CULTURECIDE by Tilman Robinson

Tilman Robinson’s third album, CULTURECIDE, is an investigation of the anthropocene; a seven part lamentation for our chaotic world.

CULTURECIDE: “…processes that have usually been purposely introduced that result in the decline or demise of a culture, without necessarily resulting in the physical destruction of its bearers.” (D. Stein, Routledge 2003)

CULTURECIDE is a rich sonic collage, harvesting sounds from a range sources including field recordings, medical machines that monitor the human body, traditional instruments and synthesisers, often melted electronically. The result is an unsettling paradox with sounds constantly on the edge of recognition. Each piece references a specific socio-political issue ranging from colonialism to neo-liberalism to climate change to the impending singularity of humans and machines. Far from answering these questions, CULTURECIDE invites us to meditate on their place in our life and achieve personal understanding.

Recorded and produced almost completely in Australia, a land at the forefront of the devastation of climate change, CULTURECIDE is an attempt at catharsis for its author frequently appalled at his country’s incredible apathy and inaction. Mixed by Bedroom Community regular Daniel Rejmer and mastered by Lawrence English, works from the ambitious and unsettling record saw Tilman nominated for the 2019 Melbourne Prize for Music.

Tilman Robinson is an Australian composer and sound designer creating electro-acoustic music across a range of genres including classical minimalism, improvised, experimental, electronic and ambient. Tilman’s diverse output focuses on the psychological impact of dense sound, employing acousmatic and psychoacoustic principles. His third album CULTURECIDE will be released on Iceland’s Bedroom Community label in April 2020.

Tracklist

1.	Clathrate Gun	4:18

2.	We Came For Your Riches	4:32

3.	Bartholomew, Glowing	2:40

4.	Teach Me To Destroy You	5:29

5.	Proxy War	6:42

6.	The Word for World is Forest	4:48

7.	Hayek's Legacy	5:17

Videos

Credits

released April 24, 2020

Composed, produced, arranged, recorded and performed by Tilman Robinson with:

Georgie Darvidis - voice (on We Came for Your Riches)
Jonathan Heilbron - double bass (on Proxy War)
Luke Howard* - piano (on Hayek's Legacy)
Laura Moore - viola da gamba (on The Word for World is Forest)
Katherine Philp - cello
Richard Piper - voice (on Hayek's Legacy - vinyl only)
Matthias Schack-Arnott - percussion (on Clathrate Gun)
Elizabeth Welsh - violin/viola

Choir on Proxy War: Hannah Cameron, Miriam Crellin, Georgie Darvidis, Tiaryn Griggs, Lisa Salvo & Loni Thomson.

Violin, viola, cello and reamp sessions recorded by Lachlan Carrick at Head Gap Studios
Choir and organ recorded by Declan Kelly at Church of All Nations, Carlton
Viola da gamba and double bass recorded by Jem Savage at Rolling Stock Recording Rooms

Mixed by Daniel Rejmer and Tilman Robinson
Mastered by Lawrence English at Negative Space

Photography by Wilk
Layout and design by Fish

*Luke Howard appears by courtesy of Decca Music Group Limited.

Hayek's Legacy contains text from 'The Road to Serfdom (Der Weg zur Knechtschaft)' by Friedrich von Hayek (1944). The excerpt is used under the provision of Fair Dealing / Fair Use.

Thanks to the Radiology Department at Royal Melbourne Hospital, MESS (Melbourne Electronic Sound Studio) and Monash University for enabling weird recording sessions and sound gathering.

Thanks to all of the artists and technicians. Special thanks to Georgie, Matthias, WILK, Bernadette, Clio, Mel, Angie, Iain, Valgeir, George and Molly.

Tilman acknowledges the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation as the first inhabitants and the traditional custodians of the lands where he lives, learns and works. He acknowledges Elders past, present & emerging and their ongoing connection to country. Sovereignty was never ceded.

This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body.

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