l e a h  b a r c l a y   c o m p o s e r . p e r f o r m e r . p r o d u c e r 

Leah has just finished the first version of Nakshatra; a piece that is designed as a ephemeral performance installation. This is the first work Barclay is producing for her PhD in composition. ‘Nakshatra’; a Sanskrit astrology term referring to the divisions of the sky, draws on elements of her recent collaborative album ‘Aranmula’ and explores the immersive soundscape of India. This work also serves as practice based research in experimenting with notation systems and blurring the lines between composition and improvisation. The work will be delivered in various stages, firstly as a performance work for soloist and live electronics and then as an installation for diffusion online. The Nakshatra project is aiming to create a hybrid sonic language that fuses the infinite possibilities of the electroacoustic language with carnatic rhythm – one of the most ancient and sophisticated rhythmic systems of the world.  

Eco Sonus is a site specific sound installation by Leah Barclay. The work has been commissioned for the 2009 Floating Land with the theme of “Rising Seas & Climate Change”. Floating Land is an ongoing conversation about creativity, the environment and culture. This year Floating Land is presented as a 10-day event that brings together visual and performance artists, writers, photographers, educators and researchers, and the community to explore the theme of climate change. The venue is Boreen Point, Lake Cootharaba in the UNESCO-listed biosphere of Noosa, 19 -28 June 2009.

Eco Sonus will be streamed from www.ecosonus.com during the Floating Land event (19-28 June 2009). There will be a variety of ways you can interact with this work and engage in the creative process. Barclay will be onsite recording and composing during the event; capturing conversations, the sounds of artists working on the shore or even a paddle gliding through the water in Lake Cootharaba. 

Barclay will also be working with hydrophones (underwater microphones) capturing unique and abstract textures that will form the sound bed for the work. “I’ll be taking the recordings and essentially ‘sculpting’ them with my own sound processing tools, some sounds may remain very raw and natural while some may be processed to the point they will be completely unrecognisable. This will happen in a conceptual framework and will be followed by composing and improvising in response to the materials onsite. These works will all be recorded and form a series of sound compositions for the Eco Sonus installation.” Listen to the work at www.ecosonus.com

Leah is currently working on a production titled ‘Sleep, hit me’  - a theatrical electroacoustic performance in response to the shadow psyche of western suburbia. The work includes an abstract call and response to David Lynch's film-noir classic Blue Velvet and is a collaboration with spoken word artist David “Ghostboy” Stavanger. The work opens with an adaptation of Wraith; Barclay and Stavanger’s acclaimed electroacoustic work that has been performed across Australia and recently published by ‘Going Down Swinging’ with international distribution. This production will also act as the centre point of the duo’s debut album release, featuring works such as ‘Kites’ and ‘Walls’ that have been performed nationally and internationally and new works including a setting of Stavanger’s poem “Bedroom” and a response to Barclay's electronic work "Lighthouse" 


“Static Architecture” is a new sound installation by Leah Barclay. The work has been commissioned by the Nowhere Art Group as part of the regional exhibition “Viewfinder” on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. 

Static Architecture officially launched on Saturday May 16 as an online installation. The full work is now published on www.staticarchitecture.com as six individual compositions, all responding to various elements of the exhibition theme. Static Architecture was also performed live along side a series of hybrid installations as part of the ‘Viewfinder’ exhibition. This performance allows the audience to interact with the work in a number of different ways. Static Architecture is also available as a versatile interactive installation for other performance spaces. Static Architecture has received funding from the Sunshine Coast Regional Council’s RADF (Regional Arts Development Fund) program and the Australian Government Visual Arts and Craft Strategy 

Aranmula featured Leah’s two latest works “Nira Shabdam” and “Triloka” – both compositions draw strongly on the carnatic music tradition and Barclay’s background in electroacoustic music. The CD also features two electroacoustic collaborations with Lucy Hudson titled “Pamba Prelude” and “Mavilkara” featuring field recordings collected over three months in South India. The CD is available from Triveni Records www.trivenirecords.com and will be available on itunes by the middle of 2009.