Mhairi Hall and David de la Haye – Underwater Cairngorms (Hudson Records, 2025)
Underwater Cairngorms presents an evocative fusion of environmental sound art and acoustic composition by pianist Mhairi Hall and field recordist David de la Haye. Documenting the submerged soundscapes of six lochs and rivers in the Scottish Highlands, the album offers an unprecedented audiological portrait of the Cairngorms’ freshwater ecosystems.
Hall and de la Haye recorded throughout a full calendar year, capturing seasonal shifts in acoustic environments at Loch Garten, River Feshie, Loch Morlich, An Lochan Uaine, An Lochan Uath, and Loch Mallachie. These previously unrecorded underwater habitats remain largely uncharted in the UK, both sonically and scientifically. The duo’s research forms part of an ongoing collaboration with international freshwater scientists, some of whom are working to identify the album’s more cryptic sounds.
The project combines mesmerizing, impressionistic piano, harmonium backgrounds, and natural underwater recordings. The result is a dream-like sound world that feels electronically processed yet remains almost entirely acoustic. The resonance of piano strings, the breath of harmonium bellows, and the spellbinding ambient reverberations of lochs intertwine with the sound signatures of aquatic life. Hall composed original music in response to each location, while de la Haye contributed his curated field recordings as compositional material.
Mhairi shared how creating this album helped with awareness and a deeper understanding of the locations: “spending hours by each loch, with a clear head listening for the possibility of a sound I’ve never heard before in my life, is not only inspiring but hugely humbling. I have lived by these lochs and rivers all my life, but ‘Underwater Cairngorms’ has given me a new perspective of these places, a deeper understanding, respect and a real desire to help preserve them. Writing the music flowed easily, I hope I did them well and people get a real sense of the special places that they are.”
Funded by Creative Scotland and supported by Buglife, NatureScot, and the Cairngorms National Park Authority, Underwater Cairngorms was released earlier this week.