Cabin Fever is a catalogue, a collective portrait, a eulogy to one of the strangest times in recent history. It is a global composition with many collaborators, both active and passive, human and technological. Drawing on a set of over 250 accounts of dreams collected from all over the world over the past year, this record is an excerpt, a few drifting moments from what is in reality a 24-hour audiovisual performance event shared through the video conferencing application Zoom. The 10 tracks move from time zone to time zone, where snatches of attempts to recall dreams in a range of languages wash over the listener.

“Ephemeral, magical, healing” – Folda festival

All the music was composed specifically for live performance over Zoom, using the software’s electronic parameters as a new instrument which controls and uniquely adapts the performance, embracing the electronic glitches associated with this platform. The music is inspired by domestic sounds, pitches from kettles and washing machines, amplifying familiar noises and sounds from the homes, which during the pandemic became our cabins. Esmeralda Conde Ruiz is an interdisciplinary composer of contemporary music, described as “a force of nature” (Choir and Organ Magazine). Her work revolves around real human voices and experiences, particularly the themes of memory and time, and how these can be presented through music. She specialises in choral and vocal pieces, especially innovative large-scale choirs. Her compositions often evolve from a visual starting point and develop into sound landscapes and rhythmical patterns.

Artists

Ciara McCarthy, Vivienne Sayers, Ellen Bolger, Perseus O'Brien, Esmeralda Conde Ruiz (electronics), Marco Caricola (electronics), Noriko Gregory, Jonathan Hammonds, Renata Adamcova, Vicky Annand, Alison Buckley, Madeleine Buckley, Nick Buckley, Christiane, Candis Litsey, Belén Durán, Allan Gardam, Simon Hearn, Jane Higginbottom, Janie Lucchese, Alison Monaghan, Javier Navarro, Ulrike Siemann, Claudia, Harper, Ruby, Nina, Olivia, Adel Alabd, Erik Ostwald, Denis Khomyshin, Belinda Calaguas, Edenia Padayao, Mark Sapaen Watan, Averil Pooten Watan, Jane Bugnosen, Everton L de Barros