To fill the void Beach Ready, the name is an ironic commentary on the obsession with surface that pervades society.
The only rule was to not use beats to grid, a form that is prevalent in most modern music, and to be as experimental as possible. Think, what would Jon Hassell and David Shire or Carter Burwell do to create if only armed with a phone and not an army of world musicians or an orchestra.
Difficult but not beyond the realms. Limitations become the creation.
A Welsh pump organ, primitive drum machines and ancient guitar pedals were utilised somewhere along the way.
Field recordings, nearby rowers make an appearance, and ambient drone were all part of the tapestry.
They started to pin very rough results to soundcloud and caught the attention of the experimental French based label, Snow In Water, who offered to help them release the music.
Plans Can Change.
What you hear is a collage of disparate sounds that merge together to form Beach Ready music. Time and space are elastic, movement and stillness in one form. The sound was recorded pre-lockdown but is perfect listening for solitude and contemplation but is also relevant for emancipation as that is what has essentially led you to this sound.
Titles like Surveillance and Shutters that suggest paranoia beg the question, are you Beach Ready?
If not, you will love this album.
www.snowinwater.com
www.snowinwater.bandcamp.com
Christoper Cordoba
(Beach Ready)
As musical director of Jack Adaptor (an avant pop band formed with Paul Frederick of Brit Pop forefathers The Family Cat over 20 years ago), an instrumental solo artist, soundtrack composer and London based session musician Christopher Cordoba has garnered critical acclaim with an ever expanding and eclectic set of releases.
“Overall then, this is a determinedly intelligent listen, redolent of some of Barry Adamson’s best work. We may not know exactly what is on Cordoba’s mind as he recorded these songs but I would suggest that they will be affecting in their own right to each listener. Christopher Cordoba has a gimlet eye and a magpie ear for bits and pieces of sound which fit wonderfully well together to create something unexpected. He brings an organic and, yes, human feel to the electronic elements of this album and a cool mechanical vibe when thinks teeter on the edge of emotion. A neat trick. Check it out and let your intellect be overwhelmed” (Phillip Thompson - Us Poor Humans Review, Louder Than War Magazine, June 2016).
An Interview with Beach Ready
What are your musical influences?
Very wide. As a child I loved rock, pop and HM but then found Jazz, classical and ambient. I have always had a fascination for music that is used for visuals and film
Which albums impressed you the most?
When I was about 12 I would go to my local library in Hampshire to see what records they had. At that stage I was listening to top 40 radio. There was a record there that I had never heard of before that caught my eye. It was Watercolours by Pat Metheny on ECD. I used to spend hours listening to Oasis from that record on headphones in the dark, Truly beautiful piece of music but also much menace lurking. It still informs my musical approach to this day
How did the idea for the Beach Ready project arise?
At the start of 2020 I wanted to do something different from scratch under a different name, that wasn't as formulaic as what I do in Jack Adaptor. I also wanted to make music that had fragile and fragmented structures that weren't necessarily to grid. I had been listening to Jon Hassell and Richard Skelton quite a bit, artists that don't play by the rules that are very sensitive. I put a couple of things on soundcloud and that's when I started talking to Snow In Water Records about releasing an album. They judged the music purely on the sound. I was happy that Beach Ready really fitted well with what they do.
How did you build your songs and how did you record them?
I start with a central idea and a set of rules that I sometimes discard. Then I sculpt away and collage that central idea. I'm very critical and ruthless about what I use and don't use. I record a lot and therefore discard a lot but only use what gives me the right feeling. It's an instinctual process whereby sometimes I'm jamming with myself but then only distil then best parts
We are all ready to go to the beach in France, but these will probably be closed until the end of the summer ... What would you advise us?
Stay at home and listen to the Beach Ready album and all if the Snow In Water Records back catalogue.
I immediately noticed this "human pattern" side in your music: can you tell us more about this?
That's important in my music. I leave as many mistakes in as I can possibly get away with. If I haven't heard anything like it before then even better. I love precise, machine music but it wasn't right for this project. I was trying to avoid putting any obvious up beats in the music and to use found and field sound wherever possible
We also feel that there is a whole visual universe behind your music, is this an aspect that you want to develop more fully?
That's also very true. In my warped mind I'm composing for visuals that have yet to be shot. The listener should be able to see the pictures in their head when they hear the sound. I still have the ambition to be invited to write film music. I'm in awe of David Shire, Bernard Herrman, Morricone and many others
What are your other current musical projects, and how do you make them interact with the "Beach Ready" project?
I have another Beach Ready project that has spoken word go over the instrumentals. I'm doing this remotely with Mara McCann and Max Vanderwolf. It has a Laurie Anderson type thing going on
Something we can wish you?
In these days it's important to thankful for health and to not get too distracted from that. Hopefully the same can apply to my family and that we can enjoy the ride along the way
A word for the end?
I'm hoping there will be some big and small silver linings from Covid 19. Maybe a re-evaluation of how we live and what is fundamental. Also more time available for people to sit down and listen to music, possibly mine LOL