The Tower is a 4 track EP of ambient drones and electronic meditations recorded by Matthew Shaw during a two week sabbatical as artist in residence at the Curfew Tower in Cushendall, Northern Ireland.
The building is owned by Bill Drummond of the KLF. For years Bill has sentenced artists to live and work in the Tower and to integrate into the local community for the duration of their stay. Through an invitation via Caught by the River, so it was that Matthew made his way to The Tower.
“October in Cushendall is cold, November even more so and this was the time I spent inside The Tower. My days were spent either composing and recording, or taking walks down to the coast, past a standing stone and back to a café and library for warmth. The music composed in The Tower was made using my daily experiences and impressions of Cushendall and the good people that call it home. I recorded squeaking doors, creaking steps, roaring fires, boy racers, snatches of conversations from the pubs, café and streets. My approach was part audio collage and part composition. The elements were then sculpted together into their final form. I used Bill’s unamplified gold flying V guitar, small hand held synthesizers and an old 1970’s Moog Prodigy, a loop and reverb pedal plus the natural ambience of The Tower itself. Whilst fighting the cold in as many layers of clothing as I could wear.”