bruce gilbert & baw: diluvial

Local preoccupations with rising sea levels fuel Diluvial -- a work that dwells on the dynamics of flood geology and global warming; creation stories and climate change. Diluvial is an evolving soundscape and environment by Bruce Gilbert and Beaconsfield ArtWorks (David Crawforth & Naomi Siderfin). This work was initiated on the Suffolk coast for Faster Than Sound, Aldeburgh 2011 and then developed for a show at Beaconsfield, London later that year. Taking rising sea levels as its theme, Diluvial imagines the world before, during, and after the next great flood, referring to an ancient, ex nihilo interpretation of global warming. Field recordings from beaches in Suffolk and London, conceptual scoring, visual installation, and sonic performance fuelled Diluvial's evolving soundscape, alluding to the mythical seven days of creation. Diluvial was a compositional collaboration in three iterations between Bruce Gilbert and BAW (David Crawforth and Naomi Siderfin). Synthesized sound generated by Gilbert and Crawforth in response to Siderfin's score and iPhone field research, was assembled over seven weeks into an electroacoustic composition: "The Void," "The Expanse," "Dry Land," "Lights," "Creatures of Sea and Air," "Beasts of the Earth," and "Rest/Reflection." Bruce Gilbert is a founding member of the influential art-punk band Wire and a pioneer of experimental noise. He studied art and found a niche in the late 1960s avant-garde music scene and continues to work as an iconic figure. He makes visual and sonic works in a range of media. David Crawforth and Naomi Siderfin -- Beaconsfield ArtWorks -- have been collaborating on experimental solo projects since they co-founded Beaconsfield in 1994. Their art interventions have exhibited internationally and whether installation or performance, almost always involve sound. The development and exhibition of Soundtrap V: Diluvial was generously supported by PRS Foundation, Arts Council England, Big Shed and Hydrosphere. Artwork & photography: Jon Wozencroft. Sequenced and mastered by Russell Haswell.