Stockholm, Spring 2020

During times of relative normalcy, we are a jamming band. Once a week we gather in our cramped rehearsal space, the room littered with tiny treasures left behind by members of the other unknown number of bands with whom the space is shared, and immerse ourselves in the art of spontaneous creation. This collaborative and on-the-fly music making is an intimate process, one that teaches relinquishment of control as much as it shapes musical creativity. Our improvised musical creations are usually largely ambient affairs, where layers of drones are woven together to create a harmonic and dreamy wall of sound, slowly increasing in intensity before eventually culminating in an ecstatic crescendo*. Within the context of our weekly rehearsals we have managed to create a space for personal expression and social cohesion. Jam sessions regularly act as both plain recreation and a form of aural-experience-as-therapy.

And then, covid-19 hit.  

Once it had dawned on us that the responsible choice would be to distance oneself socially, we decided to postpone our weekly therapeutic rituals, however painful that would be. With our regular jam sessions gone, we faced the choice of either losing an important and unique part of our social lives, or finding a way to somehow replicate the same experiences we were able to regularly conjure in meatspace without meeting physically.

After remembering and reexperiencing the incredible In Bb 2.0 by Darren Solomon, in which physically distant musicians interact with one another to create an ever-changing beautiful collaborative masterpiece, everything seemed to click. One of us pitched the idea to revive this format for musicianship during social distancing, and the rest were instantly convinced – this template would be the perfect fit for an attempt to remain connected, socially as well as musically.

Social distancing in E major is a musical work consisting of sixteen tiny pieces of sound, created and recorded locally in each of our individual homes. In creating each piece we have attempted to capture the same combination of individual creative freedom and collaborative spirit that permeates our previously regular jam sessions. In this work we invite you – the listener – to participate in our improvisational process of making music. You can play the videos in whichever combinations you please. Play one, play some, play all. Find your favorites. We are the musicians, and you are our conductor.

At the time of writing, many of us are struggling to find new ways to fulfill our needs for social companionship in a changed world. This is our contribution, and we are both grateful and excited about sharing it with you.

Best regards,

Arian, Nils, Petter & Victor
Borduner

* If you’d like to hear what this sounds like, feel free to listen to a recording of one of our tiny live shows - we think it’s a lovely slow burner.

Stockholm, Winter 2020

After a brief moment of respite, during which we made sure to reinvigorate ourselves with a couple of those live jam sessions we had missed so dearly, infection rates rose yet again. The second wave was upon us. This time, however, we were prepared.

Building upon our creation from earlier in the year, we decided to bring other musicians into the mix. Musicians who, just like ourselves, had spent a large part of the year pent up in their homes, suffering from the same sonic withdrawal symptoms we did. Our vision was clear: we wanted to create a radiant mosaic of sound, consisting of tiny pieces of music sourced from anyone who wanted to participate. Just like the first Social distancing in E major – a reprise of sorts – but open source. 

The result could not have ended up any better, and we are very excited to share it with you. See, listen, play with it yourselves. Gaze into the mosaic and enjoy getting lost in its depth and breadth – we know we will.

We would like to express our gratitude to Amanda, Isac, Jenny, Koosha, Maya, Moa, Olle, Philip, Sebastian, Shervin, and William for participating in this project. Thank you for making this with us.

Best regards,

Arian, Nils, Petter & Victor
Borduner