AlpenOo by Artists for Oona

THIS ALBUM IS A FUNDRAISER

My two year old daughter, Oona (The AlpenOo of the title) has a rare neurological condition which affects her ability to do things that most people take for granted.

We were once told she may never walk, talk or eat for herself, but with therapy and a lot of dedication, she is making great strides, and we have hope that she will achieve all of these things. Every day is a challenge for our family. Specialist equipment, which can really help Oona’s development, is always very expensive.

At the moment we would like to purchase a specialist table with an adjustable tilt, which Oona could use with her wheelchair. This will make it easier for her to see what is on the table, and it will help her manipulate crayons and other tools. We also want to purchase two adjustable benches that will allow her to stretch, turn and twist in different positions. These practices will strengthen her core muscles and her legs, and give her a fighting chance of being more independently mobile one day.

This release is a large international project!

I've made a piece of work with eleven international artists, from Japan, The Netherlands, Scotland and England and it all came together on both one lovely 20 minute mix - which is available as an exclusive and limited CD-r, alongside a more expansive download with all of the artists' individual tracks. I've called them 'stems' but they are actually remixes from a piece of music I made in Switzerland in 2016 called 'Alpengluhn' (or 'Alpine Glow').

I'll move onto this, but I hope you can send a wee purchase, and if not please enjoy the stream.

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Background to The Music

In September 2016 I was invited to the Psychiatrische Klinik Wil, Switzerland, to present a paper in a symposium. I spent around two weeks in residence at "The Living Museum" art therapy wing of the hospital - mainly in the music studio recording the piano.

It wasn't an official residency, I rarely travel far - and so I wanted to make a work which used the facilities offered in therapy to the patients. I did a couple of improvisations with a clarinettist and it was a lovely space.

However, it was a bit of a personal disaster in terms of my output. For the first time in my professional career I had a bit of artist's block. I only ended up with a few minutes of usable 'stems' from sessions in the facility. I spent the rest of the time wandering around, in charity shops - and going up the occasional cable car (a big deal for me).

I eventually made track number 13 on this album and I was fairly happy with it, but I wanted more from it - and to turn it into a kind of electroacoustic, expansive symphony of kinds. So I threw down the international gauntlet like I did in 1999 on my first album "Social Electrics" which relied on international collaborations with many people I hadn’t met before. So some talented names names in the ambient/drone/electronica community helped me out.

C x

Prolific sound artist and post-doctoral researcher in Edinburgh.

chrisdooks.org