In 2020, we commissioned cutting edge musicians Erland Cooper, Hinako Omori and Jason Singh to create new music in response to the crowdsourced sounds from forests and woodlands across the world. Supported by the PRS Foundation’s The Open Fund for Organisations, interpretations of the commissions featured in Timber Festival 2021
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Hinako Omori
Hinako Omori combines ambient space-synths with field recordings and her own ethereal vocals. Thematically, her music is influenced by the idea of space and infinity, floating into separate universes — everything being transparent and lucid, and the idea that nothing is permanent.
“I was delighted to be asked to participate in the Sounds of the Forest project, organised by the wonderful team behind Timber Festival.
I was lucky enough to play at this beautiful festival in 2019, and having experienced first-hand the immersive magic of the event and its incredibly inspiring eco-friendly approach, it was an honour to be invited again for this year’s instalment.
I’d been researching into Shinrin-yoku – ‘forest bathing’ in Japanese – and how this is a form of therapy to reduce the amounts of stress in our bodies, boosts our immune systems and creates calming neuro-psychological effects.
This project concept couldn’t have come at a better time whilst we were in lockdown with the current COVID-19 crisis, and perhaps not all of us have the facilities to access nature and the beautiful woodlands we are blessed with. By using this audible Forest map, we could all engage in shinrin-yoku from the comfort of our own homes.
We had just returned from a tour in Australia and New Zealand before the pandemic hit, so for the composition I was inspired to use the sounds from these countries on the Soundmap, combining it with some field recordings I made on these trips. I tried to recreate the beautiful singing voice and melodies of the birds using synthesisers, to further blend and blur the lines between the natural and electronic/synthesised worlds and landscapes. Working with the field recordings submitted from many people worldwide to create this piece, and to discover the abundance of stunning nature sounds from around this Earth was a truly wonderful experience – thank you so much to Wild Rumpus and the Timber Festival team for having me.”
Jason Singh
In taking inspiration from the natural world, Jason Singh has established himself as one of the most innovative and well-respected beatboxers in the country, with his vocal recreations of birdsongs and entire forestry environments leading to his work being featured on BBC shows Imagine, Springwatch and CountryFile. His creative output includes unique live beatbox film scores, large scale ambisonic sound installations, sound design for gallery/museum exhibitions, collaborative experiments with sound, ceramics, textiles and museum objects.
“Nature, birdsong and forestry environments have informed my work for some time. I’ve previously performed at Timber Festival and I am constantly inspired by the transformational power of woodlands. Sounds of the Forest is an inspirational project to get involved with. We are living in a time of deep uncertainty but the forest offers us connection and hope. What has really inspired me is the way project has united a global audience and offered us the opportunity to reflect, question and discuss the world around us. I hope to echo these themes in my performance at Timber 2021.” – Jason Singh
Erland Cooper
Hailing from the archipelago of Orkney, composer and multi-instrumentalist Erland Cooper explores the natural world of landscape, memory, people and place. Cooper believes music often reflects the landscape a musician is surrounded with, be it rural, urban, real or imagined.
For this composition, a new instrument was created out of a fallen tree branch and single cello string for the piece, creating natural timbres from the forest floor.
