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 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.
March
For March, we’re by the river - where ancient fishes swim amid the water weeds, and not every spring green is as lovely as it appears. Today, we hear tell of strange dreams, look out for Zodiacal Light, and listen out for birdsong, that harbinger of spring. Also singing is Lisa Knapp, with her version of the traditional song, 'Hares on the Mountain'.
Found Sound for February: Muireann Ní Sheoighe Eachthighearn
For February’s Found Sound, Alice Boyd visits Muireann Ní Sheoighe Eachthighearn, one of only a handful of female luthiers, or fiddle makers, working in Ireland. Alice records the many interesting sounds of Muireann’s practice - from a chisel in maple to the sound of water hitting a hot bending iron.
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James Keay and Niko O’Brien