As the Season Turns
As The Season Turns is produced in collaboration with Lia Leendertz, author of The Almanac: A Seasonal Guide. The podcast is now in its fifth edition.
Each episode is released on the first of the month and follows the changing landscape of the seasons - from the moon and the stars, to the tides and the trees.
Found Sounds are released on the middle Friday of each month - these brief, gentle snippets of a wild place in the UK are crafted by sound artist Alice Boyd from field recordings, music and interviews.
Found Sound for May: Max Porter
For May, Alice travels to Bath to meet critically acclaimed writer Max Porter in a quiet woodland on the edge of the city, discussing how landscape shapes his work, the process of writing, and the interplay between the fantastical and the domestic. We hear Max reading from the ecstatic springtime piece he wrote for Ffern's recent film, 'This Wild Land'.
May
For May, we are in the wet woodland - where ferns glow amid the alders in the light of this month’s pair of full moons, and we catch sight of a tiny spiny monster in the water. We hear a song about May’s unpredictable weather, and a story about a sparrowhawk. Meanwhile we forage for skullcap and keep our eyes peeled for an elusive wood spirit with long white hair…
Found Sound for April: Singing with Nightingales
For April, Alice Boyd travels to East Sussex for the homecoming event of Singing with Nightingales. Here she meets friend of As the Season Turns Sam Lee, a Mercury-nominated folk musician, song collector and founder of the project, which brings people together each spring to experience the magic of nightingales in the wild - and sing alongside them. We’re given a special window into the evening, with a guest appearance from singer Mira Awad.
April
Our April chalk stream is sunlit and clear, a river in a fairytale. We spot amphibians and salmon in its crystalline waters, pick wild watercress and stand rapt on the bank to listen to Britain’s most virtuoso songbird. This month’s music is a new version of the rousing old song ‘When Spring Comes In’ - and we hear tell of the ancient Salmon of Llyn Llyw, the oldest animal in Britain.
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James Keay and Niko O’Brien