Underwater
Cairngorms
An Càrn Gorm is the Gaelic name for Cairngorm mountain. From the summit, spectacular views of the valleys in Badenoch and Strathspey reveal many bodies of water - ancient lochs and pristine rivers. Underwater Cairngorms explores the aquatic sounds of these freshwater sites.
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We invite you dive into a unique underwater sonic journey of a selection of lochs from the Scottish Highlands. Underwater Cairngorms, the new album from award-winning composer Mhairi Hall and renowned field recordist David de la Haye, combines the mysterious underwater soundscapes of freshwater lochs with impressionistic piano composition. Underwater Cairngorms transforms our understanding of the Cairngorms landscape through imagination and creativity whilst documenting the environmental challenges of these freshwater locations. This unique collaboration between piano, harmonium, and underwater soundscape transports the listener to another world. Although sounding digitally processed, the album is almost entirely acoustic, from the resonance of the piano strings, the breath of harmonium bellows, the reverbs of lochs and the sounds of aquatic nature.
"This is a truly beautiful piece of work, a moment of peace in our volatile world, and no music lover should be without it." - FATEA Magazine
The Project
Underwater Cairngorms is a unique partnership fusing the arts and environmental sciences, following on from their pilot project in 2021. It engages people with the surrounding environment through new music whilst generating novel acoustic research and data based on site-specific recordings from Badenoch and Strathspey.Over a calendar year, Mhairi Hall and David de la Haye researched the seasonal changes of underwater soundscapes in five freshwater lochs. They spent one week each season gathering sounds below the water supplemented by terrestrial field recordings; this helped paint a complete acoustic picture. The hydrophone recordings are being used to establish a digital sound library, creating a baseline for future ecoacoustic studies.Mhairi and David are using the site-specific sounds to compose an experimental musical suite that will reflect, and be inspired by, the waterscapes. Contact us to keep informed about the upcoming album!During 'phase two' of the project the duo aim for five sound installations to be situated at the locations within the Badenoch and Strathspey area. These installations will enable everyone to experience and enjoy the newly composed music, and the underwater field recordings sourced from the precise locations, offering visitors a unique, creative and artistic experience that exposes the wonder and ecological diversity of these special surroundings.Underwater Cairngorms is funded by Creative Scotland and supported by Buglife, Nature Scot and the Cairngorms National Park Authority
The Team
Mhairi Hall
Mhairi Hall has been a professional musician for over twenty years. Classically trained on the piano, she crossed genres at a young age and found her love in Gaelic and Scottish music. She has performed extensively throughout Europe, Canada, North America touring with a variety of artists and recording on over fifty albums. She famously took a grand piano to the top of Cairngorm mountain to launch her first album Cairngorm! Mhairi’s recent career has progressed into the recording studio for composition and music production. Airs her latest release saw her collaborate with Scottish landscape artist Beth Roberston Fiddes, and for this she received the Ignition Award for Innovation in Music from Hands up for Trad. Experimenting with natural sounds both from the piano and the environment is at the heart of Mhairi’s music. Her current project Underwater Cairngorms will span a calendar year researching the aquatic sounds of her homeland with sound recordist David de la Haye.
David De La Haye
David de la Haye is a pioneering sound recordist, contemporary composer, and music technician. Notable achievements include winning the Ivan Juritz Prize and a Sound Of The Year Award, alongside nominations for an Ivor Novello Composer Award (Jazz category) and Times Higher Education Outstanding Technician of the Year. Specialising in the exploration of underwater soundscapes he has completed commissions for Swiss National Park, Sound and Music, British Ecological Society, BBC Radio, and COP26 at Glasgow Science Centre.David's field recording work on the acclaimed documentary Iorram (Boat Song) is probably the first Gaelic credit for underwater sound recordist - Clàradh fuaim fon uisge! It used a unique collection of underwater seal vocalisations recorded in the Outer Hebrides in 2019. These were later added to the British Library and featured by Countryfile Magazine.Currently a PhD researcher at Newcastle University, where he was once a member of the award-winning technical team, he continues to develop an eclectic collaborative portfolio which includes international tours, artist residencies, educational workshops, and public installation.@DJCdelaHaye
The Locations
Loch Garten and Loch Mallachie
We sampled this loch during the pilot, ‘Boatmen of Garten’ - originally created for a Scottish Freshwater Group event, it highlighted a variety of distinct sounds. This area is very popular for tourists, bird watchers and locals alike.
River Feshie
In the vicinity of the Frank Bruce Sculpture Trail. A new sound installation here will compliment and support the decay of the current art trail. Mhairi has spent many years walking round this Sculpture Trail, and watched it decay as the artist intended.
Loch Morlich
One of the most famous lochs in Scotland, and a very popular tourist destination all year round. This loch is important because of it’s popularity for water sports, swimmers, walkers, skiers. We aim to educate and provide awareness to the visitors who enjoy this spot, encouraging ecological sensitivity alongside the recreational activities. There is adequate car parking for full accessibility. They explored this loch with a kayak during their initial research, and found some interesting, unidentifiable, very deep sounds that warrant further research.
Lochan Uaine
An interesting and unique biodiversity to be explored. This loch is popular due to its striking green colour. Some people swim in it, most enjoy the walk to it and around Glenmore. It sits in a peaceful valley where historically it used to be full of illicit whiskey stills.
An Lochan Uath
A peaceful area with a selection of smaller, sheltered lochans. It has a walking routes, an incredible viewpoint, and accessible bird hides. It is lesser known that the other lochs but again is promoted within the CNPA as a visitor attraction for the stunning views, and being fairly remote.
Contact Us
We'd love to hear your comments and queries, whether you're interested in learning more about aquatic soundscapes near you, or are just curious about our creative process. Get in touch!