'HARK!' soundwalk launch

IMPORTANT: The main description below details the artists that are included in soundwalk RECORDINGS only.

Live performances on 26th May will be from Aurora Engine, Croft Climate Chor, Ash Dickinson and Kirsty Law.

Join us for the launch event for our new Soundwalk HARK!, with live performances and a guided tour of the new installation with Deborah Shaw.

Approx.timings for the launch event

2-2:30pm - welcome and refreshments

2:30-3:15pm - Live performances by Aurora Engine, Croft Climate choir, Ash Dickinson and Kirsty Law

3:15 -4pm - guided tour of the curated recorded works with Deborah Shaw (curator)

NOTE: BRING your SMARTPHONE and set of HEADPHONES (per participant)

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Which artists have contributed to the Soundwalk recordings??

Soundwalk = a walk with a focus on listening to the environment

Announcing a new collaboration between Earth in Common and Deborah Shaw (Aurora Engine), supported by the National Lottery Community Fund’s Together for Our Planet Fund

Highlight recordings include environmental songs from Karine Polwart, works from Tinderbox Sparks Orchestra, stories from Edinburgh’s Gaelic community and Scottish International Storytelling Centre, poems from Ash Dickinson and Alec Finlay, folksong from Kirsty Law, sonic works from Siôn Parkinson and Aurora Engine, incorporating political themes of land rights, references to highland clearances and the Edinburgh housing crisis as local rents continue to increase.

Environmental organisation Earth In Common presents HARK!, an immersive soundwalk nestled within the grounds of Leith Community Croft. This unique experience will offer a tapestry of recorded compositions, soundscapes, poetry and stories, curated by composer and sonic artist Deborah Shaw (Aurora Engine), supported by Together for Our Planet fund. HARK! aims to foster a deeper connection to nature and reflect Earth In Common’s values regarding crofting, land and the intrinsic relationship between arts and the environment.

Alongside the pastoral, is the political, with themes of land rights, references to highland clearances and the Edinburgh housing crisis as local rents continue to increase. Some works explore the effects on communities, raising the importance of nature access in urban landscapes which the Croft provides.

Visitors will be able to access recordings through their electronic devices, and experience sonic folk tales, haunting choral compositions and immersive soundscapes featuring the collected sounds from nature and wildlife.

HARK! contributors include renowned musician Karine Polwart with a brand new song composed for the croft, “Earth In Common” inspired by her passion for nature and environmental causes. Tinderbox Orchestra will present “ICE” from their Sparks collective a piece composed in response to an ice installation at Dynamic Earth.

There will be pieces from Edinburgh’s Gaelic community, a story from Donald Smith, Director of Scottish International Storytelling Centre, and a haunting choral from Earth In Common’s own climate choir and a song from folk singer Kirsty Law.

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Poet Ash Dickinson will be featured with poem ‘Fox Fishing’ about declining nature, and Alec FInlay’s words from their Push the Boat Out Poetry festival commission ‘Manifesto for Urban Crofts’ will also play as part of the soundwalk. Sonic works will include pieces from Siôn Parkinson, composer and sound artist currently an AHRC Research Fellow at RBGE with ‘Pastoral blah’, curator Deborah Shaw (Aurora Engine) with a sound work about land rights and pieces inspired by birdsong.

As participants navigate the Croft with a provided map on their smartphones, they are invited to immerse themselves in the sounds and music at their own pace. A visit to the charming farm shop/café can enhance the experience, allowing for leisurely exploration of the works on display.

A collaboration between Earth in Common and Deborah Shaw (Aurora Engine), supported by the National Lottery Community Fund’s Together for Our Planet Fund