Marginal
Marginal is a collection of 10 instrumental tracks written alongside other projects during 2005 and 2006. None of the other projects happened, but Marginal did.
"expertly produced, twinkling with bluesy electronic keyboard tones and shuffling beats ... the ambience of Eno/Budd and the jazz-inflected instrumental palettes of Sylvian's early work"
Future Music
“completely hypnotic” ****
Bristol Evening Post
"downtempo electronica, simple yet beautiful in sound
... not all ambient bliss but also challenging"
Calmscape
The font used for Marginal is called 'Subway Ticker' by Keith Bates who observed it whilst travelling on the New York subway to Coney Island in February 2005. Coincidentally, Sarah and I were on the same train 3 months later. The visual design was supervised by Paul Ramos. The photo was taken by Sarah during a performance at The Tobacco Factory, round the corner here in Bristol.
The three most downloaded tracks from Marginal have been Ashes and Snow, I Think It's Snowing and Benny's Song. Ashes and Snow was inspired by a visit to the exhibition of the same name by Gregory Colbert.
Marginal Drops
Between October 2006 and June 2007, a small amount of Marginal CDs were left in public places for people to find by chance. Attached to each CD was a sticker briefly introducing the album and inviting the person who picked it up to pay £5, by PayPal, if they liked it and wanted to keep it. If they didn't like it, the sticker requested that they similarly leave it lying around for someone else to find.
The drop locations were:
Underneath an abandoned newspaper on a cafe table, Bristol, Nov'06.
On a seat on the London - Bristol train, Nov '06.
Meadowhall Shopping Centre, Sheffield, Dec '06 (thanks Helen and Claire).
Unknown bar in Tallin, Estonia, Dec '06 (thanks Dave).
Beside the till, in a magazine rack, Boots the Chemist, Bedford, Dec '06 (thanks Marion).
Ladies toilet, on the cistern, Watershed Media Centre, Bristol, Dec '06 (thanks Sarah).
Asda shopping trolley, Bristol, Jan '07.
Park bench, shopping trolley and photo booth, Trowbridge, England, Feb '07 (thanks Nick).
Retiro Park, Madrid, Mar '07 (thanks Helen).
In front of King's College, Cambridge, Mar '07 (thanks Helen, again!)
Cafes in Guangzhou and Beijing, China, Apr '07 (thanks Amanda).
Hard Rock Cafe, Orlando and Starbucks, Miami Airport, June '07 (thanks Steve)
At the time of writing (April 2008), those Marginals are still wondering the planet, possibly in a CD rack somewhere, possibly in a landfill site.
