I took on the role of Creative Producer, alongside Bladder & String Artistic Director Connor Alexander, for a modern reimagining of Delia Derbyshire’s renowned ‘Inventions for Radio’ as part of Coventry’s year as City of Culture.
Giving a platform to under-heard voices on the radio, ‘Inventions for Radio’ was pioneering in showcasing the thoughts and lives of ordinary people and extraordinary subject matter. The collaboration with Barry Bermonge, which began in 1964, brought a diverse range of voices from across the country together into one of Delia’s most loved pieces.
‘Echoes of Invention’ explores Delia and Barry’s original work through the lives of people living in Derbyshire’s home city of Coventry today. In the first of the four themes, ‘Faith’, we hear from a range of perspectives as they describe their experiences of the divine, the indefinable and their deepest beliefs. Composed collaboratively by Caro C and Charles Craggs the music is inspired by Delian techniques. Limited to the voices of singer Amy Kakoura, who improvised around the note of A, and the interviewees, the composers used modern music technology to build the soundscape; keeping the piece fundamentally rooted in the human voice.
You can hear the work here:
We worked with over 50 people living and working in Coventry across a number of creative sessions to inform the work. Everyone involved was invited to experience the pieces within an immersive sound installation, which was installed on a high street in Coventry and free for the public to enjoy.