Life in Lockdown: Time Crystals
Founder of Time Crystals record label and multi-disciplinary artist Supermerger brings us his experience of lockdown where collaboration and adapting to the restraints of covid-19 feed creativity.
“I’m pretty insular really. I’ve been working from home for the last 6 or 7 years so really life hasn’t been that different. I’m very grateful that I’m able to say that, and I count myself very lucky. I know that life has been really hard for many people. If anything it illuminates how upside down our society is; there are many essential people being paid very little, and rather less useless people being paid a very great deal more than they deserve. Fuck your claps; let’s have UBI.
I decided a long time ago that much of the normal life was optional. If you can have a job without a boss, then why not? I think that not really knowing when you’re going to work or having no regular pay does scare people, which I totally understand. I just can’t ever go back to making money for other people.
One of the most important parts of music is seeing and experiencing it live. We’ve all been missing out on this during lockdown. For musicians and performers it is doubly bad. There’s a scratch that can’t be itched…
I had released a series of EPs this year (Exactly Anything). I used a particular set of restrictions to make them, working only in 111BPM and in either Am or Em.
I decided to invite people in the local underground electronics scene to contribute music to a compilation using the same restrictions. There ended up being eight tracks on the EP (Wave111). Because client work was slow at the time, and because I’m a bit extra, I designed t-shirts, and crystals, and all sorts of stuff. It was an excuse to learn Blender and Touch Designer. If I’m to learn something I really need to have a reason to do it (like a deadline!).
I had held a launch party for the EPs on twitch, and it seemed to go well, so I thought that it would be fun to have another launch party. Having this deadline (01st September 2020) galvanised me into learning animation and making some animations and generative visuals for the launch party. I was really happy with the music the artists produced and with the design and look of the whole thing. The live performance didn’t go completely to plan, but that’s part of the buzz of performing live!”
