When These Rocks Were Still Young

Welcome to the home page for When These Rocks Were Still Young, a film inspired by Scotland’s ancient and mysterious landscapes. This page has been designed to function somewhat like an online programme, with information about the creative processes which went into the film, as well as introducing you to the movements of the piece, and the artists behind them.

ABOUT THE PROJECT

Oliver Cox: In 2018 / 19 I took a year-long sabbatical from work: spending ten months travelling and doing two long meditation retreats in California and mid-NSW, Australia.

On my return I knew I needed a project to engage with. Having spent the previous 15 years as a busy performer with very regular and constant work, I wanted this break to signal an intention to engage with some new creative avenues. Scotland’s landscapes and wild places have always inspired me, both in terms of their obvious beauty, but also in a deep, visceral way. Spending time in the wilderness puts me in touch with parts of myself which don’t often show up when in the city. An expansiveness, something more timeless, which is also inherently more creative.

And so was born my idea: to write a series of pieces of music inspired by the Scottish land. I would create a mobile studio in the back of a camper van, and spend 5 weeks on the road, walking, writing music, immersing myself in these wild places and seeking inspiration.

Ali Webb / Kare Khoo: This project was the definition of collaboration for us as filmmakers. It’s a rarity that we get to come up with film concepts as the music is being composed - it was like a dance that we three did for over a year. That meant we had the pleasure of hearing Oliver’s music from his rough mixes to the final audio that is now in the film. It was a wonderful challenge for us to come up with ideas for each movement that would honour the landscapes as well as Oliver’s responses to them.

We also wanted to acknowledge Oliver’s initial plan to tour these movements live somehow. Facing the question of how do we bridge the two worlds of live shows and film, that’s where digital and overhead projector came in. It was an interactive way to bring the landscapes into the indoor, performative space.

Oliver himself kept a journal when he was on the trip, and when he shared what he had written with us, it felt like we had gained a deeper insight into the origin of this project. And so by sprinkling documentary-like elements throughout, we wanted to create another layer of understanding for the audience. An intimate moment, almost a getting-to-know Oliver through this window into his train of thoughts.

NOTES on the movements

1. Opening

OC: An introduction to the music, themes and imagery of the project. This begins softly and intimately, before opening out into something broader and more expansive featuring piano, percussion and electronics.

2. Invocation

OC: The first of two collaborations with Julie, this uses a stanza of an ancient Celtic poem ‘The Deer Cry’. The musical ideas for this emerged during my time in the Cairngorms. I hear it like an invocation to the Spirits of the Land.

3. Flying

OC: A more abstract number, inspired by watching eagles and other birds soar over the land and sea.

4. Waves

OC: This number is mainly inspired by my relationship to our coast and the sea. And in particular a misty morning when a swim became a spiritual experience.

KK: When we were up in Scotland filming outdoors, we actually stopped and filmed with Oliver on Achmelvich Beach and its surrounding. It wasn’t until in post-production that we felt like it wasn’t quite working visually and that we wanted to get closer to the action, to see Oliver being at one with the water. That’s when we asked Mike Guest to come onboard as our underwater cinematographer. In the edit, we wanted to embrace the flow and let the footage run undisturbed.

5. The Four Winds of Scotland / Ceithir Gaothan na h-Alba

OC: The second number co-written with Julie. This one is a setting of a poem by George Campbell Hay (see below)

6. The Green Man

OC: Music inspired by the magnificent and mysterious fairy woodlands and ancient Oaks of Sunart, in particular Ariundle Oakwoods in Strontian.

AW: With Oliver’s description of “wildness” and “uninhibited” in mind, we wanted to create visuals that sparks a sense of rawness. To admire the beauty in nature like extremely tiny details that usually go unseen to the naked eyes, its sense of timelessness, as well as its ability to stir and expand one’s consciousness. That’s where tilt-shifting and creating light trails come in.

7. Stars

OC: Many a night on my campervan trip I would stand or sit outside and gaze up to the night sky in its cosmic glory. Again, something which is harder to do when living in towns and cities. If the wide open spaces of Scotland’s land make me feel big and expansive, then the contemplation of the night sky is on a different level again. This is an electronic / synth number which feels like a journey to the stars. No performance in this one either.

8. Volcano!

OC: You can’t spend time in the mountainous parts of Scotland without getting a sense of its violent volcanic past. Wow! The forces which created these geological works of art over millennia were massive. A wild trio for three Bass drums and synths to bring the work to a climax. This one also features Julie, in a reprise / remix of the Invocation.

9. Ripples

OC: And finally, a moment of stillness to bring things back around. This is a simple piano piece. Music written during the Spring lockdown in North Berwick, where, amongst the chaos and confusion of that time, I connected deeply with the coast and beaches of North Berwick through daily walks, aided by glorious weather and spectacular sunsets…

The Artists

Additional collaborators

George Cort - lighting design

Evie Turner - production assistant

Mike Guest - underwater filming

Alex Nail - time-lapse film and still photography

Kirk Watson - drone filming

Steven Marshall - still photography

The Mart - live performance venue

Alex Cox - flyer design