Plumbing the Aura (Live Concert Recording)
by Herzbeat Hotel

"Plumbing The Aura" deals with one of Herzbeat Hotel's main subject matters, that of transmutation, either in Nature, sound, alchemy or the human mind. In this live recording, Damien Yates and Anton van Ringe start by superimposing layers of crackling dry leaves (emblems of Fall, the season in which the performance took place, and of the inevitable cycle of death) into a tapestry of white noise; as the piece develops, various string, percussion and wind instruments are played and looped, adding new dimensions and elements (wood, metal, breath) to the original sound, eventually receding back into a quiet, apparent sleep-death, with which this invocation/evocation of a life cycle is concluded.

"The idea of transmutation as a central element within and across life cycles is further conveyed by the alchemical reference in the title, "Plumbum" being the Latin word for lead, while "Aurum" means gold."  Damien Yates and Anton van Ringe