Palmer: I Am John Palmer

• 1 Three Memories 04:00
• 2 Flying 04:32
• 3 Narita 03:08
• 4 Fragments of Perception 08:32
• 5 Mirrors Uncertain 11:01
• 6 On the Margin 07:49
• 7 Return 13:05
• Total Runtime 52:07

Info for Palmer: I Am

The idea of writing “I am“ came to my mind during a visit to Japan in Autumn 2001. This work reflects some perceptions of life in terms of searching for spiritual transcendence and self-realisation. It illustrates a double journey taking place simultaneously: one physical, to Japan, the other metaphysical, into the inner world of perception. The journey to Japan is based on sonic references of that country, while the inner journey is represented by sparse literary texts scattered throughout the piece and their sound transformations.

For me changes of sonic references correspond to changing perceptions of the spiritual dimension of life. It is a journey where the sensual and the spiritual, the physical and the metaphysical go hand in hand. Where spirituality is an ethical challenge rather than a complacent state of the mind. In this light, I see no separation between eternity and the chasm of despair and desolation, between the yearning for love and immensity and the feeling of loss and void. Both dimensions are facets of the same reality.

The texts I have used for the realization of this work are short poems I have written in 2001-03 (in English, with short translations into German) extracts from Buddhist writings (in Japanese and English), and descriptions of Zen temples in Kyoto (in Japanese). There are also a few short excerpts from every-day life in Japanese.

All the remaining sounds have been collected mainly in Japan and can be divided into two categories: sounds with spiritual reference (e.g. temple bells and chanting) and “secular” sounds taken from everyday life, including Japanese traditional instruments (sho, shamisen, shakuhachi and koto) and nature (seashore, rain, birds). The sounds are proposed both in their original form and as transformations of the original sources through electronics.

John Palmer, piano

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