Dome

The spiral staircase that leads us up the concrete tower is tight. It winds us up to a circular patio that overlooks the city. The guardian of this remarkable building is my cousin. As he fumbles through a set of keys I imagine the gala events that must have taken place in the 'Roaring Twenties'. Now all that occupies the space is a satellite dish and an occasional pigeon. He finds the key to the next set of stairs and leads us to the dome. The sound of our footsteps become more and more warbly as we enter the enormous dark grey concrete bowl. We look up at the final set of stairs that resemble a great model of DNA. It twists up the middle to an opening at the top of the dome. From there the light streams down at an angle, accompanied by the dull drone of the city below. We are in awe of this amazing space... Wow,wow,wow What,what,what a,a,a place,place,ace,ace..We speak but our words are barely recognizable, sounding as if they were coming from somewhere else. Carlos sets up the equipment and we get situated. I am fascinated by the fact that Carlo's wife Shannon, seven months pregnant, has joined us under this giant womb-like structure with it's spiral shrine to life. Our every motion, footstep, and unraveling cord, is amplified with chaotic delay. And when we speak at once, a ballrom of voices begins to emerge. The hand carved names and dates on the curved walls bear testimony to the ghosts that immediately sensed in this place. A place where every sound has a sustaining after life. Playing into the natural reverberated echo gave birth to unexpected moods and spirits. We are grateful to share this experience with you. With the exception of track four all flutes were recorded under the dome on January 19 2004, with no added effects. All sounds on track two "Bolero Black" are samples taken from the bass recorder. Track four,"The Moment After",is a one take improv recorded moments after meeting Ian Walker for the first time, in May of 2000.