ritnoise

music response to About Belfast

I’m ritnoise: a music-making non-binary person. 

I picked this video because it’s set in Belvoir forest park, which I've walked in regularly since I first moved to Belfast 16 years ago. I love wild plants and foraging, and I was drawn to this quiet clip in a familiar setting with lashings of glorious birdsong. I made this piece by improvising and singing as I watched the video, then refining those ideas in recording. I’ve accentuated my breathing, kept my non-auto-tuned natural wobbly voice and stretched the common names until they morph into other words. Wood Anemone becomes “would an enemy”, Toothwort becomes “to thwart”.

You can find me on instagram @ritnoise.

McGilloway's Way was a 1990s UTV series visiting local places. This clip shows Oliver McGilloway and Doug McAnnally in Belvoir Park. The original sounds of birdsong and them talking about each plant, overlaps with the new soundtrack by ritnoise. You can watch About Belfast (1994) the full episode and the rest of the series on the Digital Film Archive.