Michael Begg - WITNESS. Ambient Chamber Works 2020-24

WITNESS. Ambient Chamber Works 2020-24 is a collection of Michael Begg's sound work created in collaboration with scientists, environmental data, and residencies - including with the European Marine Board, the Ocean Arctic Partnership, and aboard HMS Protector in the Antarctic, where he served as the Friends of the Scott Polar Research Institute's first musician-in-residence.

Begg, a former member of the experimental music group Human Greed, continues his sonic explorations using bespoke software he developed to transform climate and environmental datasets into meaningful sounds. Each data point plays a role in the composition, which is then interwoven with field recordings and additional recordings, with some tracks featuring contributions from Clodagh Simonds (Fovea Hex), Ben Ponton (zoviet*france), and classical musicians from the Black Glass Ensemble.

This is a remarkable album - rooted in data - that raises awareness of climate change and the ongoing environmental crisis.

The album spans five years of Begg's work, featuring pieces and alternate versions drawn from Light Water is Black Water, Sounding the Ice Factory, the forthcoming Out of Whose Womb Comes the Ice, and the Witness series, which began during the COVID lockdown.

The album opens gently with the faint, drifting nocturnal drone of 'Witness: Observation', built from satellite data. Its subtle movements give rise to the angelic sigh of choral voices, composed and arranged by Clodagh Simonds. It is followed by 'Edinburgh', where glinting electronics - derived from air quality monitors - are transformed into sound and paired with an improvised classical score performed by the string section of the Black Glass Ensemble. The result is subdued, still, and solitary, evoking the nocturnal quiet of a desolate city during lockdown. 'The Visitor' is delicate and atmospheric, blending location recordings captured by Ben Ponton near an air quality monitoring station in Newcastle with transposed sine waves drawn from data tracking the Neowise comet, collected by Michael Begg in East Lothian.

The recordings from Sounding The Ice Factory draw on data from studies of warming waters and receding ice shelves in Antarctica. While they tend toward experimental soundscapes and audio collage, Begg's touch renders them thoughtful and musical. 'Polynya' marks a tonal drift through the crunching microtextures of breaking ice, its sound formed from data on warming Antarctic seas, blended with the squeal of wind and delicate orchestral movements. Meanwhile, the underwater tones and textures of 'Where Azov Meets Black' are shaped by data from monitoring vessels in the Odessa Safe Corridor, alongside field recordings of the sea. The result is a subtle, solemn harmonic drift - hauntingly beautiful and deeply uneasy, reflecting the troubled context of its origin. 'Zooplankton Nocturne' is simply beautiful. Based on the altered behaviour of plankton, it's a beguiling piece for piano, chimes, strings, and drone - an almost mournful composition. The piece reflects a dramatic ecological shift: due to the loss of ice cover, plankton now dive deep during lunar days, disrupting the food chain.

It is on the tracks recorded with the Black Glass Ensemble - a troupe of first-rate orchestral musicians, joined by Begg and zoviet*france's Ben Ponton - that the music reaches a compelling meeting point between contemporary classical and experimental sound. Utilising data feeds, sonic erosion, and a blend of scored and improvised passages, these pieces demonstrate a rich, exploratory approach. 'October (Extended Assembly)', the first work from the expanded group, features a faint drone and electronics, with an unwinding, overlapping melodic cut-up score of violin, cello, and trumpet. 'Arctic Night (Live at inSpace)', streamed live as part of COP26, rattles with the clanks and shudders of what could be a ship passing through ice. These textured sound erosions - generated from processed climate and marine data - merge with the chiming of percussion, swelling trumpet, and the elongated parp of a French horn, creating a piece of glacial beauty. Other tracks recorded live at prestigious shows at Edinburgh Queens Hall include 'Alchemy (Live at The Queen's Hall)', which uses data from lightning strikes and Cold War number station transmissions, transformed through a mesmerizing score by the Black Glass Ensemble. Amidst chirping birds, 'Be Mine in Patience (Faith Sequence, Live at The Queen's Hall)' stretches cello scrapes over muted trumpet and a sweeping violin score, creating a sound that feels taut, almost held back and constricted. This midsection stands out as ambient chamber music of the highest order, and is worthy of recognition on its own.

The final track comes from Begg's forthcoming Out of Whose Womb Comes the Ice and his expedition to Antarctica during his residency aboard HMS Protector. Left alone in the remoteness of Deception Island, he captured the hush and solitude through location recordings of wind, water, and animal calls. These elements form the foundation of 'Deception I' together with a sombre suite of strings and glistening chimes creating a mournful elegy for a world in crisis, shaped by what he witnessed there.

As stated earlier, this is a remarkable album. Scientific data and location recordings may be its source but these are compositions where Michael Begg brings a deep emotional aspect to the music. Whether you choose to dig deeper into its origins and underlying themes informing the music or simply let yourself be captivated by the sounds is entirely up to you. There's much here to enjoy and reflect upon, and if you haven't yet discovered the work of Michael Begg, this makes an excellent introduction. WITNESS. Ambient Chamber Works 2020-24 is available digitally and as a limited CD in six panel ecopack with full track and production notes from Omnempathy store and Omnempathy bandcamp