I have always been fascinated by the unique sensory qualities of different places – both their acoustics and the layers of ambient sound that reveal themselves when you actually stop and listen. Some places have a certain feeling – and a certain sound. They possess an undeniable magic.
On Field Rituals, Vol. 1 I composed six pieces of music for specific locations and then recorded them in those spaces. These rituals unfolded at beaches at nighttime, in an abandoned slaughterhouse, in a rain-soaked forest glade, and in other magical places.
This album is the documentation of these rituals.
Slaughterhouse Light (1) was written for – and recorded in – an abandoned slaughterhouse. The echoing space resonated with the cries of seagulls, its only residents, on a spring afternoon.
After The Rain (2) was composed for a special glade on Vindö, an island in the Stockholm archipelago. Raindrops mark the piece’s opening before a joyous chorus of birdsong joins the floating sine waves.
Elegy For A Siren (3) was recorded at the precise moment of the Swedish air raid siren test (conducted every three months) outside a kindergarten. The siren’s chilling wail forms the central melody.
Vindö Pastoral (4) is for a peaceful afternoon in the archipelago.
Baltic Industrial Skyline (5) was written for a beach on the Swedish island of Öland. It was recorded at midnight, the music synchronized with the blinking lights of the industrial skyline visible across the water.
The Breathing of Lot 49 (6) returns to the abandoned slaughterhouse, its address providing the title, while the music of course also references Thomas Pynchon’s novel.
