Sylvia Hallett

Sylvia Hallett is a composer and improviser, working with instruments (violin, hurdy-gurdy, saw,) and objects (bowed bicycle wheel, bowed branches etc) alongside simple live sound processing. She has worked extensively with dancers and in theatre, most recently with choreographer Miranda Tufnell on a tour of outdoor site specific venues in Northumberland. Recent albums: Tree Time and Bolt and Latch.

http://www.sylviahallett.co.uk/

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Time has become very present. Not thinking about the future, nor the past. In spite of that the days whizz by but the year seems to have gone slowly. I have nearly finished making a side gate for my elderly neighbour. Tools needed: drill, saw, wood, hammer, nails, assorted screws, screwdrivers, string. For the sound assembly I use all of the above, plus some effects pedals. Method: Take some floorboards donated by another neighbour, take the pallets of an unwanted futon bed, take the tongue and groove from a recent revamp in my kitchen, listen to radio and wood pigeons, gather dried branches talk back to singing robin recollect spring birds, lay out wood and assemble however it will fit. press record. In March 2020 I was bowing twigs, branches and vines, while at the same time using pedals to manipulate the sound, the result was the albumTree Time. During the course of the year I have been occasionally recording the human and natural sounds as they occur in my back garden. I also recorded some “live playing” indoors using saw, bowed branches, with effects pedals, and worked on the results in logic.Bolt and Latch is a 20 minute journey into this sound world. It took quite a bit of time to figure out the simplest way to fasten the gate. String is useful. - Sylvia Hallett