Eilean Fuinn is an ATLAS Arts commission by Richard Skelton. Installed in the Scorrybreac Boathouse, Portree, this evolving sound work comprised four discrete channels of sound, each repeating over long durations (between one and two hours) but at variance with one another. It will therefore subtly change over the course of its installation.
This multi-channel composition responds to Bethan Huws’ film Singing for the Sea, and the landscape that formed its temporary backcloth, when we screened it in Skye Sailing Club in 2016 as part of A Work for the North Atlantic. Skelton turned his attention to the west, to the North Atlantic, and explored traditional songs, created field recordings, and drew inspiration from the landscape of Skye, its seascape and the stories that accompany them. In particular, Eilean Fuinn, evokes the tradition of the Scottish Piobaireachd (bagpipes), with its drone-like quality – suggesting that the sea and the landscape are ‘endlessly singing to each other’.
Although the installation is no longer in the Boathouse, you can listen to an online version here.