Autonomous Black 004
Paul Irving: metal percussion
Chip Wardale: electric drums, mix and edit.
Living In The Carbon Cycle is the third installment in the Altered Landscapes series of collaborative music composition/video pieces, using man made structures decaying back into the landscape as a departure point, and exploring ideas of permanence and communities as ephemeral entities.
Filmed at Clonbinane 55km north of Melbourne on a bush property severely burnt in the Black Saturday fires on Feb 7 2009. The fires were the most catastrophic bushfire events in recorded Australian history, resulting in massive loss of property and 173 lives. One of the major fires started in Kilmore East just near the Clonbanine property, when power lines sparked flames in open grassland and then pine forest. Pauls working studio was completely destroyed in the fire and his modified container home burnt severely. Five years later the remains became the set for this installation/music video.
Paul used sculptural bells made from decommissioned LPG gas bottles, and other burnt artifacts on site, improvising percussion parts over an electronic drums track created earlier by Chip and monitored through headphones. The parts later mixed in the studio.
See also