Fog Tropes I & II
The Sinking Of The Titanic
Friday, January 28, 2011
Deep Below The Water's Surface, No.#1
1) Fog Tropes/Ingram Marshall
2) Departure/Woob
3) Dawn Defender/Pyramid
4) Small Hours/John Martyn
5) Song For Our Ancestors : Lux Aeterna/
The Steve Miller Band & György Legeti
Running Time: 1:20:00
Deep Below The Water's Surface, No.#2
1) The Sinking Of The Titanic/Gavin Bryars
2) Gate Creek : Echoes/
Woob & Pink Floyd
3) Fog Tropes II/Ingram Marshall
Running Time: 1:18:00
Underwater sculptures were designed and photographed by Jason DeCaires Taylor
Friday, January 28, 2011
'Deep Below The Water's Surface' began life as part of my 'In The Long Form' series, but the longer I worked with the atmospheric music, the more it transformed into an oceanic soundscape.
The centerpiece of 'Deep Below...' revolves around Ingram Marshall's haunting, 'Fog Tropes.' Marshall, a post-minimalist composer recorded two versions of this evocative piece, the first in 1982 for brass ensemble and electronics, and the second in 2001 for string ensemble and tape. The former was conducted by John Adams while the latter was performed by The Kronos Quartet. Marshall resided in Northern California at the time of the first release and utilized the evocative sound of the San Francisco Bay's many bellowing fog horns to create a soundscore that eerily captured the sensation of being lost at sea, floating adrift on a vast mist-shrouded body of water. Undecided over which of the two recordings suited my objective the best, I ended up using both, sculpting a pair of very different takes on the same theme. To accomplish this, I then turned to one of Gavin Bryar's four (count 'em, four!) recordings of 'The Sinking Of The Titanic.' Of them, I settled on the 1994 Point version, 61 orchestrated minutes recreating the horrifying final moments of the ill-fated luxury liner. This version incorporates the ghostly voices of survivors, distress signals sent in Morse code, re-occurring strains of 'Autumn,' the somber hymn played by the ship's valiant string musicians as the mighty structure slipped silently beneath the waves, as well as the creepy creaking and twisting of iron and steel as the crippled beast settled in its watery grave on the ocean's floor.
The conceptual narrative behind the two soundscapes is a very simple one, one which came to me in a dream. Both begin above the waves. We're on a ship or freighter perhaps that is disabled, off course, lost at sea, and aimlessly adrift on a calm, but empty ocean surface that is thick with fog. Isolated and helpless, the sea opens up to swallow the hulking structure and all who are on-board in one massive gulp that sucks them both (ourselves included), deep below the water's surface to a dark and shadowy undersea resting place. Untold worlds and wondrous mysteries begin to unfold around the spirits of those who perished, taking them even deeper into the uncharted canyons of the ocean's greatest depths. Hallucinatory and incomprehensible sights greet the souls of the newfound dead, exploring a subaqueous universe as infinite and far-reaching as the endless cosmos above. For some it's a glimpse of Hades, while for others a taste of Elysium.
Each soundscape then is brought to an end with a gradual reemergence to the fog-shrouded waves above. Left to roam endlessly beneath the waves, the spirits of the departed are then forever doomed to an eternal afterlife in their perceived experience of heaven or hell, deep below the water's surface.
Other oceanic sounds and musical themes buried within 'Deep Below...' come from ambient musician Paul Frankland a.k.a. Woob, guitarist, John Martyn, and a semi-obscure progressive kraut-rock band named, Pyramid. Additionally, small portions of recordings by The Steve Miller Band ('Song For Our Ancestors'), the late Hungarian composer, György Legeti, and a snippet from Pink Floyd's, 'Echoes' are also featured.
'...Below The Water's Surface' is best heard in a darkened room and without headphones or earbuds. Turn out the lights, open your mind, and adjust the volume accordingly.
The centerpiece of 'Deep Below...' revolves around Ingram Marshall's haunting, 'Fog Tropes.' Marshall, a post-minimalist composer recorded two versions of this evocative piece, the first in 1982 for brass ensemble and electronics, and the second in 2001 for string ensemble and tape. The former was conducted by John Adams while the latter was performed by The Kronos Quartet. Marshall resided in Northern California at the time of the first release and utilized the evocative sound of the San Francisco Bay's many bellowing fog horns to create a soundscore that eerily captured the sensation of being lost at sea, floating adrift on a vast mist-shrouded body of water. Undecided over which of the two recordings suited my objective the best, I ended up using both, sculpting a pair of very different takes on the same theme. To accomplish this, I then turned to one of Gavin Bryar's four (count 'em, four!) recordings of 'The Sinking Of The Titanic.' Of them, I settled on the 1994 Point version, 61 orchestrated minutes recreating the horrifying final moments of the ill-fated luxury liner. This version incorporates the ghostly voices of survivors, distress signals sent in Morse code, re-occurring strains of 'Autumn,' the somber hymn played by the ship's valiant string musicians as the mighty structure slipped silently beneath the waves, as well as the creepy creaking and twisting of iron and steel as the crippled beast settled in its watery grave on the ocean's floor.
The conceptual narrative behind the two soundscapes is a very simple one, one which came to me in a dream. Both begin above the waves. We're on a ship or freighter perhaps that is disabled, off course, lost at sea, and aimlessly adrift on a calm, but empty ocean surface that is thick with fog. Isolated and helpless, the sea opens up to swallow the hulking structure and all who are on-board in one massive gulp that sucks them both (ourselves included), deep below the water's surface to a dark and shadowy undersea resting place. Untold worlds and wondrous mysteries begin to unfold around the spirits of those who perished, taking them even deeper into the uncharted canyons of the ocean's greatest depths. Hallucinatory and incomprehensible sights greet the souls of the newfound dead, exploring a subaqueous universe as infinite and far-reaching as the endless cosmos above. For some it's a glimpse of Hades, while for others a taste of Elysium.
Each soundscape then is brought to an end with a gradual reemergence to the fog-shrouded waves above. Left to roam endlessly beneath the waves, the spirits of the departed are then forever doomed to an eternal afterlife in their perceived experience of heaven or hell, deep below the water's surface.
Other oceanic sounds and musical themes buried within 'Deep Below...' come from ambient musician Paul Frankland a.k.a. Woob, guitarist, John Martyn, and a semi-obscure progressive kraut-rock band named, Pyramid. Additionally, small portions of recordings by The Steve Miller Band ('Song For Our Ancestors'), the late Hungarian composer, György Legeti, and a snippet from Pink Floyd's, 'Echoes' are also featured.
'...Below The Water's Surface' is best heard in a darkened room and without headphones or earbuds. Turn out the lights, open your mind, and adjust the volume accordingly.
Deep Below The Water's Surface, No.#1
1) Fog Tropes/Ingram Marshall
2) Departure/Woob
3) Dawn Defender/Pyramid
4) Small Hours/John Martyn
5) Song For Our Ancestors : Lux Aeterna/
The Steve Miller Band & György Legeti
Running Time: 1:20:00
Deep Below The Water's Surface, No.#2
1) The Sinking Of The Titanic/Gavin Bryars
2) Gate Creek : Echoes/
Woob & Pink Floyd
3) Fog Tropes II/Ingram Marshall
Running Time: 1:18:00
Underwater sculptures were designed and photographed by Jason DeCaires Taylor
Posts
7 comments :
I've just listened to Part 1 and it is superb! The foghorns damn near rattled the window panes out of the frames. Very nice post, thanks.
I've only listened to the first disc so far but I enjoyed it very much.
I don't listen to ambient music often, so I had never heard Woob. It reminds me of the Brian Eno ambient collaborations, particularly
"Fourth World, Vol. 1: Possible Musics" with Jon Hassel.
I'm usually too antsy to sit back and enjoy this stuff properly but I love this type of music on long drives through dark mountains late at night.
We've been buried this winter by snow so being forced to slow down and listen is the best thing to come out of it. These mixes are wonderful soundtracks.
PS. Those Santana mixes are heaven sent (especially the third one, just beautiful. Thank you)
Thanks so much for this. It's been awhile since I've heard this type of music and an artful mix is a great way to get back into it. We haven't been snowed in, like Maestro, but the severe cold has canceled school for most of the week--I am listening to the mix as I read about the rise of Progressivism in the U.S. Can't tell I am a history grad student, can you?
Thanks again, your blog has brought me many hours of pleasure and enlightenment.
I have not listened to any of your posts so far, but the reading alone has me beyond intrigued. I can't wait to give "Deep Below..." a spin and get back here...
Thanks,
TWDM
This is a really beautiful mix, indeed a musical trip below the surface.
thanks for all the care and work you put into assembling this!
This is really beautiful. Some is familiar to me, but the Titanic piece is so evocative. Thank you so much. I appreciate the time and thought that has gone into creating this. It's very moving. Love the use of Echoes.
My first visit to your blog. Thank you. Tony
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