Photo credit: Alex Kozobolis
Contemporary composer Erland Cooper, who frequently collaborates with natural elements, has released an original piece of music that perfectly soundtracks the floral transformation of The Tower of London. The A Side (Pt. 1 – 4) for ‘Music For Growing Flowers’ is out now via Mercury KX.
Erland was chosen to produce a gentle accompanying ambient soundscape for the urban garden, which is played continuously through speakers, softening the noise of the city. Named ‘Music For Growing Flowers’, Erland’s original score provides the perfect backdrop to the 20 million newly-sown flowers which, planted in spring, will continuously evolve from June to September, changing colours and patterns throughout the summer. For the first time, a space dug and filled with water in the 13th century to keep people out of the Tower will welcome visitors in, with Erland’s music completing the immersive experience.
Erland Cooper explains, “’Music For Growing Flowers’ aims to enhance the Superbloom’s emotional impact by rebalancing the dominant city noises and intertwining specific audio frequencies to uncover harmony in the most bustling environments. Since music itself is nothing more than vibrations, perhaps it will help us enter more deeply into this subtle appreciation of place, curiosity and calm”
Born on the isolated Scottish Isles of Orkney, Erland actually planted his latest album, ‘Carves the Runes Then Be Content With Silence’ (released on cross-genre modern classical and electronic label Mercury KX), near his childhood home. Described by 6Music’s Mary Anne Hobbs as ‘masterful’, the only physical copy (on ¼ inch magnetic tape, with the digital files permanently deleted) currently lies deep in the soil, to be nurtured or “recomposed” by the earth, before being exhumed and released in three years’ time. Whilst Erland will not be unearthing the tape until 2024, he has left a trail for anyone to search and find it if they wish. Inspired by the community and patience that coincides with a life in the wild, Erland nurtures his work slowly, in a juxtaposing era of instant gratification. Erland will perform the album for the first time, exactly as it sounds from earth to stage, at the Barbican on the 8th of June, 2024 (find more information about this performance here).
Erland’s mesmerizing addition to Superbloom nods to impressionist painting techniques, with new textures to be found with each listen. ‘Music For Growing Flowers’ has three spatial mixes that evolve throughout the day on site, as the ecosystem moves from morning to afternoon, to evening, encouraging everyone to pause, regain their senses and reflect, as they immerse themselves in nature, at the heart of the capital city. The music will also be released as an eight-track mini album so that ‘Music For Growing Flowers’ can be enjoyed all over the world, and provide the soundtrack to people growing flowers elsewhere.
See Erland’s work performed by the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra for the World Premiere of Window onto Rackwick, a brand-new ode to Peter Maxwell Davies’s long and close association with the Orchestra (more information linked here).
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