The Power of Sound

This week we speak to musician, composer and artist Hannah Peel. Renowned for her work in electronica, sound design and scoring for the screen, Peel is also interested in the intersection of music and science. In her solo work she has explored ideas of memory, neurology and sound, as well as composing a seven-movement odyssey for analogue synths and brass orchestra. Her work for TV and film is Emmy-nominated and most recently she composed the soundtrack for Channel 5 thriller ‘The Deceived’. She talks to us about the role that sound has played in her life: whether that’s recording creaky old houses, the rush of a live concert or the way that sound can trigger some of our oldest memories, even in people whose minds are fading.

Award-winning sound recordist Chris Watson is one of the leading documenters of the natural world, having recorded wildlife across all continents. Watson is also a musician and was a founding member of experimental group Cabaret Voltaire in the early 1980s. His compositions can be heard across radio and TV, including in the HBO series ‘Chernobyl’ and David Attenborough’s ‘Life’ and ‘Frozen Planet’, and he has been exhibited in the National Gallery and The Louvre. In this episode he talks about where his passion for sound came from, and some of the experiences it has offered him, recording everything from blue whales in Baja to hedgehogs in his Northumberland garden. Plus: we hear recordings from his album ‘Stepping into the Dark’.