Known for manufacturing submarines. So how does this remote Cumbrian place attract the world’s boldest musicians? | music

forArrow-in-Furness is located on a windswept hook on the Cumbrian coast. It is an industrial city surrounded by the Irish Sea on three sides, and is famous for its 140-year history of submarine building. The undulating peaks of BAE Systems’ Dock Hall dominate the skyline above Barrow’s red-brick balconies, and nearly a third of local working-age residents work in its sprawling complex. This militaristic landscape is the unlikely home of Full of Noises, a 40-capacity experimental music and arts venue whose first event saw krautrock legend Faust destroy an electric guitar with an air drill.

After securing funding to launch a two-day festival in 2009, artistic director Glen Poulter and four other local artists took temporary custody of the dilapidated canteen building on windswept Barrow Island, “a building that is part of this big military-industrial complex,” Poulter says. “It is under tight security control.” He remembers a game they were playing on a nearby bridge, where they would pull out their phones as if to take pictures and count the seconds until security intercepted them. “For us, this was an interesting context to work in.”

The irony of being in this highly policed ​​complex was that its remote location offered a rare kind of creative freedom: there was no established scene to satisfy. “You could do anything because no one was bothered or really looking,” Poulter says. It was that first festival with Faust that set the tone – “big German guys banging oil drums and setting things on fire” – and brought together a group of local ex-subs to perform Kurt Schwitters’ Dada poetry in Morse code.

Full of Noises has continued to move around, “commissioning works, drawing on the city’s history, architecture and local communities,” and, 16 years later, it now has a permanent home at Piel View House, a former park ranger’s lodge perched on a hill in Barrow Park. Its traditional red brick facade has been expanded with a black Scandinavian-style cubic extension, which houses an acoustically designed space with pure white interiors and high rectangular windows framing the surrounding tree canopy. It has hosted notable names in experimental and improvised music, from Los Angeles-based Tashi Wada and Julia Holter to Marissa Anderson and Jim White. At the end of 2025, Lonnie Holly played to a 40-capacity room here, having performed at London’s 1,500-capacity Roundhouse a week earlier. In addition to concerts, the venue hosts film screenings and creative workshops, and has welcomed resident artists including Lee Gamble. “We’ve always enjoyed the challenge of doing this kind of work in a fairly small and isolated place,” Poulter says.

I spent two days at the venue getting to know the team during Independent Venue Week, as they prepare for a group of London College of Communication (LCC) graduates, who are traveling to showcase their work.

“When I was touring, I remember sleeping on the artificial turf in someone’s kitchen,” venue programmer Amy Stritch Parker told me as she cooked the meal throughout the night. She wants to make sure the place feels like a “home away from home,” and cooks a communal meal for each visiting artist. “No matter who is performing, everyone is treated the same way,” she adds. The upper floor of the venue is set for further renovation depending on funding, which will include bedrooms for visitors and resident artists.

This care and programming is supported by a unique financial model. Full of Noises holds a 25-year lease on a peppercorn lease from the local authority, which supported the redevelopment rather than demolition. Arts Council England (ACE) funding covers the majority of overhead expenses, and Barrow’s recent appointment as an ACE priority venue has been transformative. “That meant being able to get the money to build and increase our funding enough to have a proper team,” Poulter says. Additional funding from the local authority, trusts and foundations allows this arts and culture center to host over 60 events a year, most of which are priced at just £5 or pay what you feel. “It’s about being open and really welcoming to anyone who wants to do business with us.”

At seven o’clock on this humid January evening, Full of Noises comes to life. LCC graduates have prepared a range of devices – modular synth modules, contact microphones, and even children’s toys. About 20 people file up, order drinks from Poulter, the bartender for the night, and take their seats. One artist, Sankey, dazzles the audience with a lit tank of water and metal chains to produce quasi-aquatic mechanical distortions that vibrate the walls and feel appropriate given our surroundings.

After the show, I talk to a local, who tells me to look up Caliban’s speech in The Tempest if I want to understand the name of the place. “Do not be afraid; the island is full of noise/voices and sweet air, which cheers and does not harm.” It’s an apt parallel – the team behind Full of Noises found their own magic in Barrow’s isolation. “As an artist, it’s a really unusual and interesting place to be,” Poulter says. “An unexpected place where excellent art can happen.”