Drokk: Music Inspired by Mega-City One

Geoff Barrow is a founding member of Portishead and producer/label owner of Invada Records UK. Ben Salisbury is a soundtrack composer with over 200 film and TV credits to his name, including David Attenborough's 'Life of Mammals', 'Life in the Undergrowth' and 'Life in Cold Blood'. DROKK was written in a six month period between Barrow's Portishead world tour and Salisbury's composing jobs for the BBC. Even though it is a soundtrack of sorts, Barrow and Salisbury instinctively felt that music for MC1 should steer clear of the rich orchestration common to many contemporary film scores. Even for electronica the music is often purposefully stark and spare, with the majority of the tracks created exclusively on the Oberheim 2 Voice Synthesizer (a 1975 classic keyboard), and its onboard sequencer used to create rhythm and drums sounds. The only exceptions are a handful of tracks which combine the synth with digitally manipulated and time-stretched performances of acoustic instruments (such as piano, violin, mandolin, ukelele, voice and hammered dulcimer). There is also a brief cameo from Barrow's other band BEAK. Although Mega City One has been brought to life in great detail over many years by the acclaimed work of writers and artists alike, there is still huge scope for readers to have their own vision/soundtrack of the city. DROKK is Barrow and Salisbury's personal, outsider's' interpretation.