In May 2020 I was due to be MDing/composing for Sea Shambles at the Royal Albert Hall, but due to the Covid 19 pandemic, this show obviously couldn't happen.
Instead, the producers and the hall decided to go ahead in virtual form, so I composed this track for it.
It's an impressionistic piece based on my experiences scuba diving at night, and particularly with observing marine fluorescence. This is a fascinating and little-understood phenomenon where certain corals and other sea life appear to 'glow' green or red when excited by a blue light.
Diving this way is exhilarating , disconcerting, occasionally euphoric and, frankly, a bit trippy. I've tried to capture the essence of that experience with this tune.
The video (available on Youtube) features my brilliant band for these science/arts extravaganzas put together by Robin Ince and co. It also features some of my fluorescence photography, and some videos of underwater musical experiments that I took for the live Sea Shambles show. These were filmed at the brilliant London School of Diving, and many thanks to them for all their support!
The track was composed and produced by me, and I also made the video.
For more information on underwater fluorescence, head here:
www.divephotoguide.com/underwater-photography-techniques/article/pro-technique-underwater-fluorescence-photography/
For more of this kind of nonsense, do subscribe to this channel and also head to my website
www.StevePretty.com
released May 17, 2020
Steve Pretty: shell, trumpet, keyboards, percussion, electronics
Tamar Osborn: baritone saxophone
Ollie Weston: bass clarinet
Valeria Kurtsova: harp
Steve Thompson: trombone
Jeff Miller: tuba, electronics
Ben Handysides: drums
