Natalia Beylis - Kankyō Ongaku: Donegal (2024)

Kankyō Ongaku: Donegal was inspired by the Japanese genre of Kankyō Ongaku (environmental music), which emerged in the 1980s in response to rapid urbanisation and economic growth. Regional Cultural Centre Director Jeremy Howard invited five leading sound artists to create new works responding to the Centre’s contemporary architecture. These compositions formed a site-specific soundtrack for the building’s shared spaces, activated during late-night exhibition and event openings throughout 2024.

Kankyō Ongaku shared conceptual and structural affinities with minimalism in modern art and contemporary design, offering immersive soundscapes tailored to public environments.

Natalia Beylis is a sonic storyteller and multi-instrumentalist whose expansive body of work spans over 40 albums, encompassing solo projects, collaborations, and compilation appearances. While she regularly composes using traditional instruments such as piano, organ, keyboards, and mandola, her work often explores unconventional sound sources. One recent album, for example, was created entirely from the sounds of a domestic sewing machine. Her latest release, Mermaids, is out now on Touch Sensitive Records.

This project was supported by The Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon and the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media through the Late-Night Events Pilot Programme.