The Nightingale Soundscape by Ben Fox

Programme Note: Ben acknowledged the damage people have caused to nature over the years and this was an incentive to create a meaningful soundscape. Ben decided to use mud, grass and bird sounds in his local woods (the most prominent sound being the Nightingale bird). He chose to contrast these sounds with more aggressive building sounds like hammers, saws and sweeps to represent people building on these once beautiful areas of land. Ben was inspired by Bernie Krause’s Lincoln Meadow Soundscape which compares the before and after-effects of building works on a meadow. The Nightingale signifies the need to end the damage.

Biography: Ben Fox is a music composer, performer and multi-instrumentalist who experiments with combining the sounds of the natural and man-made world with contemporary jazz, world and experimental music.

Ben was raised listening to all kinds of music ranging from Red Indian music to 80’s pop. Living close to nature in Kent played an immense role in nurturing Ben’s creativity with music. Ben studied harmony and rhythm to great depths to produce quite ambitious works that push the boundaries of what would be considered as ‘normal music’. His music is also inspired by his past touring Europe with a samba band.