Please note this episode was recorded over Zoom in April 2021

In this episode I talk to Mike Challis. Mike led one of the walks on our Wild Wander programme. He is a freelance sound artist, maker and educator whose work engages with the sounds of nature.

Mike is known for his creation of SoundHides, straw hut dens in which audiences can listen to recordings which encapsulate the sounds of nature recorded in the respective local habitats.

Mike enjoys making work by walking, creating pieces from the resulting sound material he collects on his journeys. For Wild Wander we wanted him to find ways for artists to connect to the natural landscape and draw focus to their listening sense. 

In this conversation we talk about how we have been exploring our local neighbourhoods during lockdown and how that idea inspired the walk for Wild Wander. We have an interesting chat about what we listen to, how we filter sound and what we give out attention to. We talk about the power of a shared experience and it is worth saying that we touch on the vulnerability of walking alone, as this conversation happened not long after the death of Sarah Everard. 

At the end of this episode you can hear a recoding of Mike’s taken at Mickfield Meadow in Suffolk which is full of the joys and noises of spring. So take a moment at the end to soak it in. 

Thanks again for listening. 

www.mikechallis.com

twitter.com/mikechallis

instagram.com/mickchallis