Inside the Circle of Fire
A Sheffield Sound Map by Chris Watson
(2020 stereo version)

Chris Watson is a BAFTA-winning sound recordist whose work has taken him to furthest reaches of the globe. In 2013 we commissioned him to create a work about Sheffield, his home city.

Chris made recordings all over Sheffield, from the outskirts at Blacka Moor to busy Fargate and from Forgemasters to the vast drainage tunnels under the Station. Inside the Circle of Fire invites us to listen to Sheffield’s unique soundtrack of people, industry and nature, and remember the waterways that continue to flow through it, from its borders in the Peak District all the way to its bustling heart.

Chris has generously revisited his original work, which used ambisonic technology to create a fully immersive soundscape in the gallery, turning it into a stereo experience that is best listened to using headphones. The work is accompanied by photographs taken by Alan Silvester, Digital Producer at Museums Sheffield.

You can find out how more about how Chris developed Inside the Circle of Fire in this short film exploring the making of the work;

Chris Watson and Museums Sheffield would like to thank the following individuals and organisations for their help and support in creating Inside the Circle of Fire:

Forgemasters, Sheffield Wildlife Trust, Jim Clarke, Rob Bowman, Sheffield Industrial Museums Trust, Anthony Bennett, Brian Alcock, Sensoria, Jo Wingate, Nigel Humberstone, Sheffield United Football Club, Sheffield Wednesday Football Club, Pro Audio Sound Systems, Sheffield Hallam University, Ron Wright, Mat Steel, Tony Myatt.

Special thanks to contributors:

Richard Bradley, Nick Booth, Jefferson Boss, Jez Riley French, The Halt, Martin Hogg, Nigel Humberstone, Jan Gilhooley, John Scholey, Damon Fairclough, Adrian Carter, Guy Smith, Phil Reaney, Anne Rosemary Watson, Dharmacari Bodhinaga, Rosie Watson, Alan Hunt.