First and foremost a supreme thank you to everyone involved in 2014's Supernormal Festival in Braziers Park (Oxfordshire). From the production team and volunteers to the performing, installing and workshopping artists and of course the audience, the voyeurs and the participators.
Secondly, I would like to pay specific tribute to those that made it especially special for myself: Anne and the rest of the People's Palace Cinema volunteer crew; Heloise, Olmo, Mark and everyone else at the Tape Bakery and the Shed Sound Space; and Frances and Chris and everyone else involved and participating in the Animal Magic Tricks sessions.
Thirdly, I would like to extend my sincerest apologies to those who see/hear themselves appearing on this collection without forewarning - I have tried to contact everyone I've included to pay them the courtesy of asking to have them included in this, but it is totally possible that I have not been able to reach everyone.
It might console you that this is solely here as an online archival document, it is not-for-profit and seeks only to illuminate the audio phenomena of the festival as a whole, so that those who couldn't make it can begin to understand the length and breadth of Supernormal's impact on the 'listener', as much as this impact is then also dwarfed by that on the 'participator' and 'real-time experiencer' (for this we do also have archival video footage, a fanzine I half-made in the Tape Bakery, other written accounts on blogs and social media platforms, etc.).
Personally, I could not have asked for a better weekend and sorely look forward to next years with squeamish anticipation. I hope you enjoy the sonic journey I have crafted.
* the 'Intro' track consists of a bricolage of several very small clips of recordings I took on Friday, and then continues on to a recording taken at its beginning in the Disco tent which then walks from here to Mark Wagner's Cymagick installation at the Shed.
** In track 12 while it is Sam Underwood's innovative instrument being played, it is not his improv performance. The players are both myself and Howard Jacques of the Bermuda Triangle Test Transmission Engineers, whose operations took place in the Shed Sound Space and who also feature in the track 3.
For a great visual document of the festival, see the Fragments and Memories of Hyper Oculus:
vimeo.com/103352003
PS. there is actually a slight chance more of my audio recording from the festival will be uploaded at a later date - to this collection (depending on a few as yet resolved variables).
released September 1, 2014