Cosmic [silversonics 002] is a collaborative EP by silversound and d.lawrence. Inspired by the science of cosmology, the artists explore the meditative, echoing spaciousness of deep house, dub techno, and electro influences across three original tracks plus a remix, which Peace Portal is excited premier:
Cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR) is faint thermal radiation spread throughout space. It is the oldest detectable light, revealing a snapshot of the universe about 380,000 years after the Big Bang. The EP’s cover includes historical NASA visualizations of the temperature of the CMBR spectrum as determined with the COBE satellite during its pioneering mission in the early 1990s.
Before the EP drops tomorrow, we caught up with silversound and d.lawrence to capture their thoughts on the release:
How did you two get connected and begin producing this collection of music?
silversound: I was the manager and a resident DJ of No Requests in the second half of its run, from 2021 into 2022. d.lawrence was also involved with No Requests as a resident DJ, and we discovered our tastes are very complementary to each other.
We're both music producers interested in enhancing our craft and learning from each other, and when I hang out with d., I usually walk away with an inspiring new production technique that I can immediately use to enhance my music. He is an incredibly patient and encouraging collaborator, and it's thanks to him that I was finally able to finish my own material. d.'s remix of "CMBR" and his own original track "Pulsar" fit perfectly within my aspirational world of atmospheric, textural, yet rhythmic and danceable deep house and dub techno.
The opportunity to play at Secret Grove came up just as we were approaching the finish line for the Cosmic EP, so we decided to launch the release at the November 30 event. The EP will be available on digital streaming services and directly from the artists via silversoundinthemix.bandcamp.com.
d.lawrence: I thoroughly enjoy working with silversound. He's a very thoughtful and deliberate producer, which always makes me pay closer attention to my own productions and look at things from a more purpose driven perspective. He always gives concise and constructive criticism, on top of being a joy to be around.
Can you describe how you translated your inspiration of the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation into musical concepts?
silversound: I love learning about astronomy and cosmology via listening to podcasts. (Especially at bedtime...)
The CMBR is basically the first photons released into the early universe, about 380,000 after the Big Bang. The radiation has a wavelength of about 2mm, which we can detect using microwave telescopes. The idea that this radiation has been, and always will be, traveling and expanding through time, is a source of philosophical perspective and psychological grounding for myself as I deal with my small day-to-day problems here on Earth. As Carl Sagan said so beautifully: "...it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known."
Our aural perception of spaciousness on Earth is defined by echo. Delay and reverb have always been musical elements that fascinated me, even from my early pre-teen interests in shoegaze-y British rock. While the original mix of "CMBR" is something of a stylistic outlier with its sharp-edged electro influences, it still uses many layers of spatial effects to achieve its sound. The Cosmic EP as a whole is a deep house EP that combines the affinity that d.lawrence and I have for the lush spaciousness of echo with inspiration from the mind-boggling scale of cosmology.
d.lawrence: silversound showed me his track CMBR, and I instantly felt a connection to the themes and thought I could really make the parts into something special and different while respecting his amazing original production. I've been a big fan of sci-fi and space themes in music since listening to Pink Floyd and David Bowie as a kid, and translating that inspiration into sound is always a fun challenge, creating that sense of endless space and a feeling of solitude.
If you could travel to any destination in the cosmos, where would you go?
silversound: I would love to see Pluto because the terrain looks like the cover of Kid A, and it literally has a heart on it.
I would love to travel to the place with the kind aliens who have figured out how to extract infinite energy from controlled fusion.
However, there's no place like home. Earth is our miraculous bubble, and we must do everything we can to rescue our fragile ecological health from total catastrophe.
d.lawrence: I would like to go to Neptune. An endless sea would make for some beautiful views, and maybe even some giant sea creatures!
Join silversound and d.lawrence for the Cosmic EP release part at Portland's Secret Grove the same day the EP is released on Saturday November 30th:
For more from silversound:
For more from d.lawrence: