Taut Line \ Beatrice Dillon (2017)

Electronic composer and artist Beatrice Dillon took up a residency in Peak Cavern during the AND Festival. Taking inspiration from Pauline Oliveros (the influential experimental composer and electronic music pioneer who died in November 2016) and her concept of ‘deep listening’, advocated for the active and thoughtful awareness of sound. Oliveros coined the concept in 1988, after descending four metres into an underground cistern to make a recording. Taking inspiration from Oliveros’ subterranean expeditions, Dillon descended into the caves, caverns and veins of the Peak District, revisiting the theory of deep listening to create a sonic underground experience for audiences.

Listening to the Dark tour also featured:

Mark Fell – Extensionless Thought Points
Ikbal Simamora Lubys & Tony Maryana – The Hive

Dillon’s Listening to the Dark Residency was a new commission by Abandon Normal Devices and Somerset House Studios. Dillon will take up residency at SHS in summer 2017, using the Deadhouse as a space to develop and test the new work alongside research trips to Peak Cavern.

Below is a LiDaR scan of Peak Cavern by ARUP, as part of AND Festival 2017