Richard Fair

Hi, I’m Richard.

I live in Norwich, Norfolk UK.

I’ve been interested in sound recording since I was at school, when we spent an entire music lesson trying to record the sound of a pin dropping.

I am the creator of the Norfolk Sound Map – with over 200 hundred audio recording from around the county.

Past work and collaborations include:

Radio

I’m a volunteer at Future Radio in Norwich presenting Tuesday’s Drivetime as well as presenting a soft rock/yacht rock programme, No Static, on a Sunday night.

I worked at the BBC in Manchester for 20 years as a radio producer and presenter. Later I worked for many years at the Forum in Norwich, producing events and multimedia content for the Gallery.

Open University

I worked with the Open University Sounding Coastal Change project looking at social and environmental change in North Norfolk. The idea was to use sound, music and different kinds of listening, to explore the ways in which the coast is changing and how people’s lives are changing with it.

Working with local schools and other organisations, I produced a 24 hour broadcast from Blakeney, Norfolk, and also broadcast the dawn chorus live from from Cley Marshes for International Dawn Chorus Day.

I also installed a piece of sound art called Time and Tide into St Nicholas’ church in Blakeney.

Norfolk Wildlife Trust (NWT)

Working with the NWT, I recorded and installed a series of birdsong soundscapes into shops around the centre of Norwich. The sounds were broadcast using special loudspeakers that turned the shop windows themselves into the sound system.

I’ve produced a variety of other audio/visual projects and exhibitions for them.

I’ve also hosted Introduction to Sound Recording workshops, explaining the best ways to begin recording the sounds of nature.

Norfolk Rivers Trust (NRT)

I worked with members of the NRT, showing them how to use audio recording equipment and advising them on equipment for recording and editing.

Heritage Open Days

For the Portraits of Life project, I interviewed former residents and staff from houses and buildings that no longer exist. The interviews, part of the Heritage Open Days exhibition at The Forum in Norwich, helped paint a picture of a time now gone. All the interviews were submitted to the Norfolk Record Office for posterity.

Archant Community Media Ltd – Weird Norfolk

I worked with the established writers of the Weird Norfolk team to launch the successful Weird Norfolk podcast. In the first year the podcast was shortlisted in the Publisher’s Podcast Awards.