There's something profoundly insightful about witnessing an artist in their creative environment. The way a studio operates and how it's adorned reveals much about individual processes and the pathways people establish for themselves. It's with great anticipation, then, that Clash travels to West London to find the studio where Brian Eno has been working for over two decades.
In a lifetime filled with creativity, this week is certainly noteworthy for the producer and sonic theorist, who has long navigated his self-defined identity as a non-musician. Just hours away from release, two albums born from an extensive collaboration with visual artist and musician Beatie Wolfe are set to debut on streaming platforms.
‘Luminal’ leans more towards song structures, with its arrangements reminiscent of Galaxie 500 at their most ethereal; it incorporates subtle elements of Americana, showcasing a slowcore aesthetic that gently dismantles typical song structure, allowing the inherent energy to flow onto the record. In contrast, ‘Lateral’ can be described, albeit perhaps simplistically, as ambient, where various sounds ebb and flow within the ambiance of the studio.
As gracious hosts, Brian Eno and Beatie Wolfe guide a diverse group of journalists through the studio. The main area has been cleared out, as Eno has chosen to transform it into a community hub – on Tuesdays, he leads an acapella group whose repertoire, he amusingly claims, “ranges all the way from doo-wop to more doo-wop.” Local Palestinian organizations utilize the studio for organizing efforts, while another political group seeks ways to reinvigorate democratic participation. It's all utterly captivating.
Brian Eno and Beatie Wolfe were united by a shared interest in each other's visual art endeavors. Beatie recounts, partly in jest, how they first crossed paths at karaoke – where Eno, claiming ‘Only You’ as his go-to song, met her. This led to a more formal introduction during a Zoom call at SXSW. They met in person at Somerset House while attending an exhibition of Beatie's work, bonding over their mutual disdain for NFTs before heading to the studio, eager to explore what might unfold.
Upon arrival, Eno began strumming his cherished ukulele, and the two started developing these ideas through the Logic software. “This is the most minimalist line-up in history,” he declares to the gathered audience. “It’s just us two with one electric guitar. Oh, and we added another at the very end!”
“The concept was simple – let's step into the studio, just the two of us, and create something with what's available. That was our guiding principle: treating each day as a fresh start to do something we hadn't done the day before or wouldn’t do tomorrow. It was a spontaneous response to the space we were in.”
‘Luminal’ and ‘Lateral’ showcase two distinct yet complementary aspects of what emerged from their collaboration. One focuses on songs, while the other consists of non-songs – “which we jokingly called nongs!” Beatie chuckles.
“There were many elements occurring simultaneously. I would say there were more than just two streams – perhaps six or more – and due to the limited vocabulary available to describe music, it often resulted in more non-songs,” she explains. “We weren't intentionally following any particular path; we were simply creating things that blossomed whenever we came together.”
For Beatie, the constraints of the studio setup were exhilarating. Having recently moved from Los Angeles, where studios often boast multiple guitars and an array of microphones, the experience of using a single guitar with decade-old strings was refreshing. “It removes the ego from the process,” she notes. “It brings you back to simplicity and efficiency.”
Brian’s cherished Oblique Strategies – a card deck designed to foster creative exploration – also proved useful. “We would each draw a card,” he explains, “but without revealing what it said to the other person. Then we would operate under the constraints or freedoms dictated by the card and attempt to manipulate the session to align with our interpretations, which led to some intriguing outcomes.”
“It flowed so seamlessly, and it was incredibly enjoyable,” Beatie adds. “It may sound clichéd, but genuinely, it was a constant source of fun. Our actions were driven solely by enjoyment, without any underlying agenda.”
Brian smiles and adds: “It was essentially all experimentation, just following our instincts.”
The outcome speaks for itself. In a saturated landscape – which Brian himself helped create – ‘Lateral’ features exquisite ambient compositions. References to ‘Big Empty Country’ remind both musicians of the American Southwest, mentioning places like Arizona, Utah, and Colorado. “I think that’s definitely a part of it,” Beatie observes. “It embodies country music in the sense of being a landscape; a canvas that can be filled with a person or a voice… or not!”
Sonically rich, the tracks on ‘Lateral’ also exude a sense of whimsy. “An
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Observing an artist in their own creative space can be incredibly illuminating. The operation of a studio, along with the way it is