Body Of Water - 2022 Danish Cat Box Corp. Records 7-track CD

Beginning March 2020 and continuing for a little more than a year I took a series of walks with my boyfriend, taking pictures of the closed public pools in the Copenhagen area. First at random – we were out walking anyway – later systematically, stalking the map for new pools to visit and scouring Street View for clues as to whether windows would be accessible.

My fascination were twofold: From the outset it was the rich layering of the images. The still pools reflecting the light, and overlaid this the surroundings reflected in the windows as I took the pictures from outside. All of this in some oblique way mirroring my growing interest in the transformative powers of delay lines and non-linear reverb algorithms on sound.

But as we visited more pools a new fascination took over. It seemed to me that something shared between the various spaces as they were temporarily freed from the usual noise and movement began to surface in the images. Something to do with the recurring color choices, the ubiquity of potted palms (whether plastic or the real thing), the huge windows always opening out toward something green. Definitely more a feeling than anything else. A kind of impossible architectural dream of quiet and nature.

I started working on this album as a sort of parallel to the images, not really a soundtrack, more like a separate companion album exploring the same utopian feeling. The range of the tracks ended up wider than originally expected - from slow watery, vaguely tropical floaters to droning 140 BPM constructions and beat-less collages of field recordings and synth – but all in their own way reflecting the in-between mood of the images, harmony co-exciting with abstraction, comfort with the uncanny.

While initially planned as a purely solo synthesizer album, an number of guest appearances ended up in the mix too, with my bandmate Marie narrating an opening meditation on the images, my other bandmate Tanja smearing her rich guitar textures all over the album (not to mention providing a gorgeous slide solo to Float) and as a final touch a lovely flute solo by jazz legend Marc Levin on the closing track.

For maximum tactile and conceptual pleasure the CD version is presented in a deluxe 8 page digipack with design by Rød Font containing selected images from the series. (A PDF of the cover images is included with the download too.)

No matter the format, though, I hope you enjoy the music and find a bit of peace and some interesting spaces to explore here.
 

Tracklisting.

1. Water Walk 05:40
2. No Drama Sauna 09:02
3. Float 08:14
4. Body of Water 07:41
5. Silver Slow 09:35
6. Departure 07:26
7. OctaEvo 10:09