Spaceport One by Scolpaig

Spaceport One is the title of a proposed Sub-orbital vertical launch Spaceport being developed on the isolated island of North Uist. Situated within the Scottish Outer Hebrides, the site is notable for both its outstanding natural beauty and the local identity of the islanders that live amongst it. Home to numerous endangered species – as well as the endangered form of community that the islanders represent – the proposed commercial spaceport would see the island effectively locked down for twenty weeks a year with locals and visitors facing severe restrictions to their shared use of the island.
The artist Scolpaig – named after the area in which the Spaceport is to be built – spent three weeks camped out in Uist, recording the land, animals, people and industry surrounding the proposed site. The album documents a soundscape that may soon be lost to deafening roar of spaceflights, a work that celebrates the small, overlooked nuances of life on the island. Incorporating both field recordings and site-specific performances, the work blends percussion (performed on the beaches and crags of Uist) with nature recordings and re-interpretations upon a modular synthesizer. The album explores the inherent rhythms of its chosen site – replicating the gentle push and pull of the island, the bursts of sudden, erratic commotion that pierce its fragile tranquility. Much like the island itself, the album invokes a natural beauty that, though seemingly omnipotent, is nonetheless filled with an unspoken tension – the ever-present threat of its destruction.

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