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children of the Cold War era, Soporus are heavily influenced by
a lifelong fascination with the quiet power of nuclear energy -
the seemingly miraculous ability to calmly harness intense reactions
coupled with the lingering fear of potential disaster. Soporus continue
with the nuclear power plant themes established on their debut ep,
Atómové Elektrárne, with their full-length
24,110.
Soporus is a
Philadelphia-based ambient drone ensemble which features guitarist
and keyboardist Matthew Stone and bassist William Stichter from
well-known instrumental act Saxon Shore along with guitarist Stephen
Hoffman. Additional guitar tracks were provided on the album by
James Vella (Yndi Halda, a lily) and John Donohue. The live performance
also features films and videos edited on the fly by additional member
Michael Stichter.
24,110 is
the half-life in years of the Plutonium-239 isotope. In nuclear
fission reactions that take place in a nuclear power plant, plutonium
isotopes are a waste product with Plutonium-239 being the largest
component. Plutonium-239 is also the main radioactive material in
nuclear weaponry. It is that contrast between usefulness and deadliness
that frames Soporus' layered shimmering ambient guitar washes, droning
bass, and lush keyboards that meander between quiet, soaring beauty
and droning noise. Like the peacefulness of a sleek cooling tower
in the distance, slowly billowing out beautiful soft clouds of white
steam while the reactor below contains the ingredients that power
our society but also have the potential to annihilate us all.
The opening
track "Chalk River" refers to a site in Canada which manufactures
a large percentage of the world's supply of medical isotopes. Though
chartered to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy, Chalk River
also supplied substantial amounts of Plutonium-239 to the United
States for weapons manufacture during the Cold War.
"Good Luck In Your Road" is the English translation of
a sign outside of Pripyat, the site of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster,
and makes use of Geiger counter sample noise. "Lelechenky"
is the name given to an art/dance collective formed by children
who survived the Chernobyl disaster. They perform traditional Ukranian
dances and sing Ukranian folk songs to raise money for children
affected by Chernobyl.
"Tokaimura"
is a small Japanese fuel preparation facility. Workers were not
properly trained to make a batch of experimental fuel and brought
too much enriched uranium together which caused an uncontrolled
chain reaction. Over a hundred workers received large doses of radiation
and 2 workers died from radiation exposure. "Peabody"
is a reference to Robert Peabody who died after an accident at a
nuclear power plant fuel facility in Rhode Island in 1964. He is
the only person ever killed in an American nuclear accident and
the circumstances were similar to the Tokaimura accident. His liquid
uranium reached a critical mass and emitted lethal doses of radiation.
"Project
Salt Vault" was an experiment to see if spent nuclear fuel
rods could be successfully contained deep in a Kansas salt mine.
Salt does naturally absorb radiation and the experiment was successful,
though the site was abandoned due to concerns that the fuel rods
could potentially interact with underground water and oil reservoirs.
"3.28.79
Part II" and "3.28.79 Part III" borrow audio interviews
from a repository of almost 300 audio tapes of interviews conducted
by Dr. Lonna Malmsheimer and her Dickinson College colleagues soon
after the nearby Three Mile nuclear accident. These audio tapes
and supporting materials have been made available on the internet
to understand the facts of the incident and the varying degrees
of public reaction. Matthew Stone grew up in nearby Lebanon, PA
and his father recalled being sent home from his work in Harrisburg,
PA during the TMI incident. This helped inspire Stone's interest
in nuclear power plant accidents which heavily influence Soporus'
material.
24,110
is dedicated to the spirit of the Lelechenky and to Wladimir Schewtschenko
who filmed footage of the Chernobyl accident and died from radiation
poisoning (his only protection was a surgical mask and his camera
was buried with the rest of Chernobyl's radioactive debris). The
mysterious majesty of 24,110 is a requiem of the aftermath
of life and nuclear power
"[Burnt
Toast Vinyl's] double-LP set of four new bands--including brilliant
ambient duo Soporus--is one of the most memorable releases this
year." -- Martin de Leon, XLR8R
"The
artists' ambient and post-rock material is superb...A similar desolation
and grandeur haunts the magisterial “3.29.79” and [Soporus']
other pieces are equally beautiful ambient settings." -- Textura
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