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Dedicated to Oswald Laurence & Frank Milne (the famous "Mind the Gap” voice at Embankment and the leader of the 1950s speaking clock team respectively).

This was made during a trip to London - as always I was very struck with the sounds and rhythms of trains and the London Underground (as someone who lives outside of London I actually love travelling on the Underground). During a visit to the Science Museum I recorded the ticking of one of the old electric clocks and the prototype to a speaking clock form the 1950s onto my iPod then I recorded some of those strange voices on the underground telling you things like "mind the gap" and put it all together. The more I listened to the track the more I felt that taking the underground is like a gap in time - you walk down into a tunnel then a few minutes later you resume your day elsewhere. A gap if you like.

I was also interested in who made these voices and I read that one of the famous voices for "mind the gap" was recorded by Oswald Laurence. When he sadly died his widow would often break her journey at Embankment station so she could hear his voice again. But one day the announcement never came as that announcement had been changed. Read it here: www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-21737161
It would be nice to say I recorded Oswalds voice whilst in London, however I only found out about him when I was home so I “borrowed” the sample from the BBC clip above as it seemed fitting.

As for the speaking clock – Frank Milne led the team in the 1950s developing the clock for the Australian Post Office. When the Science Museum decided to restore the clock Frank, who was in his 90s by then, was overjoyed that “his” clock was being brought back to life. Sadly Frank died a few weeks before his clock was brought back into service.

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from hope at the intersection of peace & violence [free download], released June 8, 2015

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A Collection of Notes Sheffield, UK

Classic synth/ambient electronic music.

The ability to create music that both incorporates and reflects the physical environment is one of principle sources of inspiration.

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