MINDSCAPES: Soundpaths – Yonatan Collier with Brighter Sound
Kristy Stott, Theatre Editor
Happening as part of MINDSCAPES, Soundpaths is a brand-new sonic artwork by Amsterdam-based composer Yonatan Collier and Manchester-based music charity, Brighter Sound. Set outdoors on the streets and greenspaces of Moston and Harpurhey, participants are encouraged to experience these local, familiar areas in a whole new way.
Blending music and sound, the artwork is available to experience via an app on your phone.
Blending music and sound, the artwork is available to experience via an app on your phone. As you head out on the route, which is around 5 km long, a GPS signal tracks your whereabouts and changes the soundscape to correspond to your surroundings. Intelligent and sensitive, the composition by Yonatan Collier features the subtle hums of nature and the voices of the urban landscape. Pass by St Dunstan’s Church and listen carefully – you might even hear a sermon woven into the music. Both refreshing and comforting, the artwork encourages participants to see beauty in their local area while also creating new memories about a place they thought they knew.
Whether you stride along, take a gentle stroll or pound the pavements, the changing soundtrack offers to boost your physical and mental wellbeing. Participants do not need to do the whole route to enjoy the experience, but can tap into the soundscapes at any point during the journey.
Soundpaths asks us to tune in to the world around us.
Yonatan Collier is a sound musician, composer and producer who has performed at venues and festivals across the UK and Europe. He is currently working towards a practice-based PhD, examining how location-based recording, performance and production can be used to explore artistic practice, landscape and history. This brand-new commission will see Collier work with Manchester-based music charity, Brighter Sounds and people from the Moston and Harpurhey community.
Bold and intriguing, MINDSCAPES: Soundpaths asks us to tune in to the world around us – our streets, our homes, our workplaces – to understand how we relate to different environments and the effect our surroundings have on our wellbeing and mental health.
