A brand new piece of music by the Portishead guitarist Adrian Utley, inspired by a walk at the National Trust’s Croft Castle in Herefordshire, is released today.

The Sonic Journey – commissioned by the National Trust and sounduk - follows a route through Croft Castles beautiful landscape which is dominated by ancient trees including a thousand-year-old oak tree and an avenue of chestnut trees with links to the Spanish Armada.

The new track, which will be accompanied by a hand-drawn route map by Adrian Utley, will be available to download for free on to smartphones and MP3 players until 15 October 2013 via www.nationaltrust.org.uk and www.sonicjourneys.co.uk and also on MP3 players at Croft Castle itself.

Portishead film-maker, John Minton, worked with Adrian to create a video based on the journey that will be available to watch via the above websites or www.thespace.org.

Walkers can then walk the route to experience the music while wandering through the special place that inspired this journey through the seasons. 

The music is released during the Trust’s Great British Walk which is celebrating our national love affair with walking with thousands of events and downloadable walks from across the country [1].

Brian Muelaner, National Trust Ancient Tree Adviser, said: “Trees have inspired generations of artists and there is something remarkable about the power and beauty of ancient trees. 

“Walking is the prefect way to get outdoors and explore the exquisite British countryside, particularly at this time of year with trees in wonderful colours of autumn

“Adrian’s music really captures the spirit of this special place on the journey through this landscape dominated by ancient trees.”

The National Trust is part way through a 3-year survey of all of its ancient trees including Newton’s apple tree, the Tolpuddle Martyrs tree and the yew tree at Runnymeade where the Magna Carta was signed. 

Adrian Utley is widely known for his work in the hugely-influential band, Portishead. 

The band, which formed in 1990, has released three critically acclaimed albums including Dummy in 1994.  Adrian Utley has also worked with Patti Smith, Tom Jones and Jeff Beck.

The National Trust has previously worked on new music with Jarvis Cocker and the art pop trio Kotki Dwa.

Notes to editors:

[1] More information about the Great British Walk – including the 600 free downloadable walks and more than 3,000 events at over 350 sites – can be found at www.nationaltrust.org.uk/greatbritishwalk.  Walkers can also share their favourite walk online for a chance to have it illustrated by students from a top art college and the Great British Walk runs until 4 November 2012.

About National Trust: The National Trust looks after more than 250,000 hectares of countryside, 710 miles of coastline and hundreds of historic places across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. For more information and ideas for great value family days out go to: http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/

About Croft Castle: Home Croft Castle is a place of power, politics and pleasure. It nestles in peaceful Herefordshire countryside at the heart of a 607-hectare (1,500-acre) estate of woodland, farm and parkland. Visitors can stroll through the parkland or explore the miles of woodland trails and find over 300 veteran trees.

About sounduk: sounduk is committed to promoting the very best new music through live events, PR, consultancy and artist representation. sounduk works across new music in a variety of ways. As well as producing our own creative projects inside and outside the concert hall, we work with a range of clients as publicists and producers and represent a selection of artists who we believe have a distinct and innovative approach to music. www.sounduk.net

About Sonic Journeys: conceived and produced by sounduk, Sonic Journeys commission’s artists to create new works inspired by specific stretches of landscape experienced on rural and urban journeys. The music is available for download so that you can listen to it as you take the same journey with the help of a map.  Previous commissions include Sonic Journey: Will Gregory (of Goldfrapp) of a walk in Eastnor Castle Estate, Herefordshire and Micachu’s Sonic Journey around the Barbican Centre. The most recent commission, Sonic Journey: Shackleton & Vengeance Tenfold of music to two train journeys in North and South Devon, attracted over 4000 downloads from more than 69 countries. As part of The Space each download has been made available again together with a video of each of the Sonic Journeys until 31 March 2013 – www.sonicjourneys.co.uk

About The Space: The Space is a new way to access and experience all of the arts – for free. Available on computer, tablet, smartphone and connected TV, The Space invites you to take part in the biggest summer of arts the UK has ever seen, whenever you want it and wherever you happen to be. You can watch full performances, catch unmissable live events, delve into rare archive and explore interactive collections. The Space is also a place where everybody can experiment with ideas and play with images, text and sound. With all of the arts in one place – and with new material added daily – feel free to discover, participate and enjoy. The Space is managed by the Arts Council and developed in partnership with the BBC - www.thespace.org

Sonic Journeys is supported by the Arts Council England.