Automatic Writing

Automatic Writing is an album written and recorded in February 2016 for the RPM challenge. The challenge is simple: in one month produce an album (at least 10 tracks or 35 minutes of music).

The first couple of tracks  recorded set the tone for the project - an improvisation on an old autoharp that was sitting in the spare room (I made the conscious decision not to tune it up before I recorded) and similar hitting of my guitar (neither tuned nor plugged in beforehand) superimposed on some processed recordings of my washing machine. I already had ideas about using collage and random processes in my mind following a project I recently did connected to the anniversary of the establishing of the Dada movement 100 years ago. The idea of continuing along this path - using objects/instruments as found, no premeditated plan, submitting to chance - appealed, so I drew up some arbitrary rules for the continuation of the project:

1. No pre-composition.
2. Recordings must be made using only objects already existing in the environment where the recording is being made. No object to be intentionally introduced (other than recording equipment).
3. Conventional instruments may be used, but must not be brought artificially into the environment where the recording is being made and must be played as they are, with no tuning or other preparation.
4. Performed elements must not be edited (other than superimposition for collage).
5. Collage elements must be superimposed randomly with no editing or time-shifting once they have been placed.
6. Only material recorded during February 2016 to be used in the making of the tracks.
7. No re-takes.
8. The order the tracks are on the album is the order in which they were conceived/ executed.
9. No fine-tuning to correct perceived flaws in the result: whatever happens is what it is.
10. Must think of a 10th commandment

I broke all of these rules at least once.

Automatic writing is the (alleged) process of chanelling messages from the spirit world. It seemed an appropriate analogy for how these tracks were created.

The album is available to download on Bandcamp.

Automatic Writing
Autoharp, as described above

Strung Out
Guitar & washing machine

Kitchen Suite
Mugs, glasses, plates, hob etc etc in the kitchen hit with cutlery.

Island Electrics
Stretched and filtered recording of the hum of a shower unit in a holiday cottage on the Isle of Wight.

Walkabout
Recording on an iPhone walking around a music college. Randomly cut up and superimposed over itself to create a collage.

Empty Room (for Alvin Lucier)
A recording of sounds made in an empty room. The recording is played back into the room and recorded over and over until the resonant frequencies of the room overwhelm the original sounds (as in Alvin Lucier's "I Am Sitting In A Room"). Whereas Lucier presents his recordings as a sequence, here they're superimposed over each other.

Now and Then
Five separate recordings, completely improvised with no refrence to each other and superimposed. L-R: Cello, autoharp, ukuleles and banjo, kalimba, cello again. All begin togetehr with the word "Now" and finish independently with the word "then".

The Tintinnabulist
Recordings of crotales

Ich bin ein Autoschreiber
A kind of doom/drone metal track, heavily detuned guitars and elements from other tracks on the album.

Let Sounds Be Sounds
Field recording made in Staverton, Devon.