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full-length CD (limited edition: 100 copies)
tracks:
1. sea of serenity
2. mare imbrium
3. sea of clouds
4. the seething bay
5. lake of dreams
6. ocean of storms
7. sea of vapors
In April of 2008, AREA C was commissioned by the NASA RI Space Grant Consortium and the Museum of Natural History in Providence, RI to compose an original score for their "Mission Moon: past, present, future" exhibit at the Museum of Natural History. SEA of RAINS is the resulting 55-minute soundscape, inspired by the names, colors, history and otherworldliness of this still-strange fixture in our sky. Link to museum > > >
REVIEWS:
the WIRE August 2008 (Reviewed by Chris Sharp in Electronica)
"There's an inherent affinity between the inky sparkle of interstellar space and the looming sonorities of synthesized sound. Sea of Rains is Rhode Island native [sic] Erik Carlson's contribution to this field; the music was commissioned by the Museum of Natural History in Providence to accompany an exhibition called "Mission Moon." Carlson clearly immersed himself in the documented history of the Apollo moon missions; snatches of astronauts' radio transmissions are strung through elongated, amorphous pieces, indecipherable at times, but always fragile. Behind them, a velvety weave of organ, cello, and E-bowed guitar swells and subsides through seven lengthy sections. And although the music is definitely slow, it's saved from stasis by a wealth of unobrusive detail. The tiny stutter of a pick dragged down a round-wound guitar string adds grit to "Sea of Clouds", while ingeniously looped static provides a surreptitious pulse for "Ocean of Storms"; Carlson's canny use of tiny textures makes Sea of Rains an intriguing as well as immersive experience."
from Sonomu.net
"...Sea of Rains also evokes nostalgia - the voices are familiar to anyone who followed these missions on television, the greatest reality show ever, reminding us of the thrill we felt then and our lost excitement about exploriing and imagining the future. The long, lone guitar of "Sea of Clouds" floats barely tethered like a man on a space walk. The "narration" at the centre of "Lake of Dreams" portrays some very sweaty minutes at mission control, short, tense guitar riffs finally abating in relief as the manouevre is completed successfully. "Ocean of Storms" works up tension like a string quartet caught in suspended animation while the guitar becomes increasingly distressed, distracting the listener as well. In a good way - you lean forward in order not to miss a thing."
LINK to FULL REVIEW > > >
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