Crash Ensemble present the world premiere of Laura Sheeran's film Children in the Universe, set to music composed by Sam Perkin, on Saturday 4 November, as part of Beta Festival. We asked Sam the BIG questions . . .
The film will be screened outdoors at the Digital Hub Campus on Roe Lane in Dublin and will run on a loop starting at 5.30pm running at 30 minute intervals until 8pm. You can tune into the audio for the film through the Isolde App.
No ticket required. Just download the Isolde app on your Apple or Android Smartphone device, bring your own bluetooth or wired headphones.
Cork-born Sam works in classical and experimental music and has a BMus Degree in Performance and Composition, and an MMus Masters in Composition at the Cork School of Music.
He also did a Post-Masters in Composition at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Music et de Danse de Lyon in France.
"As an artist I seek to explore the pure wonder of being, in resonance with others," says Sam. "Music's untold persuasiveness is a boundless source, a lifetime's sacred call. Wholeheartedly balancing intuition with intellect, I venture deep into awe."
Tell us three things about yourself . . .
I am a Skateboarder. It is fascinating that, although skateboarding is relatively young, there is often the perception that it is only something for the youth. You can now see skaters, who were once the best in the world, ageing gracefully and relaying the torch onto the next generations. It's fantastic to see parents and their kids skateboarding together. I recently saw a Japanese man who took up skateboarding at the ripe age of 81 years old! He was learning fast as well!
I love watching great films. Tarkovsky and Bergman are some of my favourite directors. Something totally different I have been watching recently is a Japanese guy on YouTube called Rambalac. He does these random-walk videos with no talking in which he walks around different places in Japan. It may sound boring, though it’s always fascinating and artistic.
As an artist, you give a lot to other people, it is essential to refill the will. I did a meditation retreat in April in the Cévennes region. It was so silent. What was remarkable was that it took a full 24 hours for me, a composer who uses his ears a lot, to start hearing the sound of the wind. We are so often unknowingly and uncontrollably distracted by our thoughts. I also occasionally enjoy Osho meditation, which involves physical movement, and tends to be more useful for people who find it hard to sit still. Another must try is "Arm-Swinging", from Qigong, which is completely fascinating.
How would you describe your music?
I am a composer of music in the space between classical music and experimental music. It took me many years to figure out that this space is where my artistic work belongs. My artistic work has always remained universal in nature, and in recent years it appears to be refining itself, moving more and more in the direction of the sacred and in the exploration of awe. The pure, awestruck wonder of being alive, expressed through music. For example, in the new Crash Ensemble release, Children In The Universe, I have spent two years venturing deep into awe. Expressing it through music. Exploring its ramifications, consequences, gifts, origins. It is actually quite challenging to step fully into awe and wonder, it being something we often lose contact with as we transition into the adult world, often being replaced with cynicism, apathy and nihilism. It’s still there though.
Who are your musical inspirations?
Sardinian polyphonic folk singing, Ravel, Britten, the human voice, PC Music, Silverchair, Bonnie Prince Billy, Crash Ensemble, Flamenco, Aphex Twin, Gregorian Chant, Final Fantasy Soundtracks, Pauline Oliveros, Meredith Monk, Janacek. The musicality of human expression through language. The physicality of music through movement. Any music from my teenage years, which always seems to stay special for us.
What was the first gig you ever went to?
A musical about The Shadows, with my mom.
What was the first record you ever bought?
Return of the Mack by Mark Morrisson.
What’s your favourite song right now?
Corpus Christi Carol by Britten.
Favourite lyric of all time?
"If I write something that is really beautiful, something that is more beautiful than it has to be: It probably actually serves what it has to be - even better than I understand." - Charles Eisenstein.
If you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Sardinian polyphonic folk singing.
Where can people find your music/more information?
My website, YouTube, Instagram.
Alan Corr
