Sparky Conversations: Recordings from a fading world with Natalia Beylis

Composer and Artist Natalia Beylis leads the next community discussion in CMC's Sparky Conversations series.

Like many artists, I often use field recordings of nature within my compositions: owls, rivers, foxes and the rain.  Often, these sounds are taken from the rural landscape around my home.  From year to year, these sounds change as the world changes.  For example, this is the first spring that the curlews call has been absent from our neighbour Johnny's field.  The absence is enough to break your heart.  I listen back to recordings I've made of the curlew in past years and wonder if there's any way to use its lost voice within my work that can help to effect a positive change. I haven't come up with an answer. Maybe there isn't an answer. But I continue to find inspiration as I journey through the question.

- Natalia Beylis.

Natalia Beylis' music revolves somewhere between sonic story-teller and multi-instrumental explorer. She has released over 40 albums between solo works and collaborations and has appeared on numerous compilations. Based in rural Ireland, her work parallels the lines of her surroundings: creaking trees, farm animals, vocal samples taken from conversations with her neighbours, the northwesterly breeze, creatures rustling in the hedgerows, strange noises from the bog at dusk and rainfall. Lots and lots of rainfall. Her solo compositions and improvisations are a mix of garbled tape collage recordings, manipulated sounds of seemingly mundane objects, eerie mandola mantras and dreamscape piano voyages. While she regularly records on a variety of traditional instruments, she is just as likely to use non-musical sound sources within her compositions. For example, she recently released an album using just the sounds created by a domestic Singer sewing machine. Natalia regularly collaborates with cellist Eimear Reidy, percussionist Willie Stewart in the duo 'Hedgling' and is a member of the group BB84. She also creates pieces for ensembles. Her latest composition, 'Around Here, The Birds Plant The Trees' uses conkers both as a sonic source and as a visual conducting aid to direct the players.

https://www.instagram.com/nataliabeylis

https://bsky.app/profile/sunkenhum.bsky.social

Join the conversation

As always, all are welcome to Sparky Conversations, and participation in discussions is encouraged. Events are delivered online via Zoom, with closed captions available. Register here.

Please let us know if you have access requirements to join this event by contacting Anna at amurray@cmc.ie