sentient sound
Sentient Sound is aimed at artists looking for bespoke sound and music composition to evolve their work, regardless of discipline. It has been developed by Paul Murnaghan who has twenty years’ experience as an Artist and Curator, even longer as a Composer. The focus is on atmospheres, emotional and conceptual elements constructed to support content. To illustrate this process, selected commissions, collaborations and the artist’s own practice are cherry picked from an archive that ranges from purely experimental sound to orchestral compositions, with numerous other genres along the way. Content is deliberately eclectic to mirror the range of interest. There are four sections, with four examples taken from each style. Sentient Sound invites artists that are looking to add a distinct aural texture to their work, to get in touch.
paul murnaghan
Paul Murnaghan has been writing music for over three decades. From early bands like ‘Damn You Peter Pan’ to the current solo project WolloW. His work has been featured from M.T.V. to Channel 4 and R.T.E. In the years between he has composed for gallery installation, performance, theatre, T.V. and numerous video works. Many of the concepts behind his art practice have had a distinctly musical feel, 'Neocredo' – an attempt to write a universal hymn, 'Requiem for a fly', composed from the sounds of flies, 'Time-loss recognition' composed from the sounds of animals missing their companions.
Murnaghan is a multidisciplinary artist, with sound playing a prominent role in his work. These compositions often feed into memory and emotion, employing frequency, tempo and resonance to affect the listeners psychology. His most current project (2021) was an Arts Council funded collaboration with Celina Muldoon and Pallas Projects, where he composed music for parade and performance. Lockdown has been quite busy with a single under the moniker 'WolloW' voted in the top five Irish releases by Totally Dublin. This track will be screened at The Irish Film Institute on September 15th as part of a programme curated by Pat Murphy for amei. Also, a new composition based on the sounds of Cicadas entitled 'lazarus Sisypus' is due to be released on three experimental labels towards the end of 2021.