Sunday 23 September 2007

Equilibrium is Experienced

My 'top secret' project, which entailed 2 weeks in a studio in central Paris recording all manner of weird and wonderful noises from the human body and its interaction with a few carefully chosen artefacts, has unfolded most thrillingly. A lot more work to do with her (or him etc.) in October.


I had the privilege and pleasure of working with Valgeir Sigurðsson as sound engineer for this project. Yesterday I listened to his own album ‘Ekvílibríum’ on my creaky old Discman (yes, yes, I’ll get an iPod when I know I’ll use it) whilst walking up the Montmartre hill to Sacré Coeur. It just so happened that I landed on track 7, ‘Equilibrium is Restored’ as I reached the summit, and as my eyes were filled with the eternally breath-taking vista of all Paris unfurling beneath me. Buy Valgeir’s album, and experience your own out of body experience.

As I focused on the glimmering gold angels of the Opéra Garnier I saw a strange object float up into the sky – it was kind of shuffling side-to-side, all the time climbing. I concluded it must be a pair of black helium balloons. As they darted off ever-upwards into the late afternoon sunshine, I enjoyed a truly mesmerising moment as sound and image combined to magical effect. Takk fyrir Valgeir!

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