After a month of exploring some truly wonderful interpretations of Utopia, from full-on electronica to political readings of More’s original text, we come to the end of our journey, in the far south west of the map, and a fitting close to an amazing journey with these pieces from Denmark and Ireland.

On the Shores of Utopia – Christian Hagelskjaer From, Aarhus, Denmark

“One way to read Utopia, is to do so with a critical eye – according to the foreword of the version of the book I have.

And certainly, there are passages which ring with a slight dissonance – in my ears at least.

Shapes/traces of a modern surveillance society? Isolationism?

Being different and “better” than other states can be a double-edged sword sometimes, and as I was given a map area depicting part shore, part ship, part sea, I couldn’t get the current refugee crisis in the Mediterranean out of my head.

What happens on the edge of Utopia? Who is allowed to enter and who is not? And why not?

When the Utopians tire of the strangers flooding their land, disrespecting their rules and traditions – what happens then?

And when exactly have you reached Utopia? When you live a new life in its cities?

What if your journey ends on the shore?

I have gone for simple sounds – all of them from my own library. I have made simple edits and a few fades – not much more.

Not much happens. Too much happens. At this time of writing, it is still happening.”

Utopia meets 21st-century dystopia – Camilla Fanning, Dublin, Ireland

“When I looked at E6 my first thought was of a merchant surveying his possessions. Despite the theme being Utopia I suspect a touch of 21st-century dystopia has found its way in.

The idea came to mind of what was running through his mind. And that led to thinking of a series of numbers and the sounds of an island blending with the general noises of commerce.

The sounds on the track are all my own recordings using an iPhone. Some helpful friends in the choir did the ‘numbers’ line.”