Welcome to the third chapter of Backdrop Generator - The Far Away Reality. This serialised concept album was completed in 2005, but was never officially released. Set in the future, the year is 2020…….
The project commences, but it seems the governments brief is out of reach. The development team can only generate highly polished, but formulaic, two dimensional characters to inhabit the programme. There is no spark, no originality, no inspiration or zest. The Far Away Reality looks just like any other hi-tech product that could have been produced by Gordax itself. The public maybe entertained, but not moved. Nothing will change….
Pulling back the threads
Exactly like the news
Face the waking lens
Colours of the night
Leaving places
Adding so many things
Changing faces
And all the good luck they bring
The maybe dreamers
Get fed up
Spread their boundaries all around maybe dreamers
Lose their touch
Let their broken spirits down
And we bit their teeth
And we took their time
And I wonder why
And we bit their teeth
And we took their time
And I don’t know why
Marcus Black, the project leader, leaves Backdrop operations late in the evening. He walks along the dark allies which route beneath the city scape, to his apartment. Hunched against the wind, his mind is over run with the job in hand. He just can’t see a way of developing the programme beyond the mundane tricks of computer generation. How can they inspire consumers whose minds are already saturated by such images?
Turning the corner past an out-of-the-way bar, he laughs to himself. This is a weird part of town and he’s not quite sure how he’s ended up here. He could have taken a cab, but he needed to walk to help clear his mind. This is the biggest challenge so far. Maybe it is beyond him. The rain starts and he takes refuge in a café.
What a dive. He would never normally frequent a place like this, and let’s face it, there are scarcely any of them left. It certainly isn’t a Gordax franchise. The people here seem to him to be un-stylish, ugly even. He orders a beverage that he doesn’t drink and waits for the rain to stop. “Stupid ugly people“ he thinks. Laughter erupts from the next booth and he tunes into their conversation.
There are two women and a man who are just leaving. They gather together the various papers they have obviously been discussing. “Yes but do you think anyone gives a shit about this publication Head Spin?”
“No Borg, and that’s the whole point, we do it because we do it, it’s our thing. I ache, and I just do it. You’re the same!”
”So what are you writing about this week Galore?” The conversation fades as they exit the café.
“Weird” thinks Black, he moves over to their booth and picks up a forgotten sheet. It’s a news letter, with the words Silver Cults written at the top. It’s filled with articles, ideas, opinions, anti-corporate rantings and above all a sense of individuality.
“And people still do this stuff?”
Noticing the rain has stopped, Black decides to leave. He is feeling tired and makes his way towards the main road to get a cab the rest of the way home. As his cab approaches the huge neon lights of the city square and the relentless swagger of the sour-faced shoppers, Marcus Black is struck by the contrast between the two worlds. What makes those three in the café so different and unusual? Society ridicules people like them, but they don’t care. They seen more real somehow. If only he could capture that spirit within the Far Away Reality….
“That’s it!” he shouts in a moment of clarity, “Driver, turn round. Take me back!”
Chaos attractions, attracted us
Doctrinal opinions, encouraged us
Weird out fashions, appealed to us
Selling miracles in the street
Crystalline omens, ignored by us
Narrative accounts, lay unknown to us
Materialism, engulfing us
Doing business with the sheep
Through time we’ve lost the reasons
Contrary to our seasons
In silver stands a future
From past returning meaning
Biblical experience: the Three bring us hope……
Saturated creatures, a product line
Painfully exclusive, of their design
Instant made flawless, to save you time
Turning money in their sleep
Flying on a wave of inspiration, Markus Black hunts for the three. His idea is to create an interface that will allow digital access elements of their consciousness. This will provide the “breath of life” to an otherwise lifeless program. Unprecedented, unconventional, harebrained- the Three love it.
Through this organic fusion, the Far Away Reality is born. The results are bizarre…
Backdrop Generator is currently free to download. If you wish to show your appreciation for the considerable work involved, you are welcome to make a donation. Just click below…..
The Maybe Dreamers:
Lead vocals: Charlotte Xerri. Backing vocals: Clare Fowler, Charlotte Xerri, John Fowler. Music: John Fowler.
The Silver Cults:
Narration: Fleur Hemmings. Music: John Fowler
Old To Real:
Lead vocals and classical guitar intro: Charlotte Xerri. Backing vocals: Clare Fowler, Charlotte Xerri, John Fowler. Drums, bass, keys, guitars: John Fowler.
For more info about Clare and John Fowler’s current music, visit: www.dandelioncharm.com