VARIOUS – Time Ends: A Tribute to J.G. Ballard’s Tetralogy of Transformation 2LP

Desiderii Marginis, Troum, Martin Bladh & Karolina Urbaniak and Anemone Tube have gathered to pay homage to the first four novels of British writer J.G. Ballard: The Wind From Nowhere, The Drowned World, The Drought and The Crystal World, which are often seen as disaster novels. Each of the four projects presents a very unique take on the chosen work, using the respective text as a starting point to offer sonic representations of and (further) perspectives on these books, using drones, field recordings, words and much more to create evocative and richly layered soundscapes.

Adorned by a painting of German artist Alex Tennigkeit depicting a sphinx-like hybrid creature, a phoenix rising from the ashes of our civilization, the double album also includes an in-depth essay by Michael Göttert (African Paper) on Ballard’s works in which he argues that the novels can best be understood as texts of transformation, as well as texts by the sound artists.

The double album starts with Desiderii Marginis’ track “The Wind From Nowhere”, on which field recordings and intense drones suck the listener into a stormy vortex. Troum interpret The… more
credits
released May 20, 2021

DESIDERII MARGINIS – THE WIND FROM NOWHERE
Music composed and performed by J. LEVIN.
Recorded in Solitude studio, Linköping during August 2019.
All rights reserved.

TROUM – OUTSIDE (ARCHAIC LANDSCAPE) | IN-SIGHT (ARCHAIC MIND-SCAPE)
Everything mixed and recorded by TROUM in 2019, using sounds of animals, air and insects from unknown regions as basis for both tracks.

MARTIN BLADH & KAROLINA URBANIAK – THE POISONED WELL
Recorded in London autumn/winter 2019.
Libretto & voice by MARTIN BLADH.
Sound composition by KAROLINA URBANIAK.

ANEMONE TUBE – ROAD OF SUFFERING I–III –
I. HUNGER FOR SENSE PLEASURES, II. HUNGER FOR EXISTENCE, III. HUNGER FOR NON-EXISTENCE | PRIMORDIAL RECOLLECTION | SEA OF TREES – TAKING DEATH AS PATH
All music composed, recorded, edited & mixed by ANEMONE TUBE | STEFAN HANSER in Berlin 2018–2019, exclusively using field recordings made on the way to and in Aokigahara Jukai, Mount Fuji, Japan, 2009 and synthesizer.

Painting “BELLASALAMACH” by ALEX TENNIGKEIT, 2020, oil on linen, 140 x 180 cm.

Essay “TIME ENDS: DISASTERS – APOCALYPSES – TRANSFORMATIONS – ENDINGS?” by MICHAEL GÖTTERT, 2020–2021

Impressions of J. G. Ballard’s The Drought “THE POISONED WELL” by MARTIN BLADH, 2019–2021.

Notes on “SEA OF TREES” by ANEMONE TUBE | STEFAN HANSER, 2020–2021.

Audio mastering by HUNTER BARR, January 2021.

Idea, conception and design by THE EPICUREAN | STEFAN HANSER, 2018–2021.