Erland Cooper Composes Music For Platinum Jubilee Superbloom

Contemporary Scottish composer Erland Cooper has been commissioned to create an original piece of music to soundtrack the Superbloom installation at the Tower of London celebrating The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

Superbloom at the Tower of London

The forthcoming Superbloom installation at the Tower of London, marking The Queen’s 70 years on the throne, will celebrate nature by transforming the moat into a spectacular, colourful, vibrant field of flowers. In spring 2022 over 20 million seeds will be sown in the moat from carefully designed seed mixes. From June to September the flower display will erupt into new colours and patterns creating a dramatic and engaging experience.

Superbloom is named after a rare, natural phenomenon where whole landscapes are transformed into sheets of vibrant flowers. A “superbloom” occurs only once every few decades when favourable weather patterns coincide and activate dormant seeds.

Erland Cooper’s Music For Growing Flowers

Erland Cooper’s Music For Growing Flowers will be played continuously through speakers providing an accompanying soundtrack for the urban garden. He explained, “Music For Growing Flowers aims to enhance the Superbloom’s emotional impact by rebalancing the dominant city noises and intertwining specific audio frequencies to uncover harmony in the most bustling environments. Since music itself is nothing more than vibrations, perhaps it will help us enter more deeply into this subtle appreciation of place, curiosity and calm.”

The contemporary composer made headlines last year when he planted the only physical copy (on ¼ inch magnetic tape) of his latest album, Carve the Runes Then Be Content With Silence, at an undisclosed location near his childhood home in Orkney. Although Erland Cooper will not be unearthing the tape until 2024 he left a treasure hunt for anyone who would like to find the hidden recording.

Erland Cooper’s Music For Growing Flowers will have three spatial mixes that evolve throughout the day, encouraging everyone to pause, regain their senses and reflect, as they immerse themselves in nature at the Tower of London’s Superbloom.

Music For Growing Flowers will first be released a digital EP, featuring four tracks (the commissioned Superbloom soundtrack), to coincide with the installation at the Tower of London on 1 June 2022. An eight-track mini album featuring four additional tracks, and an option for wildflower seed packets, will be released on vinyl and digitally on 19 August 2022.

Erland Cooper’s Music For Growing Flowers can be pre-ordered here.

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