Artist Kathy Hinde is currently resident at Pervasive Media Studio developing Vocal Migrations, a new work commissioned by Bedford Creative Arts that will combine live singing with electronically altered voices.

Inspired by how bats Echo-locate using sound to ‘see’ their surroundings, Kathy is working collaboratively with technologists Matthew Olden and Tarim to create bespoke ‘echo-locating’ devices for humans. The devices will use sensors and mini-computers to affect the sounds of the singers voices, based on where they are positioned in the performance space. Kathy’s aim is to create a sonic and spatial experience that employs bio-mimicry (the examination of nature to solve human problems), as a creative method. 

Kathy has been extremely busy developing the work over the past two months, which has involved collaborating with many people… 

Professor Gareth Jones, head of the Bat Ecology and Bioacoustics Lab at Bristol University has helped Kathy better understand the sonic behaviour of bats. Amongst other interesting facts, Gareth introduced her to ‘the strangeness filter’, a method that allows bats to hear only their own reflected echoes, and thus fly in flocks without crashing into each other. Kathy is now considering how to incorporate this kind of filter into Vocal Migrations.  

Kathy joined Bob Cornes and the Bedfordshire Bat Group on a fascinating bat walk at Priory Park in Bedford. Here she listened to bat chirps in real time and learnt the nuances of identifying species

The question of how a performance might be devised utilising the voice altering ‘echo-location’ devices, is at the heart of her research. To explore this, Kathy’s been working with the Bristol Feral Choir and Bedford Community Choir. She’s also taken singing lessons with Bristol’s Victoria Bourne, gaining insight and understanding of vocal technique.

Singer Kerry Andrew visited Pervasive Media Studio to experiment with the Vocal Migrations device. As part of her research, Kathy has decided to invite different vocalists to try it out and respond to the various open scores she’s been devising with help from mentor Andy Keep, Senior Lecturer in Creative Music Technology at Bath Spa University.

Tech development hasn’t run quite as smoothly as hoped. Matthew, Kathy and Tarim spent a lot of time testing out different combinations of kit, considering compatibility and cost. (You can see a list of what they’ve used here). They finally decided to build the device using the Raspberry Pi (a credit-card sized computer), but although it sounds like a lovely, tasty, friendly computer, they found quite a few unknown quirks hiding under the pastry crust. With two iterations of the device already underway, they’re working hard to figure out why it keeps crashing. More testing is needed, but they’re making progress.

Kathy is keeping an amazingly insightful Artist Journal, which documents her thoughts, inspirations, challenges and successes as the project progresses.

She’ll also share the project at a Lunchtime Talk in Bristol on the 14th December. Join us at Pervasive Media Studio, 1-2pm, for a short talk, a live performance, a glass of mulled wine and a few mince pies.

Vocal Migrations is commissioned by Bedford Creative Arts with additional funding from Arts Council England, and support from Pervasive Media Studio.