Sounding Toraigh

Gormley, Gerard (2026) Sounding Toraigh. [Composition] (In Press)

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Abstract

Sounding Toraigh is a practice-based sound project exploring the sonic and material identity of Toraigh, a remote Irish-speaking island off the northwest coast of Ireland. Combining field recording, composition, photography, and spatial listening practices, the project examines the relationship between sound, landscape, memory, and environmental change within an island community experiencing ongoing depopulation and cultural transformation. Developed through multiple fieldwork visits to the island, the project involved extensive environmental and vibrational recording processes across coastal, architectural, and rural locations. Using contact microphones, hydrophones, field recorders, and vibration speakers, sounds gathered from the island’s landscape and built environment were replayed through local materials and surfaces, then re-recorded to capture the acoustic and resonant characteristics of place. These recordings included environmental textures such as wind, sea, stone, wildlife, architectural resonance, and shifting atmospheric conditions. The resulting material was developed into a series of original sound compositions for vinyl release, alongside a photographic series documenting the island and its environments. Through subtle compositional and studio processes, the project sought to preserve the spatial and environmental qualities of listening on the island while exploring how sound can reveal relationships between landscape, materiality, and cultural memory. The project forms part of an ongoing research investigation into sound, place, acoustic ecology, and material listening, examining how experimental sound practices can engage with geographically and culturally fragile environments.

Item Type:	Composition
Divisions:	College of Creative Arts, Technology and Engineering > Performing Arts
Depositing User:	Research and Knowledge Exchange Office Admin 1
Date Deposited:	16 Jul 2026 08:57
Last Modified:	16 Jul 2026 08:57
URI:	https://bnu.repository.guildhe.ac.uk/id/eprint/21114

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