Portfolio
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Through the Mill
Tracing the footsteps of the artist’s own millworker maternal great-grandmother, the composition becomes matriarchal: spinning and reinforcing the fragile threads between different generations of women. And, as the roar of industry fades, the ‘mill’ becomes metaphor for how we are processed and categorised by our work, how this is publicly received, and how our voices…
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Reconfigure
Carla performed a series of four two hour solo piano sets. Each were completely free-improvised in the moment in response to the atmosphere in the room and, as a musician, she explored ways to musically draw the likeness of the model. These performances were invited by Topaz Pauls for her Reconfigure Life Drawing sessions at the…
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The Lockdown Sound Archive
An archive of 365 sounds and pieces built over a whole year in lockdown was developed into a 20 minute podcast, which takes the listener on an immersive journey into how lockdown shaped life. Evolving layers of original music, field recordings, and interview material weave into themes of creativity, confidence, gender, and how domestic space…
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Situated
Carla was commissioned to create a musical performance to launch a Travelling Gallery exhibition. She was asked to sonically explore the relationship between archive and place. She composed a 20 minute solo piece blending sound archive material with live piano, Scottish traditional low whistle, synth, and loop pedal. This was performed at the University of…
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Paolozzi at Large
A commission from Carlo Pirozzi and former Edinburgh Makar Christine de Luca to write original piano music in response to Eduardo Paolozzi’s entrancing doors at The Hunterian Art Gallery and Museum. The piano piece was inspired by the lines in the sculpture and Paolozzi’s love of jazz, becoming a fierce a jazz-classical melee. Performed solo…
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Common Wheel
Carla started as a volunteer in 2019 and then was offered a paid traineeship for the Make Music Make a Difference (young adults experiencing a first episode of psychosis) project for Common Wheel. This was extended over Covid-19, with services stopping and then resuming remotely over Zoom. After completing the traineeship she has become part…
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Other Dog
Carla sings backing vocals and plays clarinet for Edinburgh-based indie group Other Dog. Our music is available to listen to on Bandcamp. Cover image – Fear of Heights EP cover.
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Flow
Supporting award-winning artist Alan McGowan to provide live musical accompaniment for his immersive life-drawing performance, ‘Flow’. Carla worked with long-term collaborators Tim du Feu (violin) and Finlay McDermid (percussion) to compose a continuous hour-long improvisatory score responding to the slow dance of the life model’s movement and the artist’s evolving response to her poses. Topaz…
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Shoreway
Developed original music and sound design for a film documenting outdoor dance performance on Cramond Island causeway. Dance choreographed by Jenna Corker and filmed by Lucas Chih-Peng Kao. Carla used recordings taken on the day and layered them with harmonium, radio signal jamming, and carefully timed moments of silence. Full film only available by private…
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Digging to Understand
Collaboration with dance artist Jenna Corker to create a score together to accompany her dance. The piece was developed following a series of night-walks on Arthur’s Seat where we considered our relationship to urban/wild spaces at night. Performed twice at Dance Base and Lyra in Edinburgh. Performed solo with Scottish traditional low whistle, spoken word, drum,…
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Omar
Omar is a one minute video portrait about a Syrian poet and writer-activist living in Germany by Human Postcards. He explores his multiple identities in German and in Arabic. Carla redesigned the original sound, which only included Omar’s narration, to build an immersive sound world based on paper and writing sounds and bilingualism. She used…
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Silvering
Carla live-improvised music and sound effects on piano alongside Tim du Feu on electric guitar and helped develop ideas for music and sound alongside Herve Giradin for Eilidh Nicoll’s hand drawn animation where a woman discovers her first grey hair. Created whilst working remotely over lockdown. credits Animation – Eilidh Nicoll Sound design and final…
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Pink & Blue
Carla performed Rosie Wilson’s piano score for a short film which creatively explores the psychological side effects of taking hormonal contraceptives. The film was made by an all-female collective based in Glasgow: GILR. credits Film – GILR Collective Rosie Wilson – location recording, composition, sound design, mix and master Carla Sayer – piano Cover image…
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Auld Lang Syne 2.0
From the darkest, weirdest, early days of lockdown. Carla brought together family and friends, a mixed ability group of musicians, to weave phone recordings into a new version of one of Scotland’s most well-known traditional songs, to celebrate friendship and community at a distance. We sang, together but apart in Scotland, England, Italy and the U.S.A.…
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Turas a’Chalmain
Carla layered sound archive material of Cànan nan Eun with original music in a Scottish traditional style to add sound to a film made by Catriona Patience documenting her visual art practice. Her project explored the flight of doves and Scottish-Irish connections through the figure of St Columba. This project was funded by Culture, Heritage…
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Più
Carla performed a supporting set combining in the moment free improvisations with her original piano compositions for Blair Coron during two of his ‘evenings of quiet music’, solo in the Project Cafe, Glasgow and alongside Tim du Feu in St Vincent’s Chapel, Edinburgh. Images of Carla performing in the Project Café in Glasgow, by Billie Robertson,…
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Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival
Following facilitation training in 2018 with Musicians Without Borders. Carla Sayer and Tim du Feu created a workshop series to explore breath and mind-body connection with participants through music. They then facilitated the group to create their own song together about their experiences. The workshops were funded and hosted by Galashiels Well-Being College and were…
Carla Sayer 