Machair is an acousmatic geolocative soundwalk that explores the agricultural traditions and ecology of the machair in the Western Isles of Scotland through spoken word, song, music, and field recording. Developed in collaboration with local community groups, the soundwalk is mapped to a machair walking trail on the island of Benbecula, responding directly to the landscape and traditions of the machair. Intergenerational spoken narratives structure the soundwalk with contemporary and archive field recordings that span over 70 years of tradition.
‘Machair,’ a Gàidhlig (Scottish Gaelic) word for ‘fertile and low-lying grassy plain,’ is one of Europe’s rarest and most species-rich habitats; only occurring on the exposed west-facing shores of Scotland and Ireland. Generations of low-intensity farming have shaped this unique landscape and encouraged wildlife over millennia (Love, 2009). Today, these practices are sustained through crofting (a form of low-intensity subsistence farming particular to Scotland), carried forward through ‘oral transmission from generation to generation, preserving indigenous knowledge without recourse to written code’ (Sheridan, 2011). Land reforms have played a key part in sustaining these traditions, wrestling control of the machair from unscrupulous landlords and bringing the land into public ownership. As such, the machair is a cultural and political landscape, that represents a resistance to privatisation, and is an important part of Gàidhlig culture (Welstead 2014).
Utilising audio excerpts, I will outline the methodology and approach in realising Machair, namely ethnographic fieldwork, field recordings, social arts practice, and the use of sound archives. I will then reflect on the creative potential of soundwalks to provide culture-led placemaking that gives space for indigenous/autochthonous knowledge, and opens new avenues to investigate place, identity, and community through sound.
Love, J. A. (2009) ‘Oh, dear! What can the Machair be?’. The Glasgow Naturalist 25 3-10 • Sheridan, M. et el. (2011) ‘Gaelic Singing and oral tradition’. International Journal of Music Education 29(2) 172–190
