Fl00d a piece composed of field recordings from across the UK has been released on Time Released sound in the USA. Please find a link to the digital and physical releases below:
http://timereleasedsound.com/ben-eyes/
https://timereleasedsound.bandcamp.com/album/flood
Ben Eyes – FL00D
FL00D was initially inspired by the Winter floods that took place in England in 2014. The idea that we have permanently changed our weather system through our own doing is incredibly thought provoking and cannot be ignored. The floods and storms were some of the worst on record and seeing places I know and hold dear destroyed by the weather made me feel both extremely upset and helpless.
The work of James Lovelock was also a large inspiration behind this piece and his Gaia theory (the idea that the Earth is one whole complex living organism) is unfortunately now being proven correct. Through the pollution of our own delicate eco-system we have caused untold damage for many generations to come, possibly forever.
The piece starts with some very intimate field recordings made on the Holy Island of Lindasfarne in Northumbria. The listener is then taken on a journey, through the dark heart of our little Island, to discover the coming storm that will come and wash us all away…
The piece is accompanied by high speed footage captured at the sites of the various field recordings and was edited together to fit the piece by Emma Jane Richards.
“Perhaps the saddest thing is that Gaia will lose as much or more than we do. Not only will wildlife and whole ecosystems go extinct, but in human civilisation the planet has a precious resource. We are not merely a disease; we are, through our intelligence and communication, the nervous system of the planet. Through us, Gaia has seen herself from space, and begins to know her place in the universe.
We should be the heart and mind of the Earth, not its malady. So let us be brave and cease thinking of human needs and rights alone, and see that we have harmed the living Earth and need to make our peace with Gaia. We must do it while we are still strong enough to negotiate, and not a broken rabble led by brutal war lords. Most of all, we should remember that we are a part of it, and it is indeed our home.”
James Lovelock (Published in The Independent, 16 January 2006)
