The Edge is a Place

The Edge is a Place is a 38 minute solo percussion album released on the Room40 label. All works are composed and performed by Vanessa Tomlinson."Your hearing shifts, the mind wanders, temporality is inevitable. The edge is not only a precipice, it is the juxtaposition of an end and a beginning. Zoom in. The edge gets bigger. It is full of angles, topographies, perspectives, presence. Zoom in even more. Turn your head. Things change. Breath. Shut your eyes. Balance at the edge. Allow the air to form in new ways, allow your mind to speculate.The Edge is a Place is a series of six sound works made in 2024 using a fixed set of acoustic sound sources. A vibraphone, 8 ceramic bowls, 1 glass bowl with water, 2 metal bowls, 3 planks of wood, shell chimes, 2 cymbals, shakers, hihats, 3 indian bells with no donger, 1 bass drum. Utensils such as knitting needles, bouncy balls, chains, chefs chopsticks, vibraphone mallets, doublebass bows, triangle beaters are used to conjure sounds out the objects.Intimacy, proximity, spatiality, resonance, and vibration drive the qualities of sound. Techtonic, layered, density, plurality, and impossible attractors drive the organisation of sound. Exploration, patience, focus, care and relationships drive the aesthetics of sound. The world is full of invisible lines. There are always edges – never quite in sync, and always shimmering with."Track 1 – Outside EncountersTrack 2 – Shimmer ShakeTrack 3 – Speculative OrnithologyTrack 4 – The Edge is a placeTrack 5 - MeandererTrack 6 – To the SeafarerAll tracks composed and performed by Vanessa Tomlinson; Recorded by Erik Griswold; Edited by Vanessa Tomlinson; Mixed by Vanessa Tomlinson and Samuel Pankhurst at Poverty Castles; Mastered by Lawrence English