1st September – Thank you

I had a very productive day of meetings today, first an excellent meeting with Rhys Thwaites Jones of Fforest Films https://vimeo.com/225412902

We discussed the documentary film that he will be making on/about this project, which we will be tailoring for submission into film festivals such as:

Banff Mountain, Film and Book festival http://www.banffcentre.ca/banff-mountain-film-book-festival

Llanberris film festival http://www.llamff.co.uk/

Kendall Mountain Festival http://www.mountainfest.co.uk/

All very exciting…

Then I met with Ric Lloyd, pictured above, in his home and studio nestled into the side of the hill that I will be crawling down next week. Sitting amidst his BAFTA award and Gold Disc for ‘Only You’ by the Flying Pickets (1983?) and listening to the 15 pieces of music he has composed and recorded for Crossed Paths on his piano was a great experience indeed. One of the most rewarding and inspiring aspects of my last project Passage, Crossed Paths in its earlier form and Crossed Paths in its current form is making connections, engaging in conversation and collaboration, today was no exception. Ric’s understanding of what I had hoped for, partly unbeknown to me, is quite extraordinary. He has composed a series of abstract; fragmented, repetitious, multi layered pieces that I think will work brilliantly with the visceral and intimate Go – pro footage that repeatedly and belligerently plunges the viewer in and out of the materiality of the earth contrasted with a series of serene, spacious, beautiful melodic pieces that will work perfectly in the documentary film that presents a much more romantic, traditional overview of the landscape. The abstract and melodic compositions compliment the approach that the scientists apply to understanding this upland landscape, i.e. that both the microscopic and macroscopic must be grasped in relation to each other and simultaneously in order to understand the qualities, issues and challenges that it faces. The micro/macro principle is central to how I am approaching this landscape i.e. presenting emergent, enactive, unmediated film footage from ‘down there’ in relation to scientific, poetic, musical and textual interpretation from ‘elsewhere’.

Ric said he felt (positively) challenged by being asked to write for piano only, I am so glad that I have asked each of the 5 musicians to work with one instrument only as this will enable 5 very distinct identities and sounds to emerge.

He has offered me 15 pieces to chose from, I can use all of them or one of them, I can extract from them or use them in their entirety.

I cannot wait to start editing now I have both Tim Noble’s and Ric’s music to start playing with, extremely daunting too…3 more to come…Jasper Salmon and the fiddle, Diarumid Johnson and the boxwood flute and Hariet Earis and the harp..

Here we go…