Here’s what some people have had to say about Sleepwalking Into The Underworld:

The Milk Factory:

Scottish musician and sound artist Dave Fyans, who has been officiating as Erstlaub for over five years, returns to Highpoint Lowlife, this time with a full audio-visual project which combines a forty minute film and its accompanying soundtrack, available as a very limited DVD release. Built as one long evolutive piece, where various segments seamlessly slip into one another, their boundaries blurred beyond recognition, and ultimately resulting in one fluid narrative. Similarly, the video takes various black and white footage of bodies of water (rivers, ponds, puddles) and wooded areas, each one roughly corresponding to a defined sound set.

Fyans has worked with similarly monolithic forms in the past, carving deep introspective soundscapes from stark and arid sources, shaping them into beautiful textural pieces. Very much like was the case on Broadcasting On Ghost Frequencies (Moving Furniture, 2009) orOn Becoming An Island (Highpoint Lowlife, 2007), space is intrinsically part of the overall sound contingency of the piece, but there is here an impressive density which, while already present on Broadcasting, reaches here an entirely different level. The piece opens with a simple and smooth drone, lightly polished, with a hint of white noise at the back, but this is rapidly disturbed by a bubbling form which appears to relate to running water in the video, but which could as well be the crackle of an empty radio signal or a swathe of grinding noises smoothened by layers of fog. In the next few minutes, this is submitted to an intense process of leveling and pressurization, bringing the overall piece back toward more hospitable grounds.

Whilst applied with various strength, this process very much continues throughout, at times revealing moments of deep emotional intensity as elements of almost orchestral grandeur are layered in the foreground, at others diving into rather dark and threatening territories, where corroded sounds slowly decay and contaminate healthier structures, or centred around deeply fragmented components. Although created as a unit, the music can work independently from the video, its extreme variations and continuous flow contributing to its strong evocative character. Indeed, there is enough triggers throughout to generate self-induced dream sequences, yet the added imagery is as hypnotic and enigmatic as the music itself, bringing another layer of introspection to the work.

One of the last scheduled outputs to come out of the excellent Highpoint Lowlife, which is due to shut down later on in the year, Sleepwalking Into The Underworld is yet another might fine demonstration of strong sonic processing from Erstlaub. The impressive cinematic form which has become Dave Fyans’s mode of expression, shaped into one long evolutive piece, reaches its most intense stage yet. Highly recommended.

4.8/5

Always Everything:

Another new release from Highpoint Lowlife that locks directly into the Always Everything axis, this time from Broken20 co-conspirator Dave Fyans, who records ambient drone asErstlaub:

Sleepwalking Into The Underworld was sent to me billed as a full audio/visual piece, exploring the malleability of time and chaos theory. If that all sounds a little arch and conceptual, the piece itself – and the film that accompanies it – can just as easily be taken apart from the thoughts that drove its creation. Appropriately, given its watery theme, it’s a surprisingly immersive forty minutes, passing through curtains of static and strange ripples generated when different elements play off against one another. Shot in monochrome, the film itself leaves its imprint on the music – when absorbed by itself afterwards, it’s hard not to visualize unmoving columns of evergreens stretching into the distance.

You can watch the whole film here.

In Fyans’ own words:

“The piece is based around the concept of being drawn to places of resonance where the separation between different time periods are thin, specifically areas of historic spiritual importance, the title refers to the theme of ancestor worship and the idea of bodies of water being portals to the underworld. Visually the piece calls back the recurring themes of isolation within the vastness of the universe and stillness as a measure of time.

The piece is an expanded hypersigil created as a response to real world ideas and emotions but the space that exists between this inspiration and the final output is more than just a straight “musical” process. Elements of music theory, physics, maths play a part, as do the deeper concepts of chaos/pop magic, dimensionality within the universe and non-linear time.”

I watched for the first time it at about three in the morning, on the cusp of sleep, and it seems charged, primed with that hour of darkness: those moments immediately before the brain slips into unconsciousness, where time begins to flow freely and the mind begins to free associate. There’s obviously a level at which music like this – especially when based around this sort of concept – is psychedelic, as it plays havoc with perceptions of space and time in much the same way as a hallucinogen. Still, in this case, Fyans avoids typical contrived trappings of psychedelia in favour of something entirely subtler, and in doing so ends up being far more effective in conveying mood and idea. By the time I actually fell asleep I’d struggle to tell you whether I’d watched it for four or forty minutes.

Further transmissions from one of our favourite labels, one that’s sadly soon to be no more. For more Highpoint Lowlife info (and a link to buy the piece as standalone or on DVD), it’s well worth checking out their website, or the AE-pennedpair of features (including an excellent mix from label boss Thorsten) on DiS.

Boomkat:

Following a split with TVO earlier this year, Scotland’s Erstlaub delivers a 40 minute blanket of occluded drones for Highpoint Lowlife. ‘Sleeping In The Underworld’ masterfully drifts through darkened zones of bleak, rustic ambience to wide-open symphonic flushes nodding to Gas through blustery, tempered passages of noise and placid but unnerving atmospheres, with changing pressure systems of subbass drone and uniquely textured electronics covering his trail. Apparently there are some pretty heady concepts behind the music itself, something to do with chaos, dimensionality and time, but that almost all grinds to a halt as you get lost in the calming drones and nautical white noise. Wind and rain wash against the harmonic tones as occasional beats and digital malfunctions knock up into the soundscape like pebbles washed up on the shore. ‚ÄòSleepwalking into the Underworld‚Äô is a beautiful, measured and subtle piece of music that should lull you into stasis with the greatest of ease. Recommended.

And possibly my favourite published review ever courtesy of Brett over at Norman Records:

Reviewing press releases? I love this shit! Since we’ve got no means of watching this forty-minute DVD job that’s all I’ve got to go on here but luckily it’s a beauty! It ranges from the conceptual (‘self contained, autonomous systems, usually with an inbuilt ‚Äúfail‚Äù system removing the technical purity and adding a more organic edge’) to the sorta scientific (‘music theory, physics, maths play a part, as do the deeper concepts of chaos/pop magic, dimensionality within the universe and non-linear time’.. Actually that’s still conceptual really, isn’t it?) to the purely practical (‘the sound is pure synthesis with no samples or field recordings used and was recorded in one take with no post editing or overdubs using a Nord Modular G2, Behringer BCR2000 Controller along with boss re201 and dd20 delay units. The video was shot on a Nikon D90 and edited in Final Cut’). So that’s all bases covered. Does anyone know what ‘hypersigil’ means?

The piece has also featured in both Que Belle Epoque and Lend Me Your  Ears end of year honours lists

Thanks so much to everyone that’s taken the time out to support my endeavours, put up with my not infequent meltdowns, book me to play, write things and buy my work, there are still some hardcopies of the limited DVD available from Highpoint Lowlife.

All the best for 2011, there’s another release right around the corner on Broken20, more news to follow imminently.

D

<2010>Sleepwalking Into The Underworld, The Last Few Seconds Before Sleep, Highpoint Lowlife, Broken20, n_ilk, more artschool business, moving house, Dundee, Peter Christopherson (rip), Morrison, Moore, Sinclair, Keiller, Petit, Bill Drummond, Invisible Cities, Ballard, Batman & Robin, Lend Me Your Ears, Mapsadaisiacal, Que Belle Epoque, Always Everything, Alastair Cook, Ruaridh, Dave, Thorsten Sideb0ard, Sietse, Clark, Aitken, Gordon, Louise, Mandelbrot, The Feral Orchestra, Paris Texas, Skeletons, Down Terrace, Another Year, The White Ribbon Ivor Cutler, Philip Jeck, Mark Vernon, Improvising, The Elements, writing, questioning things, circular activities, banjo, apophenia, mysticism, subconscious interventions</2010>

It has finally escaped from liminal space and you can buy it. Limited to a run of 100 DVDs for just ¬£6 including P&P or available as a high quality mp3 download. Get yourself over to¬†http://highpointlowlife.com/ to make it happen. It’s also available from Norman Records.

Erstlaub – Sleepwalking Into The Underworld from thorsten sideb0ard on Vimeo.

Erstlaub – Sleepwalking Into The Underworld by sideb0ard

Here’s a little bit of conjecture about it by me.

The piece is based around the concept of being drawn to places of resonance where the separation between different time periods are thin, specifically areas of historic spiritual importance, the title refers to the theme of ancestor worship and the idea of bodies of water being portals to the underworld. Visually the piece calls back the recurring themes of isolation within the vastness of the universe and stillness as a measure of time.

The piece is an expanded hypersigil created as a response to real world ideas and emotions but the space that exists between this inspiration and the final output is more than just a straight “musical” process. Elements of music theory, physics, maths play a part, as do the deeper concepts of chaos/pop magic, dimensionality within the universe and non-linear time.

This type of creative process involves taking an idea, feeling or element of will or intent and translating into sound by means of taking individual modular elements and focusing, refining and condensing them into self contained, autonomous systems, usually with an inbuilt “fail” system removing the technical purity and adding a more organic edge. Larger pieces are then constructed out of a series of these small systems and again, several of these will be combined in sequence to create a narrative in the same way that sigils are formed and sequenced into more complex hypersigils.

The real power lies in the charging of these hypersigil constructs, when performed/captured, this series of slightly chaotic systems, each built with very specific intent, start to resonate with the others, waves stack or phase, things start to beat against each other or harmonise. The construct becomes one solid, vibrating, continuous piece of energy – there are ebbs and flows, things come into focus before pulling away again, fire, water, earth and air elements shift against each other, ghosts, memories, feelings, secrets, doubts, all hang there in space, imprinted onto time, burning, a perpetual motion engine of pure crystalised will.

The sound is pure synthesis with no samples or field recordings used and was recorded in one take with no post editing or overdubs using a Nord Modular G2, Behringer BCR2000 Controller along with boss re201 and dd20 delay units.

The video was shot on a Nikon D90 and edited in Final Cut.

Thanks.

D

I was absolutely gutted to learn this morning of the death of Peter Christopherson and continue to be so, a true legend of our time.

I can’t quite remember what my first Coil experience was but I do remember not really getting it until a few years later, Ruaridh TVO convinced me to listen to Time Machines.

Everything clicked instantly, Coil are the perfect example of my theory of post-cultural premonition where an artist exists who has a clear influence on your work and practices although you’ve produced the work before you’ve experienced theirs.

I’ve spent the years since getting drawn deeper and deeper into the sprawling back catalogue of Coil, and subsequently TG, and Sleazy’s more recent endeavours with Threshold Houseboys Choir and Soisong. The ever beautiful mix of the sound and mysticism.

I was fortunate enough to meet him a few years ago in Stereo, Glasgow before a THBC gig and really, I was so in awe that all I could really muster was the usual fanboy cliches while I shook his hand but he certainly came across as a warm and kind person.

Here’s to a great man who spent his entire life making amazing work, doing what he loved doing and pushing boundaries all over the place. His music has been a huge influence in my own work and has soundtracked an awful lot of my life and will continue to do so. I bet somewhere there is one hell of a Coil reunion gig going on!

“Wise words from the departing

Eat your greens, especially broccoli
Remember to say “thank you” for the things you haven’t had
By working the soil we cultivate the sky
We embrace vegetable kingdom
The death of your father, the death of your mother
Is something you prepare for

All your life
All their life

The death of the father and the death of the mother
Is something you prepare for

Wear sensible shoes and always say “thank you”
Especially for the things you never had

Is something you prepare for
All your life
All of your life

And enter the vegetable kingdom of our own heaven

By working the soil we cultivate good manners
Is to say “please” and “thank you”
Especially for the things you never had

And always say “thank you”
Especially for broccoli ”

You will be missed so much. Thank you. Rest in Peace.

D

So, I recently decided to put together a little project based around the idea of remixing a section of The Last Few Seconds Before Sleep (forthcoming on Broken20). After a few false starts, I decided to take the control out of my hands and invite performers to contribute to a series of feral responses to the chosen piece of music. The Following is a poorly formatted, via the wonders of wordpress, version of the project. What transpired for me was a larger piece based on a series of calls and responses. The performers responded to the music with their parts, they wrote down an experience, I started to form opinions/questions based on the way the day progressed etc. Still to be collated is the performers’ response to

THE FERAL ORCHESTRA

sings the songs of…

Concept:

Investigate the ability of the human voice to produce complimentary,  opposing, contradictory, unusual,and improvised enhancements to recorded harmonic music.

Process:

Look for a cross section of volunteers to participate. They will be  asked to take  around 15 minutes (depending on the the length of the prepared piece) to make non-vocal  sounds with their voice to accompany the recorded music. This may take  any form of their choosing; rhythmic embelishments, golosolallia, harmonies/disharmonies, humming, whistling, traditional non-lyrical singing.

These vocal componenets may make use of long sustained notes, short percussive elements, melodic passages, humming.

A good ratio of male/female voices should be secured although this will depend on availability and willingness of volunteers.

The prepared piece of music should be based around one fundamental drone but feature some subtle modulation, pulses or variations that may prove interesting ‘jumping off’ points for the performers. This piece of music will be circulated to all participants and they will be invited to listen and think about sound and what they might like to do in conjunction with the piece.

Execution:

The performers wil be individually invited to a vocal recording session at a mututally agreed time and the artist will playback the track via headphones from the control room while each participant produces their part. Ideally two takes will be recorded for each person, the first may be used to set recording levels and warm up the vocalist, the second should be a straight run through.

On the performer losing their place/nerve/breath, they should be encouraged to continue from a point that feels appropiate to them.

The artist should then take all recorded tracks and perform a balancing mix fading between all takes. The mix should be carried out so that at some point, each performance is brought to a prominent position.

The original track may still feature in the final mix but the voices should be considered the most important element.

The final piece will be mixed down and published online as an mp3, all participants will be thanked and sent a link to the work which they can download and distribute as they see fit.

The participants will be considered founding memebers of The Feral Orchestra and invited to write down their feelings on the experience/motivation behind their contribution along with their thoughts on the final piece and will be encouraged to undertake their own similar projects. Technical advice and support will be  offered where required.

THE FERAL ORCHESTRA

speaks…

personal accounts from the members

ZI: A dense drone. Closing my eyes and trying to go into the sound. To unpick the density. The sound is thick, but with time there are ways in. Sounds I can find and reflect myself with my voice.

I find a home tone and work from there. I feel the rhythms and then an opening up of the frequency range. I wonder if that is the track or my hearing. I have the benefit of listening to the track twice and have the same sensation at what may be the same time in the track, but I still cannot conclude one way or the other.

SL: I felt very aware of my breathing. My chest felt hollow and the drone reminded me of circular breathing, a deep hum that echoed withinthe chamber that is the body. Following an unkown rythmn and trying to mimic it like an animal or something natural..

MG: It felt very scary at first but what surprised me was how quickly I got into the pace of the thing. I almost got into a trancelike state where I forgot where I was. I started to lose myself in the vocalisations I was doing and also enjoyed the music by itself. If I had to be honest, I would say that the sounds I was making were not always interpretations and may have just been absent minded humming. At times it seemed like the sounds I was speaking were very random although I suppose it could have been my subconscious reacting to the soundscape. All in, I enjoyed the experience, would definitely do it again and look forward to hearing the final result.

LM: There were visions in my mind of travelling down a tunnel and being taken to a strange and different world. There were no words in this world, only emotions expressed through vocal sounds. My sounds were a reaction to that journey and the release from the need to put my voice into recognisable words. I found it almost theraputic.

RA: Exhausted, after it. Realised my lungs have an incredibly low capacity. By second recording definitely loosened up, and lost most of the embarrassment on first recording. Was incredibly hypnotic in the womb-like studio booth, in the dark, with the mic mask hiding most of my face,and gave me freedom to do what i wished. It was very therapeutic, switched off brain and was just filled up with whoosh noises by the end, so quite disappointed when it cut off.

RN: I strode into the booth whilst the man named Dave chattered in my ear about various technical and conceptial elements – I took little notice.

I knew what I was there to do – deliver a carefree, defining performance although, the word performance suggests an air of falsity. I was there to make audible the human condition. Lights were dimmed and as I slipped the headphones on, little did those bits of plastic and metal know that between them lay a universe of though, feeling, memory and phrenic power, my brain.

The man Dave gave a thumbs up gesture and the sound began. All humans are part animal, part divine and I began to channel both – two streams became a river coming out of my mouth. The brain became superfluous. I was utilising a higher power. My ear became linked to my vocal chords which bent and twisted my exhalations of air particles into wonderous shapes which danced around the drone in my ear. Linear time ceased to exist – I was the fifth element. All of a sudden there was silence. I jerked back into the realm of the living. The man Dave pulled open the door of the booth. He thanked me for my time. I returned to my desk.

EM: Scared and dark. I sound like a baby. It all sounds comforting first. That ambience without a story. But it was out to get me and I think I’ll try to harmonize with its nature or maybe fight back with my own sounds. It’s threatening. I begin to tell its story in something I don’t understand, a myth or something that’s lingering just too far away to hear. I’m all far too aware of the darkness behind me and my voice isn’t a comfort but I float back and forward to the dark throaty roaring. It’s a forest and there is smoke, the trees vibrate and rain falls in reverse. My eyes hurt and I feel really angry at the person behind the glass now I can’t hear properly.

RC: Immersed in this space. Lights dimmed. Can he see in? Selfishly self conscious, Unsure. Running at a constant motion. Keep on going. Remember that time, when I did that run. I kept thinking of Dave being at the end. It feels like that. I’m sure he can see in. Running. Running. That constant feeling of anti-climax confined in my heart. If I just keep moving. Submersed. Am I in his head space listening to this sound he’s made? Outwardly reaching, just keep moving. Am I? What if I just physically run? I’m out of breath, feels like it’s all just trapped in my head. Is this his soundtrack? I should just go to Moray. Is that far enough away? Openspaces however confined. Open up my lungs, open up my mind. If you just keep moving. If we could all only interact without words. If the feelings would only subside and not errupt. Do they? You’re talking shit Clark. Heart attack. Out of breath. If you just go, would you need to look back? Just keep moving, running, calm your breathing. Stop. Dave, just keep going.

THE FERAL ORCHESTRA

unravelled…

a series of more or less unconnected
commentary/summary from the ‘director’

Where does this start/end? A series of cyclic calls and responses, a knot, a loop. Is this the sound of my head or theirs? Or both? Or something else entirely?

The experience of non-structured (in)direction was intersting. A self levelled (and entirely valid) criticism is my reluctance to involve others in my work.  Rely on no-one and you have only yourself to push when things need to happen, to blame when things go wrong. The passive director, giving the performer space to expand. I relinquish control with one hand, but grip the reigns tightly with the other.

The performers would be far more self aware and less forthcoming if assembled en-mass. The recording would be less defined, less contained. There is an obvious dichotomy/irony in the idea of control over a feral assembly. Perhaps this is what led Drummond to the 17?

Black out the lights and the internal mechanism kicks into life, focussed stimulli. Archetypes arise. The same motif/performance/style coming out/trigger elements set up reaction. Uninfluenced by each  other, communications black-out, there are clear triggers that certain types of people will pick up to work with. A burried rhythm, a counter melody, harmony. What type of person am I? Are you?

The body as an instrument, the soul as conductor, ebb and flow, search for an entry point, unlocking, unearthing. The performer finds their own position within the music, it’s not music anymore, it is the entire solar system with them, at it’s heart, a sun. Influence and ego are put aside, the darkened vocal booth as confessional, the microphone as mystic intermediary. The unseen producer unaware, unlistening at present, visually riding the trim to avoid any excessive clipping.

Freedom, no expectation, no judgement. I cannot hear you or see you. Bang on the glass in case of emergency, your cries will go unnoticed with the current setup. Run through the full stops. Two takes to loosen up, I’ve started so I’ll finish.

Duration of breath becomes a measure, space and silence are not a negative, breath, react, look within, become. The live evolution of a passing thought, captured. Nine thoughtforms (or is it ten or a hundred? who is counting anymore?) intertwine to create something beautiful, and frightening, and primal, a portrait of humanity, all our dark and powerful little corners and centres, the hole in things, the spaces between.

Where does this start/end? A series of cyclic calls and responses, a knot, a loop. Is this the sound of my head or theirs? Or both? Or something else entirely?

The Feral Orchestra – The Last Few Seconds Before Sleep (7:51 – 12:52) by Erstlaub

I’ve posted the the file to my Soundcloud account. Huge thanks to RC, ZI, RA, SL, EM, RN, LM and MG

And so,

A rather lumpy post on a collection of loosely related topics:

I’ve posted a new audio excerpt from the forthcoming “Sleepwalking Into The Underworld” dvd that’s due on Highpoint Lowlife up on soundcloud here. Th0rsten has made a lovely illustration for the artwork and we just need to put it all together and get it out there. More news on this very soon I hope.

This week also saw the first full release on Broken20. Label boss TVO/The Village Orchestra’s ‘We Can Remember It for You Wholesale’ hit all the main digital stores. The epic release sees Ruaridh setting out the Broken20 Manifesto. It’s a stunning stunning piece of work (artwork by yours truly!). You can hear previews, see video, read the reviews and get links to all the main purchasing outlets here.

If you pop over to B20’s online store, there is still the chance to pick up one of the few remaining copies of the ultra-limited TVO/Erstlaub 3″ CD Split – We Are All Broken which the ever supportive LYME featured earlier in the week.

In other news, I’ve posted up an early version of an installation piece I’m working through. Once I’d reached this point, I realised that the logical context is a connected series of pieces based around the elemental suits, writing/research is underway on these. I will probably refine this piece further but in the meantime, have a little look.

“This is a tape loop caught in entropy, passing the play heads again and again, becoming softer, less defined, but still indelibly imprinted. Layers of psychological surface noise build up.

By means of water-tape theory, all emotion records directly into the fabric of our surroundings, every emotional twinge imprinted deep within building, within wood and brick, in every particle of moisture within the clay. Time trickles through everything, clinging to its hydrogenised host, coming back into the vast single consciousness of the water table.

Our human condition leads us to stare into this measured passage of time at moments of inner turmoil, are we looking for answers? Do we wish the rumble of static that clouds our thoughts washed away? Absolved? Transmuted into this neverending conveyor belt away from the here and now and deposited like silt in another place, somewhere else, across the sea?

We look to bridge disasters and suicides; the spanning of such an ancient, infinite entity invites disaster. Tiptoeing across the sleeping jaws of an alligator, a subconscious, dream-twitch brings about catastrophe. Poseidon claims the souls of those who bob and sink, whose bodies lie still in the deep, unfound, dissipating their organic matter back to source, memorialised in populist shortbread tin prose by the like of McGonagall.

The same water flows past us now as it once did our fathers who brought us into being, our grandfathers who fought great atrocities, and back further yet, infinitely past their grandfathers who toiled and saw hardship in the name of progress. The same water, altered, now loaded up with generations upon generations of pollutants and chemicals, the diluted effluent of evolution that our ancestors would find abhorrent, haunts us and flows again through our being.

Twice a day the tides change, and the information contained feeds back on itself, the psychological backwash as heavy as the spate volume of water makes the riverbanks heave under its incalculable weight.

We are beings of the water; it gives us life and context, an infinite time machine in deep black and quicksilver trapped in a constant mutual state of both record and playback, eroding and replenishing all. Everything that ever was, and ever will be will one day be crushed and washed into each other. Time fills our lungs and drowns us”

More things to talk about in the future.

Take care.

D

A bit of a belated thanks to the people that came down to see me play at n_ilk at the botanics the other week. I was having a massively stressful day so apologies if my chatter wasn’t particularly on. Still, it seemed to go down well and it was an honour to be asked to play in such fantastic surroundings. There was some mixing desk based hassle that meant we didn’t record any of it but, sometimes, the beauty is in the transience of performance and recordings merely dilute the contents.

I particularly enjoyed the 10 minutes of improvised collaborative techno noisemaking that TVO and I inflicted on the crowd. We loosely agreed a pitch and tempo beforehand and in an unusual turn of events, I ended up supplying the majority of the rythmic element (I’m still claiming that although that big clipped sine wave occured at regular intervals, it technically wasn’t a beat)

He then went on to play an absolute blinder of a set, as ever beautifully drawing the lines between noise, drones and beaty techno and then crossing them with genuine panache.

Special thanks to Ruth Aitken for photo duties while I was playing and massive kudos to Paul for making the whole event happen on a largely hitchless level. Big love as ever to Clark for splendid picnic duties and general wobble management. There’s a little bit more visual coverage of n_ilk here.

The latest entry in my ongoing “honestly, Sleepwalking Into The Underworld does exist and will be coming out soon” journal is… Well, yeah, it does exist, and it will be coming out very soon. We’re just in the process of finalising format and Th0rsten is taking up his pencils to cover artwork duties so it’s happening, soon, honestly.

“The Last Few Seconds Before Sleep” has also been put to bed (if you’ll pardon the expression) and I’ve commissioned some of my favourite producers to take up arms and retool it for a remix project that will be distributed as a companion release on broken20 towards the end of the year. I already have a few remixes in and they are sounding properly amazing.

More will follow on these at some point. In the meantime I’m taking a little sabbatical from raging internal storm that is Erstlaub and am not really planning any new things or performances in the immediate future. I’ve started my 3rd Year of Time Based Art at Artschool and have already started on a few little projects you can take a peak at here.

D

‘The Last Few Seconds Before Sleep’ has taken form. The last piece of the puzzle fell into place this morning and after a bit of a rebuild, I recorded it. Here’s a little taster from the full 40ish minutes for you as promised.

The Last Few Seconds Before Sleep (Excerpt) by Erstlaub

The piece will be performed in its entirety at the n_ilk festival at the Botanic Gardens in Dundee in just under a few weeks time. Ticket info and more details on their website.

D

So, just a short update on a few things.

Tickets are now on sale for the n_ilk Festival in the Botanic Gardens in Dundee on Saturday, September 11th. Priced at just ¬£6 for a whole day’s worth of great music in an awesome location, you can get tickets at the University Store online¬†here or from¬†Grouchos from 25th August 2010 and in the PLUS@Dundee marquee outside DUSA during the week leading up to the event. Get on it. I’ll be performing ‘The Last Few Seconds Before Sleep’ which I’ve been tweaking away at and is really beginning to take on it’s own form.

On the same day, excerpts from two of my longer pieces ‘I Am The Line Drawn In The Sand Between The Living And The Dead’ and the forthcoming DVD release ‘Sleepwalking Into The Underworld’ will be shown as part of -SCAPE at the Alchemy Film Festival in Hawick which has been curated by the ever awesome Alastair Cook. -SCAPE runs from 9-11pm at Beanscene, Hawick, free entry.

I’ve finally got around to opening up a¬†Souncloud account to take a bit of strain off of my meagre hosting and have posted up two full live sets including a never before heard performance from ‘Towards The Singularity’ at Cafe Oto, London in August 2008, at which I premiered ‘I Am The Line…’. I’m hoping to get some snatches of ‘Last Few Seconds…’ recorded soon that I’ll also post there.

D

Work is well underway on the next big project for me – “The Last Few Seconds Before Sleep” which is starting to take shape properly now.¬†Here’s the conceptual schtick behind it:

Just before sleep, in the Limbo between the conscious mind and the great abyss, I become aware of a tiny sound. A minute burst of white noise lasting just a few seconds in linear time, this is the gap between worlds. Aware but powerless to act, I know this sound inside out, a minute piece of sonic cartography that contains all the information in the universe, the whirring of a vast organic hard-drive as the processor performs a memory dump between logic and something much bigger and weirder. delay lines feedback to Omega Point, choirs of particles stream towards event horizons, linear time holds no sway here this vast but tiny sound contains all of time and space and possibility.

It will be getting its first (and possibly only) live airing on September 11th at the n_ilk festival at the Botanic Gardens in Dundee and will be coming out on Broken20 at somepoint thereafter. There will also be a full set from The Village Orchestra and we’re planning on pulling together a bit of improvised collaboration, there should also be a DJ set from Production Unit so Broken20 ends will be fully repped, ¬†all taking place inside a big greenhouse full of quite mental plants. The event runs from 3.30pm – 10.30ish and there are a load of other interesting people doing things.

n_ilk site
Facebook listing
LastFM listing

Do come along. In the meantime, I cannot recommend heartily enough Erik XVI’s latest podcast for Broken20 which you can get here. Techno classics under heavy sedation in a dark tunnel. Get on it.

D