"Songs of the Brewery" is a both a radio art piece and a sound installation inspired by Cork’s Beamish and Crawford Brewery.

This large scale brewery was established in the nineteenth century and has remained a Cork name and landmark ever since. Whilst the building and the stout are known to all, the experiences and memories of those who have worked there and the cacophony of sounds that form part of the brewing, fermenting and bottling process are not so familiar.

Using the built environment of the brewery as both the set and the inspiration for the installation and radio art piece, this sound art project seeks to offer the public a subjective sonic portrait of the plant.
The sound piece incorporates interviews with three generations of workers, location recordings, sampling, electroacoustic compositions and voice-over.

"Songs of the Brewery" was first presented, as a sound installation on the two main levels of the belfry of St. Anne’s church, in the Shandon area of Cork which is a renowned tourist spot where visitors can climb the tower and play the bells. Listeners were invited to either sit and listen to the work or actively participate in the installation by ‘playing the bells’, a sonic reminder of the former Beamish brewery bell that used to call the men to work and release them at the end of the day.

Statments by Dinah Bird & Jean-Philippe Renoult:

about Songs of the Brewery