Info
Working across field recording, archival sound, and moving image, Hayley uses her music to explore community and culture. Much of her work is immersed in the rural and urban narratives of her local Manchester, drawing on first-hand interviews, and collaborating closely with those who can provide the most accurate document of their environment. Her practice spans installation art, live performance, and long-form compositions - utilising techniques such as ambisonics and multi-channel audio to create expansive sonic experiences that invite reflection on our relationships with place, environment, and the stories that shape them.
Hayley is currently undertaking a practice-based PhD at the University of Manchester’s NOVARS Research Centre, funded by the NWCDTP. Her research explores the use of oral histories as the foundation of her compositions while examining the ethical dimensions of incorporating these narratives into sound-based work.
Hayley has received commissions from the likes of Sounds from the Other City, New Substance, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, North West Sound Heritage, Olympias Music Foundation, and Mediale, Quays Culture & Media City UK - composing music to be performed by the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. She has also undertaken artist residencies with Forestry England, UoS Acoustic Labatories, The Glasshouse International Centre for Music, and Yorkshire Sound Women Network. In 2025, she will be in residence at Maajaam (Estonia) and Elektronmusikstudion EMS (Sweden). Her live performances have been presented at venues including Iklektik, The Stoller Hall, The White Hotel, SOUP, Hallé St Michaels, and festivals such as Todmorden's TOR Fest and BBC Radio 3's Northern Drift.
Hayley is currently undertaking a practice-based PhD at the University of Manchester’s NOVARS Research Centre, funded by the NWCDTP. Her research explores the use of oral histories as the foundation of her compositions while examining the ethical dimensions of incorporating these narratives into sound-based work.
Hayley has received commissions from the likes of Sounds from the Other City, New Substance, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, North West Sound Heritage, Olympias Music Foundation, and Mediale, Quays Culture & Media City UK - composing music to be performed by the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. She has also undertaken artist residencies with Forestry England, UoS Acoustic Labatories, The Glasshouse International Centre for Music, and Yorkshire Sound Women Network. In 2025, she will be in residence at Maajaam (Estonia) and Elektronmusikstudion EMS (Sweden). Her live performances have been presented at venues including Iklektik, The Stoller Hall, The White Hotel, SOUP, Hallé St Michaels, and festivals such as Todmorden's TOR Fest and BBC Radio 3's Northern Drift.
Alongside her compositional work, Hayley is a creative producer at the Radiophonic Institute, working on initiatives such as The Oram Awards. She also co-runs The Manchester Ear, a sound walk project that encourages communities to engage with their environment through sound walking, deep listening, and field recording workshops across Manchester. She also hosts a bi-monthly show on CAMP Radio, exploring the intersections of electronic and ambient music, neoclassical composition, spoken word, and beyond. Listen to her mixes here.