Headphone Story is a new audio series that tells musical, funny and poignant stories in unique spaces using innovative recording techniques.
Listeners are taken on an immersive journey through carefully curated soundscapes, happy accidents and expert storytelling.
Headphones very much encouraged.
For your satisfaction, there is a serving suggestion in how to gain the most
from each story
Sit back, pop your headphones on
and welcome to
- Headphone Story
Subscribe now
The Creative Isle Community Rail Partnership (CICRP) has launched a
new binaural concept podcast Above & Beyond in partnership with
Southeastern Railway.
Exploring Thanet’s railway, the podcast takes a deep dive into the roles of
Southeastern railway employees. Combining staff interviews with
recordings of the station environment, on-train soundscapes and musical
instruments to celebrate times when Southeastern employees have gone
above and beyond for passengers, telling stories with warmth, personality
and humanity.
Above & Beyond has been produced by Tom Adams with supporting
musicians Lillian Henley and Dan Scott. The podcast is recorded in a
unique way using binaural audio, a method of recording that reproduces the
way humans naturally experience sound. This format is made to be listened
to through headphones, making it an ideal companion for those seeking
inspiration while travelling by Southeastern train.
Part of the ongoing Headphone Story podcast series, Above & Beyond has
been commissioned by the CICRP and is available through all the usual
podcast apps.
Recorded onboard
Southeastern Trains on
Isle of Thanet and
Headphone Story
Studios
Serving suggestion:
- Listen on headphones
- On a train
- On Isle of Thanet
Narrated by Bill Walston
Contributors - Abi, Alex, Bridie, Bill, Fiona, Githa, Ian, Nicky, Paul, Penny,
Savi, Sophie, Steve and Tina
Inspired by the folklore of the Lantern Men - a mysterious white light that
hovers over the Fenland at night, luring wanderers into the reed beds - this
sound piece is the culmination of a six month collaboration between
Composer Tom Adams and participants from the Camsight and Vision
Norfolk community.
The Lantern Men intersects the tale of the untimely death of wherryman
Joseph Bexfield with sonic sounds, personal reflections and field recordings
made during the project.
In partnership with Ely Museum, RNIB and Wicken Fen.
A spooky story
Recorded at Wicken Fen, Ely Museum and Babylon Arts
Serving suggestion:
- Listen on headphones
- In your most comfortable chair
- At 11.45pm
The Lantern Men
A fascinating and absorbing insight into a lone professional. A DJ called Kit.
Recorded in Kit’s living room Margate
Serving suggestion:
- Listen on headphones
- In your most comfortable chair
- At midnight
Join Tom as he faces his demons, his monsters and his ghosts. All in the same day.
Recorded in 2 basements
Serving suggestion:
- Listen on headphones
- In your most comfortable chair
- In a basement
Inspired by ‘Scrapbook’ -
Just when the trail had gone cold, Tom gets a message...
Recorded in Frances’ living room in Camborne
Serving suggestion:
- Listen on headphones
- In your most comfortable chair
- With a cup of strong tea
Tom retraces his steps of his old paper round, where he learned several lessons in one day.
Recorded on the streets of Margate
Serving suggestion:
- Listen on headphones
- In your most comfortable chair
- With a newspaper on your lap
A story about 3 forgotten scrapbooks that belonged to a long lost couple
Recorded in
The Museum of Cornish Life, Helston, Cornwall
Serving suggestion:
- Listen on headphones
- In your most comfortable chair
- At the turning of the day to night with your curtains shut
Alex and Tom are best friends. That is, until the escape room.
And things will never be the same again after that
Recorded in
The Margate Bookshop
Serving suggestion:
- Listen on headphones
- In your most comfortable chair
- When the the sky is as near to pitch black as possible
What happens when the Nit Nurse goes up against Maggie Thatcher?
Recorded in
The Mayor of Margate's Parlour
and
The Salvation Army Hall, Margate
Serving suggestion:
- Listen on headphones
- In your most comfortable chair
- When the sun has woken up fully
A guide dog called George is about to retire but something is holding him back
Recorded in one living room, to be listened to in another.
Serving suggestion:
- Listen on headphones
- In your most comfortable chair
- At the golden time of dusk
Season 1
Join the Mailing List
Shorts
A man starts his house arrest.
All because he spoke his truth.
Will he be freed?
Recorded with Meg Bird and The Social Singing Choir
Serving suggestion:
- Listen on headphones
- In your most comfortable chair
- With a cat on your lap
Meet the Team
Creative Associates
Tom Adams
Creative Director, Composer
& Co-Producer
- Tom has been performing, composing and creating theatre for 20 years. Coming from live comedy, he has toured to venues & festivals nationally
Karen Pirie
Co-Producer
- Karen has been telling tales for 20 years making hundreds of national radio programmes and podcasts, working with presenters including John Humphreys, and Kirsty Wark.
Lillian Henley
Associate Director of Headphone Story
- Lillian directed 'Nit Nurse' and was Musical Dramturg for Season 1 of Headphone Story. Her background is in live performance and silent film accompaniment
Kyla Goodey
Director - Scrapbook
- Kyla is a director, writer, performer, producer & associate artist at Kneehigh theatre. She trained at Desmond Jones School of Mime and Physical Theatre
Laura Mugridge
Dan Scott
Siobhan Meade
Kimberley Sutherland
Ciaran Clarke
Andy Purves
Director & Dramaturg - Escape Room
Musician, Singer and Co-composer of George
Musician, Solo Vocalist - Escape Room
Blind Awareness Mentor - George
Sound Engineer & Sound Recordist for Scrapbook
Future Developments Officer
- Ciaran Clarke is a theatre maker & sound designer recently been awarded a doctorate for his practice-based research entitled Reviver Voce: the Voice, Technology, and Death,
- Andy's role is in securing future opportunities for Headphone Story. Tom and Andy have worked together for 10 years for projects inc. Relative Motion and Elephant and Castle
Laura is a theatre maker, dramaturg and director. She is winner of a Fringe First Award and Audience Choice Award Brighton Fringe 2022
- Dan was musician and singer also on Nit Nurse and Escape Room. Dan is a musician and sound artist and Dan and Tom have worked on over 5 projects together including Panegyric and boat-house-theatre
- Kimberly is a Gold selling writer and platinum-selling artist. Her releases and co-writes have amassed over 300 million streams on Spotify alone.
Siobhan is Digital Marketing Producer for Guide Dogs and supported Tom and Dan during the development and recording of George, even recording the show in her front room.
Listener Feedback
- The Guardian on George
(June 2022)
Dee Wright on Nit Nurse
- Love how you have taken Maggie down and what a joy to hear her inner voice!
A laid-back, gently revelatory experience recorded in one living room to be heard in another...
Grace Slee on Nit Nurse
So relaxing...
like looking through a scrapbook of memories...
- it made me cry
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0.0s
I love music, audiobooks, soundtracks, and live theatre. Headphone Story
is a combination of these.
In June 2022, I wanted to create a listening experience that felt like a live
experience. Where the feeling of live-ness could be recorded and then
listened back to in a new context, such as in your home on headphones. I
wanted to be told a story in a way that felt immediate and full of little
details and tiny human mistakes.
I met Karen Pirie, a BBC Radio and podcast producer, and everything
changed. With her support as a co-producer, we developed Headphone
Story. Above is the first season; many more seasons will come. As a team,
we are all developing the style of binaural recording and finding exciting
spaces to record that relate to the story.
A Headphone Story.
Thank you,
Tom
History of
Headphone Story
Scrapbook
'Museum of Cornish life was delighted to be invited to work with Headphone Story in Autumn 2022 and Spring 20203.
The project we were involved with, Headphone Story - Series 1, was an exciting opportunity for us to expand upon the work we deliver to settings such as care homes and memory cafes. The resulting story which is all about memories also reflects our collections which hold thousands of memories linked to our objects.
It was interesting for us to host artists who interacted with our museum building and its collection in a fresh way. Predominantly our museum is a focus for people interested in historical research or who are excited by the visual aspect of the collection. To have the focus on sound and the atmospheric quality of the building allowed us and now others to experience the museum in a totally
new and different way. Tom Adams and his creative team worked closely with us as the project developed from the initial idea to the recording session in the museum. We were kept informed of the process and able to feed back into the process. We are a free-to-visit museum and it wasn’t possible to close the museum for extended periods and the team were sensitive to this and worked their schedule around ours so that we could keep the building open as much as possible during the recording process.
We have thoroughly enjoyed being part of Headphone Story and hope to be able to work with them again on exciting ways to bring our collection to a wider audience.'
Isobel King
Community Engagement Curator
Museum of Cornish Life, Helston
'Tom worked with Headphone Story in February of this year with our 50+ social support group. As the name suggests the group is a social support group for people aged over 50 however the majority of my members are in their 70s & 80s. They are a lively group who meet weekly and can be quite difficult to engage if the subject is not to their liking!
Tom was a fantastic part of the day, engaging all members and getting them involved and joining in with music. He was friendly and professional but certainly brought a wonderful positive vibe with him and left us all smiling.
I am really looking forward to welcoming Tom again to the group and I know I speak for them all when I say that they feel the same way. Thank you to Tom and Headphone Story.'
Siobhan Florence
Skills and Education Manager, Draceana Centre
Mental Health can be an absolute minefield of emotions, Escape Room, is a fantastic immersive experience that talks about first hand lived experience of the wellbeing roller-coaster around anxieties and how that can take control of you. Having lived experience of mental health I could relate to how Tom was feeling at every moment, and it gave myself a sense of togetherness and acceptance.
Also, along the same note. Would you be happy for me to send a link to Escape Room to our client base (I will source headphones) I think it would be a great introduction to alternative ways of gathering information around anxieties. I can take the description off of the podcast unless your would like to personalise it to Mental Health UK. Let me know what you think/
Will Hebditch (He/Him)
Employment Programmes Manager
Into Work
Mental Health UK
Nit Nurse
Escape Room