This coming Saturday (24th October, 2020) marks the launch of the album, ‘Great Barrier’ by band, Selfless Orchestra.. but.. this is just the headline.. the tip to the thread that we will tug, to unravel what lies beneath the surface..
We are going to delve deep within and uncover the immense meaning and story that lies behind the release of this album.. it’s an investigation into what brought about ‘Selfless Orchestra‘ and what has inspired them to release this heartfelt album.
Who are Selfless Orchestra?
A sound self proclaimed as “uncompromisingly beautiful and brutal music that investigates the realms of hope and despair. Orchestral strings and piano being torn apart by searing guitars. Flutes, gongs, didgeridoos… an amalgamation of sounds, backgrounds and styles uniting different cultures, races, ideologies and artistic practices creating a cinematic, enchanting and haunting soundtrack for our self-imposed apocalypse.”
Selfless Orchestra are more than your standard band.. A greater purpose has brought them together to create, as published X-Press Magazine in January 2020, “An ambitious aural and visual presentation… a real delight to behold, an explorative journey of education, entertainment, sight and sound that made for an evening of wonderment and transportation. Turn up, tune in and get enlightened.”
This passion refers to the acknowledgement that the Great Barrier Reef is under threat.. The band seeks to create a statement with their music, on the future of the natural wonder, that is the great barrier reef.
A little background about Selfless Orchestra
Steven Alyian explains “I’ve been fortunate to write and perform original music now for over a decade now. I started playing in a punk band named Injured Ninja. We were young and rambunctious, and that band opened up my life creatively, took me around the world and expanded my mind beyond my wildest imagination.
I never studied music in school but came to it in my own way later. I began to learn other instruments and started learning composition, branching out into all forms of music including electronic and experimental.
A group of mine named Usurper of Modern Medicine also rose to prominence and in addition to Selfless Orchestra, I produce hip-hop beats as Doublethink Prism. However, along this entire career I’ve also been a filmmaker, working on documentaries and now I’ve ventured into the world of media art, combining my passion for both sound and vision, which has become a basis for the project Selfless Orchestra.
After playing gigs in noisy pubs for years, I desired to perform music and create art that I knew had a purpose. I wanted to perform in spaces where I knew the audience was actually listening and taking everything in, and not being dominated by egotistical pursuits or pushing the sale of alcohol.”
About the Great Barrier Reef
“The performances of this record have been supporting two organisations: Reef Restoration Foundation – a group that researches coral nurseries to preserve and protect dying species of the Great Barrier Reef, and Frontline Action on Coal (FLAC) – a group who actively works to halt the illegitimate operations of mining companies that are having negative impacts on the environment in Queensland.
We donate money from our ticket sales to these charities as a symbol of self-empowerment for the audience, as if to say, ‘If you saw our show and felt inspired to make a change… you already have, so thank-you’. If you’re inspired by our music but do not know what to do – start by taking a look at these organisations and offer them your support in whatever form you can.”
Inspiration for the creation of ‘Great Barrier’
The inspiration for the album, ‘Great Barrier’ was born from a casual conversation between bassist, Ray Grenfell and Steven Alyian at a Perth based festival, by the name of Yardstock in 2018.. The discussion began by dreaming about the possibility of creating an ‘epic instrumental rock project’ together and their love of this style of music.
Steven recollects, “I was having a huge passionate conversation with my partner about the dredging and bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef and in a moment of despair, thinking ‘what the fuck can I do?’ I was struck with an inspiration – it all came flooding at once, it’s like I saw a vision of the future.”
When Steven realised that he had friends who had been filming the unfolding within the reef in Queensland.. and.. that they would lend him their footage.. he knew that his discussion with Ray would become a reality.
He says “The next day I called up a bunch of these artists and collaborators ‘Hey I’ve got this crazy idea… maybe we can do this sometime in the future….’ To which everyone pretty much responded ‘Why would we wait to do something like THAT?’ and within a matter of weeks we had already put together most of the project.”
“It was one of the most blissfully flowing and creative musical projects I’ve ever worked on, even though its technically very complex with an idea and a message, everyone understood their purpose and was driven to make it happen.”
Meaning behind ‘Great Barrier’
Without hesitation, Steven exclaims that “this album is about exploring humanity’s complex relationship to nature in the 21st century, through a statement that is poetical, not political.
As humans we can be beautiful caring custodians for the natural world, but also its biggest predators. We wish to express the full gamut of emotions that exists around our increasingly problematic predicament through the example of the Great Barrier Reef, which has been suffering from bleaching events and over the course of the last 25 years, half of the reef corals have died.
As we lose this natural treasure, what are we to learn from its passing? What can we hope to do to recover from this, or stop this dissent into destruction from taking away everything that we love? There are moments of joy, sadness, anger and fear, but ultimately – a realisation of our innate power to make change, to take responsibility as human beings to right our wrongs.
Each instrument in the orchestra becomes an emotional carrier, weaving our personal journeys into the greater narrative of our connection to this earth and finding our place and balance within it.”
The band would like us to see that “issues like this are often bigger than ourselves, they can belittle us and make us feel powerless. Everything in this world is intimately connected and even on the smallest scale, an action of care and creativity can resonate into larger and greater change.
Every act of creativity is powerful, even if it’s simply engaging with an artwork as a participant. Art is the language of the soul to rise up and change the world. Together we are powerful. We are all equally part of this orchestra of life and death, love and fear, and every one of us can be an architect of the grand design that unfolds from here.”
What does the future hold for Selfless Orchestra?
This question is met with a simple thought provoking question.. “What does the future hold for any of us right now?”..
Words that any of us can ponder on within this time in our world’s history, being made..
Steven continues with “A challenge to find our place within the greater narrative of this earth. Will we succumb to our own misdirection and invite in our own destruction or will we rise up to ask for something better from ourselves and from each other?
The release of this album will be the end of this performance piece for us, which debuted in 2018 and has been performed several times in the last two years.
We have begun to write new music for a new performance piece, and subsequently an album that investigates the plight of Indigenous Australians, their special connection to country, and how their land and history was decimated under the false decree of ‘Terra Nullius’ by looking at cases such as the mining of uranium in the West Australian desert, which has destroyed families and torn apart communities, all in the name of dangerous nuclear material. We are an armada of artists and creatives that can band together to respond and inform audiences about whatever is close to our hearts.”
What advice would you give to aspiring artists?
“Create something that makes your heart feel fulfilled, that brings you more into the present moment, that connects you to your community, that shows support and encourages others.”
Steven Alyian
“If you are creating art for self-validation or to be famous, know that your pursuits are ultimately empty. We can desire to be remembered, to leave a legacy, but ultimately all legacies will be forgotten, and all history will eventually be destroyed. Such is the nature of all things.
There is no point trying to leave a memory behind, but rather create something for yourself in the here and now. Create something that makes your heart feel fulfilled, that brings you more into the present moment, that connects you to your community, that shows support and encourages others.
If you can step outside your own ego and pursue a creative career from an honest place, you will find even more inspiration, freedom and you will soar even higher on the graceful wings of creativity.
There is no limit to the beauty that can be found in that pure creative pursuit of experimenting with the shapes and sounds of the universe with pure child-like curiosity.”
The performances of this record have been supporting two organisations: Reef Restoration Foundation – a group that researches coral nurseries to preserve and protect dying species of the Great Barrier Reef, and Frontline Action on Coal (FLAC) – a group who actively works to halt the illegitimate operations of mining companies that are having negative impacts on the environment in Queensland. We donate money from our ticket sales to these charities as a symbol of self-empowerment for the audience, as if to say, ‘If you saw our show and felt inspired to make a change… you already have, so thank-you’. If you’re inspired by our music but do not know what to do – start by taking a look at these organisations and offer them your support in whatever form you can.
Where to find Selfless Orchestra:
Karen Harding is a Melbourne, Australia based singer/songwriter, founder of Sounds On The Couch, and founder and operator of boutique music PR service for emerging and independent artists, Rise Indie.