Media Release:

Composer Erland Cooper celebrates North Berwick and the Northern Gannet in new music revealed in a sonic ‘NEST’ at Fringe by the Sea

 

• Fringe by the Sea Festival’s new Love of Life (biophilia) programme to showcase new works by some of Scotland’s finest creative talent celebrating the joy of deepening connections with nature and each other

 

• Fringe by the Sea commission composer Erland Cooper and artist Naomi McIntosh to create an immersive experience inviting audiences to reflect on care, community and resilience

 

• Revealed on July 31, the immersive nest designed by Naomi Mcintosh will feature a canopy of sound composed by Erland Cooper, described as a suspended symphonic meditation on air, sea and land

 

Fringe By the Sea, the 10-day multi arts festival in North Berwick, Scotland has revealed their first ever commission as part of the Love of Life programme strand. Emmy nominated composer and multi instrumentalist Erland Cooper has created new music described as a symphonic meditation on North Berwick and the Firth of Forth. 

 

Erland Cooper’s composition Sula Bassana, recorded by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, is a rousing, atmospheric and slow moving landscape with cinematic elements, using the full forces of an 80-piece symphony orchestra, celebrating community, care and the natural world. Working with field recordings captured on the Bass Rock, it sees Erland return to the gannet as a source of inspiration following the success of his debut album Solan Goose. Erland has dedicated the piece to Maggie Sheddan, custodian for the gannets of Bass Rock for over 20 years, on behalf of the Scottish Seabird Centre and the RSPB.

 

Working with Erland is artist Naomi Mcintosh whose biophilic nest structures will hold the space for visitors to slow down, listen closely and deepen their connection with nature. Working with the team at Old School Fabrications, Naomi will combine hand woven flax with wooden structures to create spiral nests each containing elements of the composition. Festival goers are invited to weave their way to each listening space set within a wider ambient sonic tapestry. Situated in a sycamore grove in the main hub on festival grounds, Love of Life is designed to harness the energy of the vibrant festival site and channel it into moments of joy and contemplation. 

 

Filmmaker Lewis Gourlay (Cagoule TV)  is working alongside the composer and artist capturing stunning visuals from Erland and Naomi’s visit to the Bass Rock as well as the surrounding areas. The short film to accompany the composition will be inspired by air, sea and land. It will be premiered on the opening day of the festival, screened at the Scottish Seabird Centre throughout, and can be experienced via a special 360 immersive version in sessions at the festival.

 

With the help of the local community in a mass puppetry promenade led by expert puppeteers Vision Mechanics, gannet numbers are set to increase this summer. A flock of handmade gannets will weave from the Harbourside, through North Berwick and up to the festival hub for The Flock. Led by a stunning giant bird puppet, they are set to arrive in the Big Top for the launch of Love of Life on the 31st of July. There’s opportunities for the local community to join the parade and learn how to make gannet puppets in a series of workshops leading up to the event. 

 

From the air to the ground, Love of Life also welcomes artist Brian d’Souza’s musical collaboration with nature. Plants Can Dance (and Mushrooms Sing) sees Brian (aka DJ Auntie Flo) make music in collaboration with living organisms, like plants and fungi. They produce unique electronic signals and data that, when connected to synthesizers and other equipment, can be converted into sound and music: a process called biosonification. Festival visitors can see and hear biosonification in action every day of the festival and take part in workshops to create music from nature. Plants Can Dance will also host a Deep Listening experience encouraging visitors to immerse themselves in a realtime audio-visual plant soundscape.

 

Off site at Festival Partner Venue, the Scottish Seabird Centre will also host a specially curated exhibition on Love of Life and its connection to the wildlife on our coastline, highlighting the plight of Scotland’s seabirds. Featuring a closer look at the new work by Erland Cooper and an exhibition of images taken as part of the ‘making of’ his composition and a screening of Lewis Gourlay’s accompanying film.

 

Supported by The Scottish Government’s Expanded Festivals Fund through Creative Scotland, Love of Life has been developed in collaboration with Kelburn Garden Party and in 2027 the Love of Life festival hub will take up residence at the Ayrshire based festival. 

In partnership with Scottish Seabird Centre and North Berwick Trust.

 

Speaking ahead of the festival composer Erland Cooper said:

“The Bass Rock is a unique geological island I have long wanted to visit. It’s an iconic landscape and a home to over 100,000 gannets, for thousands of years. It’s been 10 years since my album Solan Goose celebrated the Northern Gannet, so it is a great privilege to return to the ancient home of a bird that started my career as a composer.

 

To me the theme of biophilia links to deep ecology, how we work in partnership with the natural world rather than being separate from it and I think what this festival aims to do is bring community together in celebration and appreciation. Having now spent some time in North Berwick, that sense of community is strong and welcoming. My piece aims to celebrate these things with an overall appreciation and love of life. It has been created to capture the essence of air, sea, land, community and the wonders of the natural world.

 

Music can often help hold the hand of a person, bringing them into a place or headspace, and I really like that Naomi has considered this when creating the Nest. It’s perhaps a place to feel held, and a place where you can take a moment to be suspended in reflection. A place to even wish, dream, hope and let go of feelings into the air, but all within a deep sense of curiosity and wonder. I hope people will just come to contemplate in a place to reflect, think and allow artwork and music hold you.”

Artist Naomi Mcintosh said:

“I adore Erland’s work, it has kept me company in the studio for quite some time so it’s great to have the opportunity to work together. Visiting the Bass Rock with Erland and Lewis, it was an incredible privilege to see these creatures up close and watch them interact. It’s something I think about all the time, that we’re part of the natural world, rather than sort of separate, and that couldn’t have felt more apparent on our visit. 

Within the energy and activity of the festival, I would like the Nest to be a pocket of calm where people can pause, slow down and become immersed in natural materials, sound and atmosphere.

The Nest has been designed to be responsive to the theme of the commission, the specific qualities of the site and the process of listening to Erland’s composition. Rather than being a fixed object, it is a work that continues to evolve through the making process, responding to the atmosphere of the sycamores and the layered nature of the music. Moving the flax thread through the structure and gradually building the form feels like drawing a line in the air. 

Because this drawing exists in three dimensions, my hope is that The Nest shifts and changes with light, movement and occupancy. The combination of sculpture, sound, light and landscape creates an installation that is continually changing and responsive to its environment. This sense of responsiveness is one of the aspects of the commission that excites me most.

I hope visitors experience something of the qualities of nature within the installation – a sense of shelter, stillness and connection. There are playful qualities in exploration and looking for sounds within the space. I hope it encourages people to notice what is around them and to spend time with the work in a contemplative way.”

 

Fringe by the Sea, Festival Director Rory Steel said:

“Fringe by the Sea has always put place and community at the heart of what we do and our programme each year reflects that. Multi-arts festivals like ours allow space for fun and connection whether it’s dancing to our favourite bands, laughing together, exploring together or opening our minds to new ideas from authors and thinkers. Our spectacular coastal location means that every festival is held in collaboration with the natural world and our focus on sustainability rightly reflects that.

 

Love of Life has allowed us to work with leading creatives in Scotland to showcase our love of nature and the benefits of engaging with it. We want people visiting to experience moments of joy, embracing fun and exploration and connection with what’s around you.

 

Working with Erland Naomi, Lewis, Brian and the team at Vision Mechanics alongside our friends at Kelburn Garden Party has shown how creative artists from all disciplines can have a transformative effect and we’re excited to share that with festival goers when we launch the project on our opening day.”

 

Neil Butler, Kelburn Garden Party said:

“We are delighted to welcome  ‘Love of Life’ to The Kelburn Garden Party in 2027 where it will feature as an exciting focus within The Neverending Glen arts programme.  The festival, deeply embedded in the outstanding natural beauty of the Kelburn Glen, is in itself a true celebration of what is to be alive and our connection to the natural world around us.  It has been a pleasure to collaborate with Fringe by the Sea and we look forward to sharing the inspirational work of Erland Cooper, Naomi Mcintosh, Brian d’Souza and Lewis Gourlay with our audience.” 

 

Listings Information

Fringe By The Sea: Love of Life

31 July – 9 August (Launch Big Top 3.30pm – 4pm Friday 31st July where the composed piece and film will be premiered)

Lodge Grounds, 2C East Rd, North Berwick EH39 4HN

https://www.fringebythesea.com/love-of-life/

 

Visit FringebytheSea.com for more information or follow on Instagram at @fringebythesea

 

For further information, interview and image requests please contact Owen O’Leary, on 07815992658 or email owen@owenoleary.com

 

View and download hi res images here: https://app.box.com/s/0a850zg8i6ksqwh663inmw6wlzesjsoc 

 

ENDS>

 

Notes for Editors

 

About Erland Cooper

Erland Cooper is an Emmy nominated, Scottish composer, producer & multi-instrumentalist, originally from the Orkney Islands. As a solo artist, he has released five critically acclaimed studio albums, with multiple companion LPs & EPs, including a trilogy of work inspired by his childhood home, as well as themes of nature, people, place & time. His work often combines field recordings with traditional orchestration & contemporary electronic elements. 

 

He is credited with exploring the concept of psychogeography – connecting identity, memory, and place through music, words and cinematography. He explores these themes further by partnering with other artists, poets and writers in his work and reaching a wider audience with international live performances.

 

Cooper also works across mixed media projects including installation art & film. He’s widely known for burying the only existing copy of the master tape of his first classical album in Scotland, deleting all digital files & leaving only a treasure hunt of clues for fans and his record label alike to search for it. The tape was found, unearthed and released in 2024. The LP became the first planted number 1 album, in collaboration with nature, topping the UK official classical charts.

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His music is played frequently across BBC3 & BBC6 radio, as well as synced on multiple television and film productions. Along with broadcast premières, his works have now been performed in the concert hall by the BBC Philharmonic, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Scottish Ensemble. He also tours with his own ensemble, playing piano, electronics and tape machines, performing on prestigious stages globally, and reaching a growing audience of fans who are coming to his music through a combination of his projects, most often inspired by the natural world. erlandcooper.com

 

About Naomi Mcintosh

Naomi Mcintosh is an interdisciplinary artist based in the Cairngorms National Park. She studied Architecture at the Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL, before completing an MA in Design at Central Saint Martins.

 

Naomi is interested in creating objects and installations that capture the intangible qualities of place, working across a range of scales from wearable objects to sculptural and immersive environments. Drawing on her background in both architecture and jewellery, she explores the relationships between body, object and space. At the core of her practice is a desire to capture and share the sanctity of the natural world, investigating the rhythms, atmospheres, life cycles and ephemeral qualities of landscape.

Working primarily with wood, Naomi creates pieces that evoke particular environments and emotional responses to place. Through implied movement and an acute sensitivity to material, her works shift and change, creating objects and spaces that possess a sense of life, resonance and presence.

Her work has been widely exhibited, including Ash Rise at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (2024); Deep Rooted at the City Art Centre, Edinburgh (2023); every somewhere at Make Hauser & Wirth, Bruton (2023); and the London Design Biennale at Somerset House, London (2021).

McIntosh’s work is held in a number of public and private collections, including Grampian Hospitals Art Trust, Historic Environment Scotland, Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museums, and The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. naomimcintosh.com

 

About Brian d’Souza

Brian d’Souza is an award-winning sound artist, DJ, music producer and live performer.  His compositions fuse field recording from around the globe with electro-acoustic production techniques to create ‘acoustic ecologies’ that are centred on exploring the psychological and physical benefits of sound. 

 

He currently runs the ‘Plants Can Dance (and Mushrooms Sing)’ event series, which is home his work around the creation of bioelectrical music from living organisms: plants, fungi and humans. He uses data to trigger notes on his specially built modular synthesizer in a process called bionsonification, with the intention of bridging the gap between the natural world and electronic music realm.

 

This work has been commissioned by the likes of Art Angel, National Trust, Het Hem, V&A etc and featured in New Scientist, BBC 6 Music, BBC Radio 4, Tate Modern, Rolling Stone, BBC Radio 1 and more. briandsouza.in

 

About Lewis Gourlay (Cagoule TV)

Lewis has a reputation both as respected and creative editor, and a talented motion graphic artist, enabling him to work in each separate discipline or, as is increasingly required, in both simultaneously. 

 

Lewis’s career started at the tender age of 8 with a series of illustrations that appeared in the Hartbeat gallery and were described by none other than Tony Hart as “quite marvellous”. Lewis started creating animations on his Commodore Amiga at 11 and never looked back. A graduate of Duncan Jordanstone College of Art, where he gravitated towards the use of video in fine art practice. He learnt his trade as an editor at facilities in Edinburgh, Glasgow, London and Vancouver adding motion graphic, vfx and colour work to his repertoire of skills.  Still winning awards nearly twenty five years after the start of his career, Lewis now describes himself as a motion graphic artist and creative editor and director. cagoule.tv

 

About Fringe By the Sea

In 2025, over 103,000 visitors flocked to Fringe by the Sea across 10 incredible days, making it one of Scotland’s most vibrant and diverse festivals. Recognised as the National Winner of the Outstanding Cultural Festival at the 2023 Scottish Thistle Awards, it continues to grow as a must-visit celebration of arts and culture.

Unlike many events that focus solely on headline acts, the festival embraces all forms of art – from music and comedy to literature, theatre, film, and beyond. The festival is a celebration of creativity in all its forms, featuring:

• World-class music – from French duo Air to energetic Mercury Award winners Ezra Collective to legendary Boomtown Rats and Scottish favourites Hamish Hawk and Manran. This year welcomes Alex James, Maribou State and Belle & Sebastian among others.
• Unforgettable dance beats – bouncing beats with Rudimental, Hot Dub Time Machine, Basement Jaxx, Hot Chip and Todd Terry. 
• Engaging conversations – with celebrated personalities Louis Theroux, Kate Adie, Ian Hislop, George Clarke, renowned politician Rory Stewart and beloved Scottish hero Sir Chris Hoy.
• Side-splitting comedy – with household names including Russell Howard, Lou Sanders, and Fred MacAulay.
• Thought-provoking authors – including Maggie O’Farrell, Jenni Fagan and Doug Johnston
• Fantastic family events – featuring CIRCOBELLO, Black Blues Brothers, The Singing Kettle and Kevin Quantum

 

With a mix of stunning venues – from the buzzing Big Top and intimate Lodge Stage to the immersive Film Dome, the Times Lounge and the Kids Zone – there’s a space for every kind of performance and experience.

 

Year after year, Fringe by the Sea continues to evolve, bringing together a diverse mix of artists, audiences, and ideas. Set along Scotland’s beautiful coastline, it offers an inspiring and welcoming space for creativity to thrive. fringebythesea.com

 

About Love of Life (biophilia)

Feel more, feel good and feel your way forwards with some of Scotland’s most innovative creatives through LOVE OF LIFE. Original takes on ‘biophilia’ – our innate desire to connect to nature – will be open for exploration at this year’s Fringe by the Sea. We invite you to delve in, and deepen your connection for our shared future.  Featuring newly commissioned work by Erland Cooper, Naomi Mcintosh, Cagoule TV, Love of Life also presents Brian D’Souza’s Plants Can Dance workshops, and will see further new creative work developed for 2027. Supported by The Scottish Government’s Expanded Festivals Fund through Creative Scotland. In collaboration with Kelburn Garden Party, which will host the new commissions in 2027. With support from Scottish Seabird Centre & North Berwick Trust.