be an interesting time in the Uncanny Landscapes camp, so stay tuned.
Long Night, Long Stones
Today is the Solstice, 21 December. From 3.39pm UK time, the artist Siân Landau will broadcast a 17-hour long soundscape for the Winter Solstice on Edinburgh’s community radio station EHFM (listen live online here). Siân’s work revolves in part around stones - geological forms, standing stones; ‘natural’ and ‘cultural’ stones - and Long Night, Long Stones looks at Deep Time through these objects and ideas. Tune in for a moment, or for an eternity.
Uncanny Landscapes Podcast: Cheryl E. Leonard