Works
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Works /
‘Geography, History’ (Commissioned by RTÉ Radio 1)
Audio Visual Piece / Musical Composition
(Musical Composition Initially Released in October 2024, on RTÉ Radio 1 Website https://www.rte.ie/radio/radio1/clips/22434272/; Release as a Single and Audio Visual Piece Coming in April 2025)
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‘Geography, History’ was commissioned by RTÉ Radio (https://www.rte.ie/radio/radio1/clips/22434272/).
The commission emerged as a follow-up to an interview Waiting Space gave about Waterford in 2022, for the documentary series ‘The County Measure’ - the series invited Waiting Space back in 2024 to compose a piece of music inspired by Waterford.
About the piece, Waiting Space has noted ‘When I sat down to begin writing, I realised that it is hard to try and convey what Waterford means to me, without giving reference to both the incredible geography of County Waterford, and also to the history of Waterford City (Ireland’s oldest City).
And so, in line with its title, the song has two halves: a piano/vocal led first section, with lyrics emoting the geography of Waterford’s coastline (in particular, what it can feel like to look out from the coastline of the seaside town of Tramore in Co. Waterford [where I have recently moved]); while a much more populated/electronic second half comes with lyrics focusing on Waterford history - in particular references Viking and Norman periods in Waterford City itself (where I was born).
When writing the lyrics, I attempted to write about real life characteristics and features of Waterford, which - when described in the context of the song - end up seeming almost like passages from fantasy novel. A good example is the towering ‘Metal Man’ statue, that has been standing on the Tramore coastline for 200 years this year - all that time warning sailors of the dangerous shoreline ahead...’
Lyrics:Verse 1:
I stand on,
eroded coast,
at the heel of a country.
On a cliff face,
lined with ghosts,
the Metal Man warns loudly.
Copper ores,
buttressed coves -
natural arms
surround me.
I breath in
sea wind cold -
south-east sun warms me.Chorus 1:
I, I,
I’m aware of my,
my periphery,
and all that came before me.
I, I,
I’m aware of my,
my periphery,
and all to come after me.
Verse 2:
Along walled stone,
the river flows,
a quay from Adelphi.
In a place that’s
older than most -
a crystal with no boundary.
From long boats,
to strong bows -
Intacta City parries.
Street widths now,
stalled in time -
while a towering clock
reminds me.
Chorus 2:
I, I,
I’m aware of my,
my periphery,
and all that came before me.
I, I,
I’m aware of my,
my periphery,
and all to come after me.
Chorus 2:
I, I,
I’m aware of my, my periphery,
and all that came before me.
I,
[I stand on,]
I,
[eroded coast,]
I’m aware
[at the heel of a country,]
of my,
[in a place that’s,]
my periphery,
[older than most,]
and all to come after me.
[a crystal, with no boundary.]’
‘Unseen Happenings’ (Commissioned by Garter Lane Arts Centre)
Audio Visual Installation Piece / Short Film / Musical Composition
(Filmed February 2022, Installation On Display and Online Film Released in March 2022)
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‘Unseen Happenings’ is an audio/visual piece by ‘Waiting Space’ - commissioned by Garter Lane Arts Centre in Waterford, as part of their ‘Courtyard Calibrations’ programme.
In early 2022, as re-openings and easings of restrictions began to occur in Ireland - Garter Lane Arts Centre commissioned Waiting Space to develop a piece, with the theme of ‘light at the end of the tunnel’.
In response to the brief, Waiting Space wrote a musical composition - blending programming, synthezisers, and felt piano - with suggestive
melodies and dynamics, that fluctuate between cautious optimism, and relief, before reaching a crescendo of overwhelming sounds and frenetic movement.
This musical score is set against a video produced, directed, and edited by Waiting Space, and filmed in February 2022 with the assistance of Katy Flynn of Waterford design studio ‘Haboo’ (www.haboo.ie) - which depicts key spaces in Garter Lane Arts Centre, lying quiet, still, and empty at night-time, before those same spaces become awash with an animated projection created by Waiting Space, of architectonic cubes and lines of bright colours, that interface with the angles and shapes of Garter Lane Arts Centre’s beautiful Georgian building.
Named ‘Unseen Happenings’, the piece aimed to show the ‘life’ that continues to happen in a cultural building, even when there is no one there, and also the work done by people behind the scenes, to make things happen - while the crescendo of the musical score, and sudden interjection of the colourful animation on the space, alludes to the sudden ramping up and preparations that the culture industry had made when learning that their doors were initially closing, and then, reopening.
As part of the commission, the short-film was made available to watch online on YouTube, and on Garter Lane Arts Centre’s website (garterlane.ie), from Tuesday the 8th of March 2022 - while the musical score was played at 13:05 and 17:05 daily, Tuesdays to Saturdays, for the month of March 2022, in Garter Lane Arts Centre’s courtyard, at 22 O’Connell St, Waterford.
‘Live at the Theatre Royal’
Live Performance / Concert Video / E.P.
(Performed September 2021, Online Concert Video & E.P. Released September 2022)
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I'm delighted to share these recordings that were taken during my performance as Waiting Space, at the Theatre Royal, Waterford, on 17th September 2021. The set was part a series of concerts titled 'Irish Beats Presents: Live at the Royal’ which took place over the month of September, taken in partnership between the Theatre Royal, and Beat 102103 FM - and the night was also part of events taking place nationwide, as part of the festival, 'Culture Night'.
The recordings capture the nerves, joy, mistakes, and all - from what was the first Waiting Space gig in over two years (having last performed live before that night, in May 2019). The e.p. includes two 'unreleased' songs - 'Winter Sun', and 'The Fall' - as well as being the live audience debut of both 'Winter Sun', and my first instrumental piece ('Cocoon') which was released in 2020.
Setlist:
0:00 Winter Sun
4:12 Warmer
8:44 The Fall
12:19 Cocoon
15:53 All In Good Time
When I originally formed Waiting Space in 2014, it was a 'bedroom project' - a medium away from my other performing bands, where I could write with sounds and structures that I enjoyed, without the limits of thinking about 'how can these be performed live?' - and especially as a solo act. As a result, to-date I have only performed four times to live crowds as Waiting Space - with the Theatre Royal performance being that 4th performance. It is always a challenge to figure out how to translate these songs for the live-stage - but it was worth every extra cable I needed to buy, or new production or gear skill I needed to learn in the weeks running up to the gig - to have the honour of being one of the first musicians in Ireland to get to perform to such a large and enthusiastic crowd again, after the relaxing of COVID-19 restrictions.
Thank you to the Theatre Royal, Beat 102103 FM, Rob O'Connor, Dermot Quinn, and all who made the night possible. After years of doubt, the night and the amazing audience on the night, made me realise thatthe music I make as Waiting Space, does have a place on the stage - and I look forward to sharing it 'in the live' again soon. For now - here's an echo of the night, with these five tracks.
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Listen to Waiting Space @: YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCVSTvltlq8dy..
Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/4VtY5fEsCMAyxvOFajw3mY
AppleMusic / iTunes: itunes.apple.com/ie/artist/waiting-space/1090409507
Bandcamp: www.waitingspacemusic.bandcamp.com/
SoundCloud: www.soundcloud.com/chrisfalconer
‘Winter Sun’
Online Streamed Live Performance / Lighting Production
(Pre-filmed Live Stream Performance Released July 2021)
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The Waiting Space live-performance for Bobstock Cape Clear Virtual Festival, which took place on 03/07/2021, in aid of the Oesophageal Cancer Fund.
This performance is of unreleased Waiting Space piece, 'Winter Sun', which was initially written in the depths of the winter months between the end of 2020, and beginning of 2021 - when Ireland had re-entered 'lockdown', and the artist was, like most people were, finding it hard continuing a loop where which would see each day being spent home, remote working, with daylight dwindling until the evening darkness would be all that was left upon completion of the workday. However, in trying to keep himself present, he found joys in minute details of life, like the cast shadows that would lie across his floors, when the sun would be strong enough to break through the lines in the curtains/blinds, during remote working. Little moments that 'kept me going', according to Falconer.
Reflecting the lyric's subjects, this live performance was accompanied by a new animation created by Waiting Space, of an orange-glowing window with sun beaming through, projected and used as part of the live performance for dramatic effect. The artist also took the opportunity to create some lighting-design to add atmosphere to the location in which he filmed it (ironically, his place of work during 'normal times'), additionally used line with the song's themes, in order to play with cast shadows.
Camera work undertaken by photographer & designer, Katy Flynn, of Waterford design studio 'HABOO' (www.haboo.ie) - and video-edited by Waiting Space.
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When the light seems lost when,
I come in from the office,
On those days either side,
Of the Winter Solstice,
There's a promise of brighter days ahead.When the darkness edges,
In from the evening,
Those lines on the floor,
They let me know that I'm still breathing,
And there's a promise of brighter days ahead.A neon glow across the window,
That casts,
Persistent lines of winter sun.When the sunset reddens,
As it fights the evening,
And the shadows sweep,
As the light’s receding.
There's a promise of brighter days ahead.When the darkness edges,
Further into morning,
And islands of winter sun begin to stretch their shoring,
There's a promise of brighter days ahead.A neon glow beyond that window,
That casts,
Persistent lines of winter sun, and as,
As they stretch their reach towards me, oh I, I run my fingers through their warmth- - -
Credits:
Written, performed, recorded, produced, and mixed by Waiting Space (Chris Falconer). Artwork, footage, and video composition and editing, additionally by Waiting Space (Chris Falconer). Additional camera-work by photographer & Design, Katy Flynn, of Waterford design studio 'HABOO' (www.haboo.ie)
‘Generation Loss’ (Commissioned by the Luan Gallery)
Musical Composition / Video Score
(Accompanied Video by Luan Gallery Released Online in July 2021)
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‘Generation Loss’ is a musical score composition, commissioned by the Luan Gallery, in Athlone, Ireland - as a musical accompaniment to a ‘virtual walkthrough’ video of the Colm Mac Athlaoich Exhibition, at Luan Gallery, Athlone, Ireland, in July 2021. The musical piece attempted to reflect themes in Colm Mac Athlaoich’s work - by including some very clear melodic ‘outlines’, that sit on top of murkier elements that bleed into each other. Falconer also used a technique of ‘rerecording’ elements to create different saturations and warping audio, which is called ‘generation loss’ - to reflect Colm’s process for recreating elements of found photos. - View the ‘Virtual Walkthrough Video’ made by the gallery, at: https://youtu.be/rNKrwlj5bsE
‘Winter Sun’ (Demo/Púca Version)
Audio Visual Piece / Musical Composition Demo
(Online Audio Visual, and Single, Both Released March 2021)
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Not every idea works out / is easily finished. Sometimes sounds just work in isolation, or other times there's a chorus or a missing part of a song that you know you will write eventually, but you have to wait for it to come (weeks, months... genuinely, in some cases years).
But I keep all my demos on my phone - listening back to them occasionally to see if I can work through them, or figure out what's missing. Doing this, I find that I often become attached to these songs in their unfished format as well. And even though I know that they could be more 'polished' or a 'bigger' song in the future, I often wish I could share the unfinished, honest, ideas that the songs are when they're in this demo state.
So, for a while now I've been thinking of releasing some of these occasionally, as 'Púca Versions'. 'Púca' is both the Irish for ghost - and also what I call the icon in my logo - and I feel that that ethereal notion of the ghost, or spirit, of a song, makes sense with these unfinished, but still present, pieces of ideas.
So here's one: the Púca Version of an idea called 'Winter Sun' - simply piano, with very honest scratch vocals I recorded when playing the original idea, and some small layers of strings added in to give the piece some glue. 'Winter Sun' began in a very literal dark time, in the depths of the winter months between the end of 2020, and beginning of 2021 - when Ireland was back into strict lockdown procedures; and I, like most people, were finding it hard to be in a loop where you would spend the day at home, remote working, and then by the time you would be finished, it would be dark outside. But, in trying to keep myself present, I found joys in little things like the cast shadows that would lie across my floors, when the sun would be strong enough to break through the lines in the curtains/blinds. Things like these keep/kept me going...
While I hope to release a different/more 'polished' version of Winter Sub in the future - I really wanted to share this honest version of the song; and the Púca Version of Winter Sun is only available on Bandcamp, and YouTube - and not available on Spotify / iTunes, etc.. I've also made the song free/pay what you want - but if you want to support me, if you pick up a Waiting Space T-Shirt (with embroidered Púca logo) or other select merch, for the next few months, you will also get a free download of another Waiting Space song.
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Lyrics:
When the light seems lost when,
I come in from the office,
On those days either side,
Of the Winter Solstice,There's a promise of brighter days ahead.
When the darkness edges,
In from the evening,
Those lines on the floor,
They let me know that I'm still breathing,
And there's a promise of brighter days ahead.
‘All In Good Time’
Audio Visual Piece / Musical Composition
(Online Audio Visual, and Single, Both Released December 2020)
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Christmas has always played a role in ‘Waiting Space’ - the solo project of producer and musician, Chris Falconer, from Waterford, Ireland. Waiting Space began in 2014 with a cover of a Christmas song - and for a time after this (4 consecutive years) the project annually released a winter/Christmas original piece - before a break for 2018/2019, when other projects got in the way. This year, however, Falconer felt it was the right time to renew the tradition, with new piece: ‘All In Good Time’.
The song goes live on Tuesday 01/12/2020 on Bandcamp, and YouTube – with SoundCloud / Spotify / AppleMusic, and other ‘premium’ streaming services, following on Saturday 12/12/2020. The reason for an initial Bandcamp-only release, is due to all earnings made from sales on Bandcamp going to ALONE Ireland, who are a charity supporting older people in Ireland.
About the song, Falconer says:
'‘All In Good Time’ is inspired by the long wait to see each other again, made all the more apparent by the distance imposed for the majority of the year by COVID-19 – and particularly applied to the Irish consciousness with a Second Lockdown, that came coupled with the promise of potentially reuniting with loved-ones in December. To reflect this, it starts out as a piano and voice ballad, and continues to build in orchestration, before breaking out into a ‘full band’ type jam at the end, as a pay-off for the slow-build.
The song is probably my most ‘on-the-nose’/‘cheesy’ Christmas-focused release, with very literal lyrics describing idealised Christmas scenarios, with ‘garland trailing the stairs’ railing’ – set against aspirational, but uncertain hopes which keep us going – particularly in the main refrain of ‘all in good time’, and also in the hopeful line of ‘kids listen out for sounds on the ceiling’.
In particular when I was writing this, I was thinking of my Granny, and how difficult it was to keep my distance from her. The song is full of nostalgia, and, given that I normally make quite serious music…I really just made something that I thought my Granny would enjoy listening to.
The song is also accompanied by a video I made using footage I had taken during Storm Emma / the snow blizzard that shutdown Ireland in 2018. The idea of ‘nostalgia’ is further added by VHS-references added, which create some visual dynamics to the already interesting sights created by the real-life snowfalls.'
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Lyrics:
‘All in, good time,
I'll be there with you,
House dressed in red & white,
After a year of blue;All in, good time,
I'll be there with you,
I'm there now in my mind.Come in from the cold and,
Turn on the heating,
As the kids listen out for,
Sounds on the ceiling;There's just enough room,
To fit a tree in,
And the garland's trailing,
The stairs' railing;All in, good time,
I'll be there with you,
House dressed in red & white,
After a year of blue;All in, good time,
I'll be there with you,
I'm there now in my mind.All in, good time,
I'll be there with you,
House dressed in red & white,
After a year of blue;All in, good time,
I'll be there with you,
I'm there now in my mind.’
‘Luan’ (Commissioned by the Luan Gallery)
Audio Visual Piece, and Musical Composition / Video Score
(Composition Accompanied Video by Luan Gallery and Separate Audio-Visual Piece & Single, Released in September 2020)
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The 'visualiser' for 'Luan' (Released Friday 02/10/2020) - the new single from 'Waiting Space' (the audio & visual project, and alias, of musician and creator, Chris Falconer, from Waterford, Ireland).
'Luan' was initially commissioned by the Luan Gallery, in Athlone, Ireland - as a musical accompaniment to a ‘virtual walkthrough’ video of the gallery's spaces, which was hosted online for Culture Night 2020 - and created to allow audiences to 'visit' the gallery from a distance, during a time when COVID-19 restrictions continued to limit movements.
While the original 'gallery walkthrough' video by Louise King, can be seen on YouTube at • Culture Night Luan Gallery 2020 - for the video above, Waiting Space has created this new visual to accompany the piece. In the video, the letters that make up the song's title, drift in and out of focus in an imaginary space - inspired by the rotations of a 'hanging mobile' which sits above Waiting Space's studio desk. Each letter bears a distinct, strong colour - which are based on the colours of Ireland's Culture Night festival - and as the song progresses, focus continues to blur, and the colours begin to bleed into each, and the screen is overtaken by iridescent motions.
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Stream:
Spotify @: https://open.spotify.com/album/1lXXMP...
AppleMusic @: / luan-single
Bandcamp @: https://waitingspacemusic.bandcamp.co...
SoundCloud @: / waiting-space-luan
For merch, including the 'Luan' signed print:
https://waitingspacemusic.bandcamp.co...
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More About 'Luan':
'In early September 2020, I was commissioned by the Luan Gallery, in Athlone, Ireland, to create a musical score to accompany a ‘virtual walkthrough’ video of the gallery spaces – which would allow audiences to 'visit' the gallery from a distance on Culture Night 2020 - in a time when COVID-19 restrictions continue to limit movements.
A quick turnaround was required in order for the piece to be included in the gallery’s Culture Night programme – and so ‘Luan’ was written and recorded within 4 days. As a result, it is probably the most organic, and honestly-recorded piece of music that I have worked on (and a great diversion from how normally find myself tweaking and reworking songs for weeks or months, before feeling ‘comfortable’ to release them).
When creating ‘Luan’, I decided that emulating the feeling of being in the physical spaces of the gallery could be a leaping-point – and so I decided to place piano at the centre of the song, as I felt it was the best instrument for conveying the reverb of a ‘room’. I additionally tried to emphasise this by including the ambient sounds of pedals, and mechanics of the piano, in the recording.
The piano-focus of the piece was guided by the work of some of my favourite artists – including Ólafur Arnalds, Nils Frahm, Agnes Obel, Trent Reznor, Thom Yorke, & more - and when creating the track, I tried to produce a delicate blend of sustained, rhythmic piano chords, acting as the foundation for clear, punctuating top-melodies, that evolve, and eventually blend, over the course of the song – so that the near 6-minute length of the gallery virtual walkthrough, felt cohesive (with similar re-occurring themes), but not stationary (with subtle melody changes adding new perspectives to the chords' notes).
Additionally, the chords flutter between darkness and light, in order to simulate the initial intimidation which can occur when entering a gallery space – which can be relieved the eventual joy of making a connection or revelation with a piece of art on display.
Occasional atmospheric synths, and musical feedback, bleed in and out around the piano at the core of the song - to reinforce the anticipation of turning corners onto new views -and to try and reflect the movement through the gallery spaces which the ‘virtual walkthrough’ video took. I particularly allowed the electronic elements to wash over the mix, when the camera focused its intention on an incredible glasswall which the gallery building has, and which allows an uninterrupted view onto the River Shannon - making a 'artwork' of the building's surroundings.
Thanks again to the Luan Gallery, and Curator Aoife Power, for including me as part of their Culture Night programme.'
‘Cocoon’
Audio Visual Installation Piece / Short Film / Musical Composition
(Online Audio Visual, and Single, Both Released May 2020. Additionally Exhibited in LCA as Part of ‘Stories from Lismore and Beyond’ - 31 Jul. - 11 Oct. 2020; and Screen as Part of Waterford Film Festival, in Odeon Cinema Waterford, Nov. 2022)
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Cocoon is a neoclassical musical composition, that attempts to capture a hopeful, but cautious, feeling which Waiting Space (Chris Falconer) had during the pandemic. Due to a heightened-risk arising from immunosuppressing medication which Falconer takes for an autoimmune disease - like many others, he had been undertaking the practice of ‘cocooning’, during COVID-19. ‘Cocoon’ takes its name from this - and it was the first solely-instrumental release from Falconer - having decided to leave the song lyric-less, as it’s likely the most ‘hopeful’ sounding piece of music I’ve written - and thought it was timely to leave it as is’. The music scores an accompanying shortfilm by Falconer, made from drone footage he recorded within the 2k.m. lockdown limit of his home, in Waterford City, Ireland, during the COVID-19 pandemic, in April 2020 - Officially Selected for the Waterford Film Festival, 2022, and shown in the Odeon Waterford. ‘Cocoon’ was also been exhibited at Lismore Castle Arts - Lismore, Waterford, in 2020. - View at: https://youtu.be/tCNMeYz_FLs
‘Unfurl’
Audio Visual Piece / Musical Composition
(Online Audio Visual, and Single, Both Released December 2017)
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To accompany the delicate piece, Waiting Space created a Digital Animation (Wireframe Shapes, Evolving into Wintry Landscape).
Written, performed, recorded, produced, and mixed by Waiting Space (Chris Falconer). Artwork, footage, and video composition and editing, additionally by Waiting Space (Chris Falconer) [with the exception of fog footage from VFX Footage / Motion Graphics Fog 01 - Free compositing footage, and dust particles from Project Footage Free's Dust Particles HD Video Footage FREE Version 1].
Select equipment used: Shure SM58, Shure SM7b; Novation Impulse Midi-Keyboard; FocusRite Scarlett 18i20 Audio-Interface; Sonor Drums; Sabian Cymbals; Macbook Pro w/ Logic X; Adobe Premiere; Adobe InDesign; and LANDR.
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Lyrics:
'I come from true north,
Boreal lands, that are furious.I'm born, I breathe, I grow;
I am felled, I am hauled to a home.A sight that's so wonderful,
That I begin to unfurl.
A sight that's so wonderful,
That I begin to unfurl.In this room, I am more than a tree;
Your memories, they hang out of me.
No leaves, but needle hands reaching,
For gentle brush of healing.A sight that's so wonderful,
That I begin to unfurl.
A sight that's so wonderful,
That I begin to unfurl.With lights, you bind me;
Eyes and ears attuned;With a star, you crown me,
as I heal a year's wounds.A sight that's so wonderful,
That I begin to unfurl.
A sight that's so wonderful,
That I begin to unfurl [...]'
‘Breathe’
Audio Visual Piece / Musical Composition
(Online Audio Visual, and Single, Both Released December 2016)
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'Breathe' - released in December 2016 - looks at some of the psychology behind 'the new year'; while reflecting on a personal level, how a lung condition had affected the artist for the past year.
To accompany the piece, Waiting Space created a Digital Animation (Animated Digital Drawing of Lungs In-Action)
‘Warmer’
Audio Visual Piece / Musical Composition
(Online Audio Visual, and Single, Both Released December 2015)
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Footage filmed by Waiting Space, in Iceland, October, 2015 - at various locations, over two weeks; on a journey through 'Route 1'.
'Warmer' is also the fourth, of an ongoing twelve song and film collection, in a series under the title 'Genius Loci', by Waiting Space. The twelve audio/visual pieces will focus on the themes of spirit of place; the sense of the individual in the crowd; mobility and travel; and the diaspora.
Select equipment used: Shure SM58 Shure SM7b; Novation Impulse Midi-Keyboard; FocusRite Scarlett 18i20 Audio-Interface; Sonor Drums; Sabian Cymbals; Macbook Pro w/ Logic; Adobe Premiere.
Written, performed, recorded, produced, and mixed by Waiting Space (Chris Falconer). Artwork, footage, and video composition and editing, additionally by Waiting Space (Chris Falconer).
All visuals and music Copyright © 2015 Chris Falconer (Waiting Space), and are not for reproduction.
For more information on Waiting Space, visit: www.waiting.space
Lyrics:
As the frost sets in, it takes hold of autumn,
But all year we have kept our distance.
Trees rise in houses all around,
and you'll be travelling home, in this instantOh, don't be, so cold;
You will turn to snow.
Oh, don't be, so cold;
I hope, I hope:This winter, you will be warmer,
I hope I hope.
This winter, you will be warmer,
I hope I hope.In this fog I reach out shaking hands.
Oh God, how much I've missed it.
But the snow pulls branches to the ground;
Just like the weight, on the way we left this.This winter, you will be warmer.
This winter, you will be warmer.This winter, you will be warmer,
I hope I hope.
This winter, you will be warmer,
I hope I hope.This winter, you will be warmer,
I hope I hope [...]Written, performed, recorded, produced, and mixed by Waiting Space (Chris Falconer). Artwork, footage, and video composition and editing, additionally by Waiting Space (Chris Falconer).
All visuals and music Copyright © 2015 Chris Falconer (Waiting Space), and are not for reproduction.
‘Genius Loci’
Audio Visual Piece / Musical Composition
(Online Audio Visual, and Single, Both Released July 2015)
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Footage filmed by Waiting Space, in Toronto, Canada, September-October, 2014. 'Genius Loci' is the third, of an ongoing twelve song and film collection, in a series under the same name (Genius Loci) by Waiting Space. The twelve audio/visual pieces will focus on the themes of spirit of place; the sense of the individual in the crowd; mobility and travel; and the diaspora.
Lyrics:
'Don't get me started,
'cause if I do, I'll never finish -
and we'll be right back where we began.We fall into cities - in search of place and meanings.
Planes, like Icarus' wings,
take me from the ground.I am just one body, walking the veins of the cities -
hoping there's someone out there,
wondering where I should be.I am just one body, walking the veins of the cities -
hoping there's someone out there,
wondering where I should be.To move the furthest,
we drive on roads of lights, and dashes.
In these lanes we line up our hopes.With tears from farewells,
we make our own oceans.
As sea shores reach out harbour arms.I am just one body, walking the veins of the cities -
hoping there's someone out there,
wondering where I should be.I am just one body, walking the veins of the cities -
hoping there's someone out there,
wondering where I should be.To swell with confidence, but feel so small.
To love, and to be adored.
To swell with confidence, but feel so small.
To love, and to be adored.(Don't get me started, 'cause if I do, I'll never finish -
and we'll be right back where we began)
I am just one body, walking the veins of the cities -
hoping there's someone out there,
wondering where I should be.(Don't get me started, 'cause if I do, I'll never finish -
and we'll be right back where we began)
I am just one body, walking the veins of the cities -
hoping there's someone out there,
wondering where I should be.'Further Info:
In the past few months, as my Waiting Space project continued to evolve - I reached the decision to produce a twelve-piece series of songs/audio and films/shorts, into a collection titled 'Genius Loci' (under which this single-release of the same name, lies). 'Genius Loci' is a Latin phrase loosely referencing the prevailing character or atmosphere of a place, or the presiding god or spirit of a place. Extending from this, the twelve pieces will focus on the themes of spirit of place; the sense of the individual in the crowd; mobility and travel; and the diaspora.
The single-release 'Genius Loci' is the third film/audio in the series of the same name. To offer it an abridged-description: the piece focuses on the vacuum of travelling in search of a 'something', or je-ne-sais-quoi that can take a hold of the wanderlusting individual, or indeed enforced emigrant; how those dislocated experiences may feel; and the difficulty to stop, once they have started. It is biographically-inspired by a number of friends and loved ones who have, and continue to emigrate - particularly in recent years in Ireland - particularly close to my peer-group as a late-twenty-year-old.
Select equipment used: Shure SM7b; Novation Impulse Midi-Keyboard; FocusRite Scarlett 18i20 Audio-Interface; Sonor Drums; Sabian Cymbals; Macbook Pro w/ Logic; Adobe Premiere.
Written, performed, recorded, produced, and mixed by Waiting Space (Chris Falconer). Artwork, footage, and video composition and editing, additionally by Waiting Space (Chris Falconer).
(With exception for 'glitch' transition elements, using Rampant Design's free packs of Distortion; Reflections; & Studio Overlays packs - with thanks to Rampant Design (http://rampantdesigntools.com/) - all visuals and music Copyright © 2015 Chris Falconer (Waiting Space), and are not for reproduction.
‘Borrowed Memories’
Audio Visual Piece / Musical Composition
(Online Audio Visual, and Single, Both Released January 2015)
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'Borrowed Memories' - an original Waiting Space (Chris Falconer) Christmas song, 2014.
Programming, live instrumentation, and vocals by Waiting Space (Chris Falconer). Select equipment used: Shure SM58; Novation Impulse Midi-Keyboard; FocusRite Scarlett 18i20 Audio-Interface; Sonor Drums, Macbook Pro w/ Logic.
Waiting Space is a solo music, and aesthetics project by Chris Falconer. All visuals and music Copyright © 2014 Chris Falconer (Waiting Space) - with exception for 'glitch' transition elements, using Rampant Design's Distortion; Reflections; & Studio Overlays packs - with thanks to Rampant Design (http://rampantdesigntools.com/)
For more, see: www.facebook.com/WaitingSpace
About the song:
The term 'Borrowed Memories' (in this context), refers to the quest to find a happy medium between your own experiences of Christmas, and the overblown promises of Christmases on tv, and in film, and literature. The imagined memories that they can offer can definitely feed the celebrations of the season - but it might also be important not to forget the importance of original experience, and the true happenings with those you love around you. Writing a Christmas song also comes with a certain level of freedom, in that you can be forgiven for being a cheesier lyricist than usual...
Lyrics:
'Thank God for whoever planted all the evergreens -
When you're not here, I still have them to see.The site of smiling faces in the streets -
Bring memories of nights with you next me.Angels and candles, they need a home too.
This time of year, they find it.
But I...
I always found my home with you.Cold winter nights are made for you next to me -
with nothing but flashing lights for us to see.There's rain outside, so we'll borrow memories...
of white mornings from films on the TV.Angels and candles, they need a home too.
This time of year, they find it.
But I...
I always found my home with you.Those days.
Those nights.
Those winters - by my side.
Red and green floods the streets.
No need to move - being here with you, is all I could need.
And, with that, a simple truth remains.
With all of these, what use have I for borrowed memories?Angels and candles, they need a home too.
This time of year, they find it.
But I...
I always found my home with you.'Written, performed, recorded, and mixed by Waiting Space (Chris Falconer).