Putting a shape on things: Sarah Grimes reflects on her Navigator Residency

It’s been a few weeks since my 8 day Navigator Residency at The Crescent Arts Centre in Belfast. While I was there, there were moments where I felt I wasn’t doing enough or playing enough. It’s a mad feeling, it can be overwhelming and it’s completely unnecessary but I feel like sometimes when you’re in something it’s hard to stand back and see the wood through the trees. As time has passed, I’ve been listening back to recordings, putting a shape on things, reflecting on my time in Belfast and have been able to appreciate what I achieved in such a short period.

On arriving at The Crescent Arts Centre I met Sophie Hayles (Crescent CEO), Gail Jones (Communications Manager) and Gareth Doran (Technical Manager) and was shown to the amazing Cube theatre space which is where I was based. This was followed by a tour of the building where I got some insight into its history and was introduced to the many creative services that work from The Crescent.

In the afternoon, there was an informal meetup where I met people from different creative fields and heard what people were working on. This was a great way to get a sense of the scene in Belfast and what events and initiatives were taking place, some of which I got to enjoy during the week including a performance by soprano Rebecca Murphy and harpist Richard Allen at Drift on the River Lagan and Stripped Down performance by Cherym at The Crescent.

Once I set the kit up, Gareth mic'd up the whole kit and showed me how to record through the sound desk. I’ve been interested in learning how to mic my drums to record and capture my ideas properly and in the lead up to my residency, a friend kindly showed me how to get going with a simple two mic set up and record into my computer. Easy for some, but mind blowing for me who’s always played an acoustic instrument, no cables, no plugs!

Getting access to a full range of quality microphones along with a loan of an interface from my pal Phil Quinn was a real bonus as I was able to capture good quality recordings of sketches and full pieces. I’m really grateful to Gareth for his generosity, time and insight with this. It’s not something I expected to get from the Residency and is probably one of the most important things that happened!

I’ve always worked in collaboration with others and recently I’ve been making solo work and exploring ways to perform. The Navigator Residency was a really great opportunity to spend time practising, developing ideas and learning new skills. Listening back through the recordings, I can hear a huge improvement in my playing and technique, incorporating skills I've acquired through lessons with different drummers during the past year. It’s been really rewarding to hear this because when I'm sitting in it just by myself without the feedback from collaborators it’s easy to become critical. But, it’s just a new way of working and I’m learning to adapt to working solo.

The Residency brought about a couple of firsts for me. After a chat with Sophie, we decided to set an hour aside where I would play and people could come and go. My first solo performance, I guess! The day before the performance, I went for a walk to think about what I could play and ended up walking alongside the Belfast Half Marathon. I made a field recording of the marathon which I played back and improvised against for the performance, taking cues from kids shouting “faster” and using heartbeat rhythms inspired by the marathon runners.

I recorded the performance and I’m happy to share a snippet of that along with a couple of other samples from my residency. I’m not sure if I’ve shared any solo work online yet, so that’s another first, I guess!

In addition to working on my solo practice during my residency, I also wanted to use the time to collaborate with other improvising musicians based in Belfast. One of the first people who sprung to mind was Jamie Hyland, who makes electronic music as Caskré. I’ve seen Jamie perform in her band M(h)aol and most recently playing the live score to the dance show Night Dances. The music was exceptional and I immediately asked Jamie then and there to collaborate in Belfast. Our session was a lot of fun and is something I’ll share in the future. I also played with Phil Quinn who I’ve worked with in different bands over the years. It was great to spend time together and reconnect musically. You’ll find a snippet of what we worked on at the link above too.

Another highlight was getting time to chat with composer and improviser Bianca Gannon who generously gave me insight into her practice. After chatting, Bianca and I went to the Sonic Lab at SARC where I improvised with QUBensemble. This was nerve wracking but I thoroughly enjoyed playing with new people. It was also a great opportunity to drum alongside Conor McAuley who I am a big fan of.

My residency ended with a one to one masterclass session with Conor where I learned about his practice and learned new techniques which I’ve enjoyed using since the residency ended. Thinking back on the moments during the residency where I felt I wasn’t doing enough feels mad to think about now after reflecting on all of the work I did. What I have set out above is only the surface. As Bianca said to me in a recent email “realisations, ideas and opportunities will continue to emerge from the Navigator residency for some time to come” I feel like something new emerges each day. Massive thanks to IMC and CAC for selecting me for this wonderful opportunity. I’ve learned lots about myself, the way I work and the ways in which I want to continue working. I look forward to sharing more music from my Navigator Residency in the near future.