Output details

Sleeps in Oysters: Lo!

The research for the album Lo! entailed an exhaustive dissection of the perceived norms of pop song and pop album structures. Various tracks subvert the expectations of length, structure and placement of sung elements within the wider musical composition, whilst others present themselves in numerous parts over a number of tracks. The structure of the album is conceived to dictate a pre-ordained ‘order,’ in contrast to the perceived norms for a CD album (an uninterrupted trajectory with no forced ‘side turn’ as with vinyl LPs and cassette tapes) or a digitally downloaded album, which allows complete listener control in the choice and order of tracks played. Additionally, the order presents two voices from within the collaborative project on two purely imagined ‘sides’ of the release, as if they were concurrent not coherent. Its name is a reference to David Bowie’s Low - an unusual pop precedent for the album which presented two distinct sets of repertoire.

The research for this album, and the wider body of work by Sleeps in Oysters, seeks to investigate and challenge the pre-conceived roles of voices and instruments that imply hierarchical relationships between constituent parts of song compositions. The outputs draw on and amalgamate concepts and processes from popular music and a spectrum of electronic music and sound art, allowing the lyrical and melodic content of songs to sit amidst experimental sound worlds. A key feature of the sonic landscape is the use of ‘found sounds’, and their intricate cutting and placement to form dense collages. This approach is reflected in the use of found materials to create elaborate and bespoke physical packaging for their releases. As musical artefacts, inextricably connected to sonic and physical works, they question the value of physical artefacts in the post-digital musical climate.