after making several attempts to sonically convey the history of the american west, a new subject became clear: a sonic exploration into the poisoning of the earth due to atomic testing and the heavy defense industries that surround it. the 'cobalt variations' trilogy attempts to make sense of this. the records can be listened to in sequence or taken individually.

the music program is designed to extract you from real time, and allow you to visit the american west and south pacific across various stages of destruction to the natural environment, as their resident populations are endangered through direct governmental actions.

cobalt variations two : atoll

the journey continues on 18.8.58, more than a decade after the initial detonation at white sands, the government ends its bombardment of the bikini and eniwetak atolls in the marshall islands. formerly a japanese property, the united states overtook the islands in the pacific stage of world war two, beginning the first seizure of properties in the south pacific. over more than a decade and more than one hundred nuclear detonations, the pacific proving grounds would never be the same again; to this day, there is radioactive contamination preventing the native population from returning to their homes in the marshall islands.

this recording explores the sun-kissed, salt soaked world of the south pacific, during a time of violent bombardment and forced resettlement of the native population.

a slow cascade of noise builds across the timeline of ‘bikini’, starting with a melange of sounds derived from hydrophonic microphones, and climaxing in a sheet of oceanic white noise.

field recordings direct from the marshall islands help set the stage for the subdued anguish of ‘eniwetak’. while lacking the structural noise processes of it’s companion track, ‘eniwetak’ nonetheless highlights the despair of nature and it’s inhabitants, as the bombardment rains explosive poisons from the sky, annihilating everything in it’s path.