Erland Cooper has decided to plant the only copy of his new album on Orkney.
The composer has signed to Mercury KW / Decca, and has completed work on a new studio album.
'Carve the Runes Then Be Content With Silence' is a three-part cycle exploring the life and work of George Mackay Brown, the Scottish author who did so much to blend Orcadian myth and culture with modern ideas.
2021 marks 100 years since the writer's birth, so Erland has decided to bury his new album somewhere on the archipelago.
Set to be unearthed in three year's time, the impact of Orkney soil on the tapes will become an integral part of the project.
He comments: “Music can so often feel undervalued and for some, being unable to perform live has at times felt like being buried. When an idea forms there is often an urge to share it as quickly as it develops but like spotting a bird, I want to let this fly and land in its own place and time. The work is one part remembrance and one part celebration of a landmark time.”
He adds: “The material on the tape may erode naturally, disintegrate and create drops of silence or the peaty soil may preserve it perfectly well. It may or may not get better with age. I may or may not fall out of favour with my composition. Any alterations to the sound and music [when it comes out of the earth] will be reincorporated into the pages of a new score and live performance, as orchestral articulations.”
Erland has laid out a series of clues as to the location of the tapes – get involved HERE.
Photo Credit: Samuel Davies
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