For this year's Music in Monkstown festival, celebrated Corkonian composer Linda Buckley will premiere a new work commissioned by the festival, Voix Enchantée for clarinet and piano.
Known for her innovative blend of electronic and acoustic music, with a focus on collaborations across various genres, she has written extensively for orchestra, was elected to Aosdana in 2021, and is Associate Artist with Chamber Music Scotland. Her album From Ocean's Floor was featured by Iggy Pop on BBC Radio 6 as "beautiful music – here is somebody really special", and her film scores include Nothing Compares and That He May Face the Rising Sun co-composed with her sister Irene Buckley,
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We asked Linda for her choice cultural picks...
FILM
I was lucky to work on this film and love his style of documentary filmmaking - Mark Cousins' A Sudden Glimpse to Deeper Things. It explores the life and work of the abstract painter Wilhelmina Barns-Graham and depicts how her perspective on art changes after experiencing the immense awe of glaciers in Switzerland. I had already felt a kinship with her work (especially her painting Sea and Boat), and the film was narrated by Tilda Swinton. An inspiring and insightful portrait of the artist.
MUSIC
Cocteau Twins have been the soundtrack to my life, and the immersive pulsing of analog synth musician Caterina Barbieri is a current favourite.
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BOOK
I loved the recent memoir Shared Notes by the fiddle player Martin Hayes - a fascinating and honest portrayal of a life in music. I could relate to some of this too, growing up in rural Ireland in a musical family, the desire to travel and experience new adventures, while feeling the pull of the homeland too. Of late, I also read Seaborne by Nuala O'Connor, inspired by the life of Anne Bonny, who is said to have grown up in the Old Head of Kinsale in Cork, (where I’m from) and who later went on to become a pirate around the islands of the Caribbean. I’m writing a string quartet based on this strong female figure for the Lir Quartet.
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THEATRE
I have many talented friends in music, and the singer Michelle Burke goes beyond this in Mind How You Go, a beautiful evocation of growing up in 1980’s rural Cork, seamlessly weaving together story, song and imagery, at this year's Edinburgh Fringe.
TV
Lately, I’ve connected with the almost gothic strangeness of shows such as Severance and Yellowjackets - with their blurring of timelines and realities, both intriguing and impactful.
GIG
One show that stands out in recent memory is Fever Ray, Swedish electronica that was very much conceived as a fully immersive experience, not a 'set of songs’. Haunting vocals, with a darkness, but full of heart. I also loved a recent gig by the cellist and film composer Oliver Coates, truly cross genre, poignant and memorable. It felt special to get the chance to see him perform live as I have been really inspired by his film scores to Aftersun and Mary & George.
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ART
I’ve scored some films by the artist Jyll Bradley, and find her work so multi-faceted and deeply communicative. I was delighted to be at the launch of her major show Running and Returning at The Box in Plymouth, which spans film, sculpture, installation and photography - it runs until November.
RADIO/PODCAST
A dedicated listener of An Taobh Tuathail on Raidió na Gaeltachta presented by Cian Ó Ciobháin, I always discover something new, a brilliant curator of music. I also love WNYC’s New Sounds, with New York’s John Schaefer exploring a diverse range of musical genres, woven together with a connecting thread.
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TECH
I rely on tech a lot in my own work, especially the music software Logic. This can be used for trying out musical ideas, merging acoustic or for electronic elements and sounds.
THE NEXT BIG THING...
The biggest thing that would benefit Irish arts would be a resolution to the housing crisis that blights artists in the country today. Many have had to leave Ireland as it is impossible for them to thrive artistically in any meaningful way. I would love to see this change. The creation of an environment that allows artists to flourish would benefit everyone.
The Music in Monkstown festival runs at Monkstown Parish Church from October 2nd to 5th - find out more here
