Shouting Against the Wind

On the first day of the Between Stations tour we went to the recording studio to record Andy reading some key pieces from the book as well as some soundscapes to be used alongside live performances. The emphasis was on experimentation and all the performers getting in synch with each other. Masi felt that all of us needed to be involved in the production of the piece and therefore I found myself playing several instruments I’ve never played before and I even sang. This was well out of my comfort zone, but Masi has a way of inspiring confidence in the work and in yourself and nudging, rather than pushing, you out of your comfort zone. I was able to practice one of my poems with music and received some important feedback about timing and projecting my voice. After the day’s rehearsals we went to the evening gig. It was an exciting mixture of languages, performance styles, voices and cultures. It was a chance for us to try out what we had rehearsed and come up with points to work on the next day.

The second day we recorded the whole of Between Stations in the Railway Workers Bandstand in the Alpine Park. Masi had chosen the site because it is between a funfair and a railway line, so the background sounds added an interesting element. It was an important day of recording - where we could really see the full scope of the project. The recording ended up being two hours. We had several people interested in what was going on and come to watch, including one man who was moved to start an impromptu dance. I rehearsed and recorded one of my Alice poems which was a very valuable experience for me.

On the third day we rehearsed key pieces from Between Stations at the recording studio ready for the performance that evening at the Workers Library. A few points for improvement had been raised after the first gig so there was a real sense of direction about the work we were doing. The Workers Library is a library of socialist literature and is a great setting for Between Stations with all it’s red flags and posters. The event was called “Poems from around the world” and we saw poets from Uzbekistan, Peru, Iraq and Burma. The poems were a mixture of performance styles and subject matters ranged widely. Our performances were really beginning to come together and the progress from rehearsals was clear. I was able to get the contact details of the other poets and discuss translating some poems from Russian to English which will be excellent experience for me and a good way to keep the exchange going.

On the fourth day we went to Masi’s home studio to record. We recorded more pieces from Between Stations and one of my poems. I was able to see the effect of Masi’s overdubbing and hear how the pieces were coming along in production, as well as fully visualise the finished piece for the first time.

On the final day we did some last bits of recording at Masi’s home studio before Masi’s girlfriend Emppu suggested we go to central park. We piled into her car and drove north of the city. The walk in the forest was really restorative for everybody. We were able to see some of the beautiful Finnish countryside and reflect on the week. For me it had been restorative both professionally and personally and I was full of energy and ideas of how I wanted to take forward what I had learned. We were ready for our final performance. I was curiously nervous about this final performance, especially as the gig had been advertised in the newspaper, but I think the final night was our best performance of the week. I could really see how Andy’s pieces had developed with the music and personally I felt how my performance had progressed from the beginning of the week. The performances from the Finnish poets were mesmerizing and I was able to learn a lot from them. The week was very productive for me and has inspired me to collaborate with musicians and filmmakers in the future, as well as allowing me to establish contacts with international poets which I hope will help me to continue the exchange as the project progresses. I will end with one of the many bits of wisdom I received from Masi "The artist's voice has to shout against the wind and stop it". After this tour I am ready to try.

#julieegdell