by Andrew Carr
The sound of the rain filled the apartment. It came in through the open windows. Open just enough to let the cool air in too, without getting anything beyond the window sill wet. Before I sat down to paint, I turned on some music: Brian Eno’s Reflection. An album with only one, 54 min track. And the music was so unobtrusive and sensitive, that instead of competing with the sound of the rain, as it fell on the AC unit and the street outside, the music entered into it. It entered into and moved through the rain with a light step, as if listening. As if the music were making thoughtful choices, in real time, about how to complement and deepen the sound of the rain without compromising it. So that as I painted, the rain and the music seemed to come from the same place, like elements of the same weather front, the same atmospheric conditions, the same intentional mind. And as I carefully laid a wash of deep indigo, I too entered into that atmosphere, that mind. And when, inexplicably, an ice cream truck rolled down the street, still playing music in the pouring rain, even the notes of its ice cream truck refrain seemed to have been anticipated and deepened by Eno’s music, like Mozart’s variations on Twinkle Twinkle. The ice cream truck entered Eno’s music as his music had entered the rain. The sound of the truck stopped and lingered on the block, as if someone had come out of their house to buy an ice cream. Now and then, as I painted, a profound thunder would rumble beneath it all. Eventually I relaxed my concentration and sat back to wipe my brushes and observe my work. The truck, I realized, was gone. And the music had ended without my noticing. And the rain too had passed on, leaving only the sound of the dripping leaves.
Brian Eno’s Reflection is a 2017 experiment in generative music. Click below to listen or here for more information.
Andrew Grum Carr is an artist, writer, and teacher from St. Paul MN. He writes short fiction and works in watercolor. He loves cinema, the library, and Saturday night jazz. You can find his artwork at www.andrewgrumcarr.com or follow him on Instagram @andrewgrumcarr.
header image: Andrew Carr, Allen Ave, Rain
