There seems to be a quickening in the air. Partly it is the cold as the season shifts, and partly it is that familiar autumnal sensation of a return to school after the summer. I know I am not at school – and technically have not been, since 2010 – but I’ve been in education so long that I reckon it’s embedded in the way I experience the year. Either way, I am enjoying a burst of energy and have been busy working on several things which may be of interest.

First of all, thank you for all the encouraging comments on the Wovember post. I’ve been excited to see some emails coming in already for the competition, and my inbox is hopping with WOOLLY CORRESPONDENCE so I think it’s going to be a good month-long celebration of wool! There are 11 days left for getting your posts in. We have refreshed the site – Kate felt that the Hall of Shame was first of all out of date, and also out of keeping with this year’s theme of Closing the Gap – and I wanted to rejuvenate the background. This year the Wovember website is covered in Laura’s Loom Hebridean tweed, as the majority of Wovember brooches will this year be covered in Laura’s exquisite Lakeland textiles. I am also delighted to report that the redoubtable Tom has joined TEAM WOVEMBER for 2012!

In other news, I have been remastering Audicle – an album which I made in 2004 – for digital release on Amazon, iTunes and Spotify. I wrote about Audicle here, and it has been a wonderful experience to revisit this work from 2003/4, and to refresh it for 2012. I have given it a new cover, featuring a print I made during my BA, and the sketches and scripts from which Audicle was built.

Audicle is a collection of short stories and tiny musical interludes, themed loosely around the metaphor of animals for telling human stories. Here are some taster tracks from Audicle – Little Monkey and Thumper. Long-term readers of this blog may be familiar with Monkl, my naughty monkey accomplice alter-ego? I bought Monkl in 2004 because I recognised him instantly as the monkey from Little Monkey.

(Monkl helping me in the hospital, 2007)

…Thumper was the long-term rabbit buddy of my youngest brother, Thaddaeus. The words “Thaddaeus is a big boy, you don’t mess with Thaddaeus” with which the track opens seem especially apposite now. Since the teenage years of Thad which Thumper references, my little brother is all grown up; we celebrated his 25th birthday on Sunday. He seemed pretty happy to hear that I am re-releasing Audicle, and was one of the project’s biggest supporters back in the day when I first made the work.

Remastering Glockenspiel for Audicle gave me the idea that I would really like to play this piece on the harp, and so in my harp-lessons at the moment I am trying to learn this. I find it was much easier to play on the keyboard.

In other news, I am really excited about the imminent launching of The Sonic Wallpaper Project which I have been working on with MoDA. MoDA are releasing one sound piece per day up until 11th October on their beautiful new website, and from 11th – 14th October, MoDA will be presenting the project at the Alexandra Palace Knitting & Stitching Show. I will be there from 11th – 13th to answer any questions about The Sonic Wallpaper Project. To celebrate this auspicious occasion, I have 6 “Today I made Sonic Wallpaper” badges left, and will post one out to anyone who listens to any of the Sonic Wallpaper pieces and leaves a comment below. Here are some taster bits of Sonic Wallpaper! There is also a radio show feat. Sonic Wallpapers which you can download here.

Finally, in preparing for the relaunch of Audicle and the launch of The Sonic Wallpaper Project, I decided to do something about my web-presence. I get some feedback that my blog posts are too long and that people can’t find anything here on The Domestic Soundscape. However, I have a very deep affection for the messy cupboard style of this blog; it is a very rich resource as it is, and I love being able to rummage around in its archives. However I agree that it is hard to find things, and so for time-pressed folks who just want to understand what it is that I do and what my recent projects are, I have launched felicityford.co.uk. I am not done with all the sections yet, but am hopeful that this will help anyone who wants to learn about my work and who does not share my love of a maximalist aesthetic.

…so definitely a quickening in the air; and perhaps a renewed feeling of confidence. I can’t explain it exactly, but I feel like me again. Perhaps it is because I am so excited about Wovember, The Sonic Wallpaper Project, and the rediscovery of Audicle. I think Mark captured the feeling perfectly when he took this photo; it is the first photo of me taken since I handed in my PhD in which I recognise myself.