In 2012 I was invited to live for a month, from May 6th until June 6th, as an ‘artists in residence’ on Pulau Ubin by The Artists Village (TAV) group based in Singapore.
My initial ‘project’ idea was to make a ‘sound map’ of the island. Places which I had visited and made field recordings where others could visit and have a similar listening experience. At the time I had never spent a month (almost) alone in a house in a tropical jungle. I say almost alone because I shared the residency with Japanese artist Yuzuru Maeda. Yuzuru is such a quiet person that I often felt I was alone.
On my initial visit to Ubin I was impressed by the number and the volume of the different sounds of birds, insects, electrical generators, boats and aircraft taking of from nearby Chiangi airport and, mostly at night, the thunder storms. I decided I would spend my month walking and making sound recordings from which I would produce a c.d. and my sound map of the various “listening sites’ where I made the recordings.

I decided to walk partly because I noticed most visitors to the island hired bicycles to get around. Understandable if you have limited time and the heat and humidity isn’t conducive to walking for most people.

Pulau Ubin is the second largest off shore island located off the North Eastern end of Singapore, between Singapore and Malaysia. It is a granite island with an area of 1020 hecters with low lying mangroves and tidal rivers. Originally it was five small islands which were bound together for prawn farming forming a single island known as Pulau Ubin, meaning ‘Tile Island’ in Malay and Indonesian.

The island had been a forgotten backwater for many years but due to the limited land mass on the Singapore Island it came onto the radar for redevelopment by the government in the 1980s and a process of resettling the villagers to Singapore main island began. However some preferred to remain as long as they could on Pulau Ubin until the redevelopment commenced, particularly the older generation.

At the beginning of 2000 there was public protest, particularly from groups of ‘nature deprived’ Singaporeans,as well as from the remaining inhabitants. Toward the final stages of resettlement the biodiversity of the Chek Jawa wetlands and the rich marine life of the coastal areas became apparent and the government took an interest in improving the amenities on the island; paved roads, built shelters, information kiosks and a visitor centre at Chek Jawa .

By 2009 there were less than 45 families still living in Ubin and, for the moment, Pulau Ubin is a living example of a former rural way of life which will most likely disappear with the last of its “kampong” generation passing. It has also become a haven for birds (there are around 400 different species) and other wild life, such as monkeys, wild boar, snakes, lizards and insects.

I have and continue to use these field recordings in a collaborative manner in my live performances preferring not to process them in any way but let them speak for themselves.