"Canaries in the Mineshafts"
We used to sing in the shower, whistle sometimes, and even dared to touch others - when we once danced, a generation or so, ago. Bathroom baritones and showering sopranos are also less common these days -almost extinct, much like the fading sounds of rain and water in our drought plagued new millennium.
"Shower Songs" explores these phenomena. What does it mean for us when the shower singers stop singing? Perhaps it is signal for us to notice. It reminds me of the practise of the miners of years ago, who always carried singing canaries in cages, with them down into their mineshafts. If the canaries stopped singing it was time to pay attention and get out, the air was poisonous and the miners risked explosions of gases or asphyxiation. Perhaps our hearts and spirits are finding it hard to survive in without more awareness of our environments and our shared voices.
Consequently, I have been recording many shower singers- of all ages and backgrounds - for this work; as well as collecting hundreds of recordings and samples of water drops. In addition, a large amount of my own original music is being composed for this work and recorded at the ABC studios in Ultimo, Sydney, Australia. These are being performed by a number of professional musicians and singers.
