A sound reaction
CHARLOTTE Church and Super Furry Animals’ Cian Ciaran are among some of Wales’ best-known musicians who are joining forces for an unique live collaboration that will highlight the damage being done to the environment in Wales.
The performance titled ‘8: A film & live soundtrack’, is to be held at the National Museum Cardiff on Thursday, August 8.
It will see a line-up of musicians that include Church and Ciaran as well as The Gentle Good, Jonathan Powell, Kris Francis, Secondson and Meilyr Thomas write, play, and record a score live in front of an audience for the movie about eight places in Wales which are environmentally under threat.
The locations include Newport Wetlands, Merthyr opencast mine, and Port Talbot Steelworks.
Filmmaker Toby Cameron dreamt up the projet with Super Furry Animals Ciaran.
He said: “My studio is above Cian’s. We’ve spent many cups of tea chatting music and films, I’ve always wanted to work with him on something and this is the first project to come to fruition. I loved all his solo albums and his score for Rhys A Meinir.
“I’d been experimenting with Super 8, and wanted to experiment with the form further. With digital cameras, it’s easy to overshoot with the thought you’ll fix it in the edit, with the film you’re very aware of not overshooting, due to cost, and there’s an element of surprise that you get once you’ve sent your film off to be developed and you get it back.
“Over a cuppa I mentioned this and asked whether he’d be up for soundtracking a film shot in this way.
“He agreed but on the basis, the soundtrack could be improvised, written and performed on the night. I was a bit scared at first but got on board with the idea because you have to trust someone with Cian’s talent, he’d be at pain to admit that though.
“We talked about potential ideas and themes. We decided on the impact of industry on Wales’ landscape, it tied into themes Cian had explored on his second album, They Are Nothing Without Us, and I was keen to shoot landscapes. At the time there was a serious threat to Newport Wetlands from the potential M4 relief road.
“Luckily, the plans for that have been stopped, we hoped the film would draw attention to the effects industry has had on the Welsh landscape and the animals and humans that live within it, we hope the project stirs some debate about Wales’ future and the impact its industries have on our surroundings.
“We all seem to believe that the serious environmental damage happens elsewhere, whether it’s the monumental industrial coal mountains of China, the floating toxic plastic islands of the Atlantic or the seismic calving of glaciers at our planet’s poles – but sometimes we miss what’s happening on our own doorstep.”
8: A film & live soundtrack will be held at the Reardon Smith Theatre on Thursday, August 8. Tickets available priced £8, £4 concessions from www.ticketweb.uk