In June 2025, I applied to an open call for commissions of a new work to be presented at “Plug It Up – Sonic Arts Festival”. Commissioned by the Yorkshire Sound Women Network and Bradford City of Culture 2025, I was drawn to apply to this opportunity as Bradford is my home town. The open call was for sound works to be developed with consideration to themes of gender and the environment.
Below is the document submitted in response to the open call. It was also required to send two completed works.
PROPOSAL
After being selected for the commission, I reassessed my ideas for the sonic material played through the telephones. From the locations presented in the proposal, I began to focus more intently on the places I felt best represented the ideas I was trying to communicate. I felt it would be a good opportunity to represent the industrial culture within Bradford, a place historically connected with manufacturing. The soundscapes I subsequently developed were based on an arms factory, Bradford’s history of Mills, and sonic and air pollution from cars and roads. These locations felt appropriate for the brief as they all have an environmental impact and each can be understood as gender through this impact.
DEVELOPING IDEAS
ARMS FACTORY
The arms factory is located in a small town on the outskirts of Bradford. This arms factory manufactures missiles, electronics, gunsights and munitions for the Israeli military and was subject to a protest in April 2024. It felt like a poignant location to explore for the work, considering the environmental damage done by weapons of mass destruction. By exploring the perimeter of the site, I began to imagine what the potential for the soundscape could be, as well as potential limitations. There are signs around the factory expressing that it is not permitted to take photos, videos or other recordings in the vicinity. This meant that using a microphone would not be a suitable option, and so I opted to use my phone as a way to inconspicuously gather sound recordings. The factory has multiple Armedillo security systems (pictured below), a device with cameras, sensors, lights and a speaker that detects motion within a certain radius. If triggered by movement, it plays an alarm sound and a message spoken in an Irish accent. This became a central part of the composition.
TEXTILE MILLS
Bradford is a city built on the textile mill industry. The landscape is populated by mill chimneys and many disused or repurposed Victorian factories. The textiles industry has historically been upheld by women, hence why it was thematically relevant to the commission. To portray the machinery present within mills, I choose to use archive material from the BBC Sound Archive.
ROADS/// BOY RACERS
Road traffic is a key source of both sonic and airborne pollution in Bradford. In addition to its environmental impacts, cars have significant cultural impacts in Bradford. Communities have been built around cars, often being referred to as “Boy Racers”, particularly within young men, it was important for this group to be represented within my work as they are a key part of culture and industry within Bradford and the way in which they represent gender juxtaposes the femininity of textiles. To explore potential locations with high levels of air and noise pollution I used the website ‘England Noise and Air Quality Viewer‘, showing the loudest places in dark blue and purple. The noise and air quality map became the basis of multiple sound walks for field recording, giving more direction within the city.