1897
is the second full length album on 12k from Australian soundscapists
Seaworthy. Primarily the recording project of Cameron Webb, Seaworthy
have continued to develop their sound over the last eight years
with move towards a greater emphasis on minimalism in their improvisation
and composition of guitar, electronics and field recordings.
In the winter of 2007, Webb commenced recording in and around
a 100 year old decommissioned ammunitions bunker in Newington,
Australia. Constructed in 1897 to store gunpowder, the bunkers
were in use by the Australian navy until recently, including the
Gulf War of the 1990s. In stark contrast to the cold dark interiors
of the ammunitions bunkers, surrounding the building are extensive
remnant wetland and forest environments that provide locally important
habitats for a number of endangered and internationally protected
wildlife. These areas are essentially off limits to the general
public.
During a three month period as an ‘Artist in Residence’
with the Sydney Olympic Park Authoirity’s Arts Program,
Webb undertook a series of improvisations, compositions and field
recordings within the bunkers and surrounding natural environment.
As well as pieces of looped guitar and electronics, installations
of field recordings played back with the bunkers were also recorded,
using the natural reverb of the large rooms as a way of processing
the sounds of birds, insects and wind through trees. The large
sandstone bunkers were infused with so much natural reverberation
that even the gentlest footstep seemed to take on a life of its
own.
Over 6 hours of 4-track cassette, minidisk and computer recordings
resulted from the sessions and the processing, assemblage and
mixing of the tracks that make up 1897 took most of 2008
to complete. The process was made more difficult with the recording
and post-production sessions punctuated by the birth of Webb’s
first child. As a result, most of the post-production was completed
under the haze of sleep deprivation and was a long, drawn out
process.
Unlike the warm pastoral sounds on Map
in Hand (12k1040), 1897
is a starker, more melancholic album. Some tracks stripped back
to a single guitar track while others feature a colder, abrasive
approached to drone pieces. Generally more minimal compositions
that reflect the emptiness of the bunkers and the eerie quiet
that so often descends on the natural world within the depth of
winter.
Since the release of Map in Hand, Seaworthy have increasingly
stepped out to perform live with a diverse range of artists including
Philip Jeck, Christopher Willits, Birchville Cat Motel, ii, Love
of Diagrams, Papa M, Rand and Holland, Tujiko Noriko, Adrian Klumpes
and Because of Ghosts.
A small, 64-page, book of photographs, shot by Webb, from the
bunker and surrounding areas is available in a limited edition
of 50 alongside the 1897 CD.
