Seán Street and Neil Campbell return to Writing on the Wall with their new presentation of words and music, celebrating the publication of Seán’s latest poetry collection, Journey into Space (Shoestring Press).
The blend of Seán’s crafted and evocative poems, and Neil’s atmospheric original guitar scores have captivated WoW audiences at a series of Festival events, most recently with the launch of their CD, Estuary, at a multimedia event at the Capstone Theatre in 2017.
For 2023, they have devised a powerful, evocative and moving sound journey that takes us through time and light into memory, to Northern Ireland in the shadow of ‘The Troubles’, ending with a sequence of poems exploring the history, moods and topography of the Mersey.
Drawing on sequences within Journey into Space, as well as another recent collection, The Sound Recordist (Maytree Press) many of the poems are alive with light, sonic signals and memory: one sequence examines the poignancy and strangeness of growing up, while in Return Journey we find ourselves sharing a drink at Liverpool’s historic Pig and Whistle pub, before moving off on the night ferry to Northern Ireland in 1968, on the brink of great change and trauma.
Throughout, there is flow of water, evoked through a series of haunting variations from the guitar of Neil Campbell. Once again, Street and Campbell bring their unique sound experience to Liverpool audiences, an event that is sure to delight followers of their audio world, as well as win them new friends.