Andrew Black
HD Video, Stereo sound, 60 mins, 2023
Sound design by Richy Carey
On Clogger Lane meanders through the Washburn Valley between Otley and Harrogate, exploring the infrastructures of capital on land overshadowed by a monstrous satellite surveillance station, submerged beneath reservoirs, haunted by accusations of witchcraft, and populated by the traces of many generations of past inhabitants – from prehistoric carvings to the Victorian graves of child labourers. Incorporating conversations with farmers, antiquarians, dowsers, grandmothers, Quakers, landowners and communists alongside an improvisational score, On Clogger Lane explores the meeting points of passivity and protest, public and private, past and present, all coincident in the same patch of ancient land.
Andrew came to the studio for a day to experiment with manipulating and expanding upon some of the sounds and music that he was already working with for the film - some amazing MIDI recreations of medieval and early modern English song, location sounds and music by Vibra Cathedral Orchestra. We played with tape delays and musical EQ’s, trying them out against some draft images, before he took the stems away to work into his soundtrack for the film, working with Mark Redhead on the final mix.
On Clogger Lane was created through Andrew’s Margaret Tait Award commission and premiered at the Glasgow Film Festival in February, 2023.