At the beginning of the year, we had a Zoom call with poet and producer Dan Simpson and he told us all about his ‘Experimental Words‘ project. He’s producing it in partnership with Dr Sam Illingworth, and as the final pieces fall into place, it looks awesome.

The end result is an audio album, which features 10 pairs of poets/scientists, and soundscapes designed by Chris Drohan. Poets include Joelle Taylor, Maria Ferguson, Momtaza Mehri, and Shareefa Energy.

The album is being released digitally on Wednesday 23 June, with a launch event taking place over Zoom that evening at 7.30pm BST. Tickets are priced at £3, £6, or £9 – depending on your income – and can be purchased here.

It’s a brilliant project that showcases the potential of spoken word and spoken word poetry in particular. The calibre of scientists and poets involved is awesome, and the work that they’ve done with the soundscapes and algorithmically generated graphics is like nothing we’ve experienced before.

So, check out the project – come along to the launch event if you can – and keep an eye out for the album from 23 June onwards! We’re proud to be supporting this and can’t wait to see it venture out into the world. The project is being part-funded by Arts Council England.