Be nice to see you

"an intriguing yet strange work, and somewhat disturbing"
    -- Planet Hugill

Summer 2019 I recorded my phone calls with my parents and wrote music around their voices. The result was a 7 minute piece for string quartet, recorded voices, and field recordings made around my London and Hartlepool homes.

Mixing personal phone calls, real-world sounds and composed music, Be nice to see you is a portrait of nostalgia and family, playing out through the voices of my parents.

Originally intended as a more general look at Hartlepuddlian speech and story-telling, Be Nice To See You gradually became a more personal project as it developed, concentrating just on the phone calls with my parents. Revealing only the parents’ side of the conversation, and fragmenting that speech, the listener is left to concentrate on the creative turns of phrase, and the musicality of the voices as they interact with the instrumental music.

Be nice to see you celebrates the skill and creativity to be found in day-to-day speech, expressing homesickness, and the desire to renew connections with where you’re from.

The string quartet was Ligeti Quartet, and the piece was written for New Creatives North. New Creatives is supported by Arts Council England and BBC Arts. Listen to it now on BBC Sounds.

The piece has also been recorded by The Solem Quartet on their debut disc. Listen here.

William Marsey: Be Nice to See You by William Marsey on Scribd