David
De La Haye
Underwater Sound Recordist and Multispecies Music-Maker
David de la Haye is an award-winning ecological sound artist, composer, bassist, and music technician. He uses hydrophones to share the experience of listening underwater and raise the cultural value of aquatic environments, in particular ponds.
Working internationally, his practice has been supported by Swiss Academy of Sciences, Sound and Music, Creative Scotland, and Northern Heartlands.Notable achievements include winning the Ivan Juritz Prize; an Ivor Novello Composer Award nomination; becoming an associate of Sound And Music; winning Sound Of The Year Award 2020 for ‘Best Listener’ (with his then 2 year old son!); and being shortlisted for Times Higher Education 'Outstanding Technician of the Year' during his tenure as Music Studio Technician at Newcastle University.Never tired of experimenting, in 2025 he collaborated with Prof. Anne Whitehead to explore the acoustic and wider resonances of Antony Gormley's sculpture, The Angel of the North. Read more about Sounding The Angel in The Guardian.He holds a PhD scholarship in Music at Newcastle University in the same department he completed his masters degree on Glitch and Aesthetics of Digital Failure in 2004. Prior to this he studied Jazz & Contemporary Music at Leeds Conservatoire.Key themes of his outputs are microsound, more-than-human interaction with nature, free improvisation, hydrophone recording, and creative use of bioacoustic technologies to engage art-science communities.
His eclectic collaborative portfolio includes international tours, artist residencies, educational workshops, and gallery installation. When not recording ponds, he can be found on stages around the world playing bass with Monster Ceilidh Band and Jez Lowe and the Bad Pennies.One of his favourite recordings is of Grey Seals vocalising underwater. Collected with the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust, they were added to the British Library and featured in Countryfile Magazine for their 100th episode. Listen here.David is the son of a proud dustman and lived in the proverbial flat, with a tireless work ethic continues to this day. He is now based in Durham in the North East of England.
Current Projects
"This is a truly beautiful piece of work, a moment of peace in our volatile world, and no music lover should be without it." - Fatea Mag.
With Ears Underwater
"A fascinating audio experience"The Wire - Office Ambience 461
