I like to take the sounds of a particular place, and manipulate them to create what I imagine to be the real, underlying sound of the place. The only sounds in 'Operahuset' are the hidden spaces and back rooms of Oslo Opera House, processed using reel-to-reel tape and basic digital tools. I worked on the sounds in the silence of Snowdonia, North Wales, and the atmosphere of that place has infused the piece with a meditative feel, with a percussive, almost tabla-like middle section. Almost - but not quite - devoid of the sounds of people...

PROFILE

Iain Chambers' music explores the hidden soundworld beneath the places and sounds we think we know well. This is acousmatic music with a strong sense of location. His music appeals to the emotions, and uses field recordings in the composition process. Story-telling with sound is a key part of Iain's other life as a freelance radio producer making experimental features. Iain's work in radio mirrors his music: both combine emotive narratives with unconventional sonic treatments. His BBC Radio 3 radiophonic drama, Use It Or Lose It – featuring his music - won a Sony Radio Academy Award and Prix Europa Special Commendation for Best Drama in 2011. Iain is a founder member of the musique concrète group Langham Research Centre. This collective resembles an Early Music group in their commitment to authentic performances of 20th century electronic music by composers like John Cage and Alvin Lucier. They compose new music using an instrumentarium of open-reel tape machines, sinewave oscillators, and other obsolete technology. They have performed at international festivals, Tate Modern, the London Coliseum and Barbican Art Gallery.

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