Groundbreaking Scottish composer & producer Erland Cooper scores first ever no.1 classical album with planted tape

02 October 2024 - Press release

OFFICIAL CHARTS AWARD TO BE PLANTED UNDERGROUND IN AN UNDISCLOSED LOCATION – ANY FAN WHO FINDS IT, KEEPS IT

An album buried in the earth three years ago has taken the top spot of the Official UK Classical Album Chart. ‘Carve The Runes Then Be Content With Silence’, released on Mercury KX last week, marks a first in the chart’s history, as well as being the first classical No.1 for Scottish composer and artist Erland Cooper. In a fitting tribute to the artistic process of this album, the coveted Official Charts Company award will now be planted underground for fans to find. Whoever discovers it, keeps it.

Erland’s groundbreaking album was written and recorded three years ago, then immediately planted underground in Orkney, where Cooper grew up, with all digital copies permanently deleted. A meditation on value and patience in a world of instant gratification, it is a truly singular work of art. The tape was eventually found by fans (following a cryptic trail and map left by Erland) and revealed to the public in a concert at the Barbican in June. It is now out in the world for all to hear how the sound has been manipulated by the soil over that time, standing proudly at the top of the Classical Charts as a totally unique example of collaborating with nature.

Decca Co-President Tom Lewis says,“Erland is the Banksy of classical music. He brilliantly and fearlessly melds the worlds of composition and performance art. This is his greatest and riskiest work yet, and to think that it could have all disintegrated before any of us heard a note. That’s audacious.”

As with the making of this record, Erland has decided to plant the Official Charts Company No.1 award (along with the vinyl of the album), again sending it on a journey he cannot control. He wants the award to be shared with fans in a celebration of community and collaboration and will soon release clues to its location.

Erland Cooper says,“I think poet George Mackay Brown would be rather tickled by this. I know he had a deep connection to community, landscape and the music of it all, so to celebrate nature's wild contribution to composition and the resilience of both, is a glorious thing. I've so much gratitude to everyone listening and buying this record, even had it emerged from the soil as silence. Huge thanks to my record label for being so bold and supportive. A win for Orkney, nature and the seedlings of ideas. May the words and music fly high and dive deep like a gannet. For the islands we sing"

Please note, the recycled acrylic Official Charts Company No.1 Award (wrapped in a cloth bag to prevent any direct interaction with the soil) will spend no longer than one month in the earth, to completely avoid any harmful impact on the environment.