Taking place in the 18th and 19th centuries, the Highland Clearances saw people from the Highlands and Islands of Scotland forced from their homes, with whole communities having to seek opportunities elsewhere. These events were sometimes violent and led to famine, displacement and mass emigration.  

The Scottish writer and campaigner Kenneth Murray, along with the dramaturg Kirsty Housley, produced a script for a Radiophonic Travel Agency episode that explored this period in history through the prism of a fictional sound journey. The award-winning composer Ella Kay produced the sound design based on their script.

Travelling through time, we hear Scotland from the 1700s to the present day from the perspectives of different characters. With sounds ranging from blacksmiths and farm animals to waulking songs and Gaelic psalms, this episode allows anyone from across the world to visit Scotland before and after the Highland Clearances. 

The journey is preceded by interviews with Murray and Kay, where we discuss their respective creative practices and approaches to this unusual time-travelling brief.

Dramaturg - Kirsty Housley

Writer - Kenneth Murray

Sound Design - Ella Kay

The recording “Wool Waulking Display at the inaugural Outlander Day at Highland Folk Museum” (Newtonmore, 2015) appears courtesy of Steve McLeish and Outlandish Journeys. “Gaelic psalms at Back Free Church” (Isle Of Lewis, 2003) was produced by 

Calum Martin and appears courtesy of Leum Music. Samples of dialogue are derived from “The Western Isles” (1941, dir. Terence Egan Bishop) and appear courtesy of the British Council film archive under a CC BY-NC 3.0 licence. Images courtesy of The MacKinnon Collection at the National Library of Scotland and David Brooks at Unsplash.                                                                               

Co-produced by Ilia Rogatchevski and Louis Gillespie for the Radiophonic Institute.

Tracklist:

Calum Martin - Gaelic psalms at Back Free Church, Isle Of Lewis

Interview with Kenneth Murray

Steve McLeish - Wool Waulking Display at the inaugural Outlander Day at Highland Folk Museum

Interview with Ella Kay

Fictional Sound Journey, Scotland Before & After The Highland Clearances

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