Recording Sessions at Sheffield Museums

Our first research visit to Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet and Kelham Island Museums in May as a creative team was inspiring and productive. For Kim Cunio, with his passion for creating music and soundscapes that connect strongly with place,  this was an expansive playground for sourcing unique sounds linked to steel-making, knife-making and other objects. At Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet, sound recordings included grindstones, door knocking, coal scraping or chain rattling. At Kelham Island Museum his captured sounds were more metallic or melodic in nature, the latter including playing a pump action organ in a museum display that probably hadn’t been played for over 50 years years, accompanied by Heather singing a hymn from the past.

In the image below, Kim vocalises into a cannon located at the museum entrance, much to the surprise of visitors and staff.

  Kim singing into cannon at Kelham Island Museum, 30 May 2024

Blog by Diana Scarborough