Eight Days Lost

EIGHT DAYS LOST (37 min. 2013) Concert video Eight Days Lost — a post-rock instrumental suite performed by experimental rock trio The Burgess Shale with an accompanying “film” by members of the band is now available online.

“Eight Days Lost” is a multi-disciplinary / multi-media performance that is based on the eight days in 1917 when Canadian painter Tom Thomson went missing in Canoe Lake.

Created entirely by the diversely talented and experienced musicians of “The Burgess Shale” (Wyatt Burton, Gerry Gregg and John Climenhage), Eight Days Lost features a thirty-five minute musical suite with each of the eight days represented by a particular musical theme.

The music is performed simultaneously with video projections of paintings, animations and underwater scenes created specifically for the performance.

For the performance at Peterborough’s Artspace in 2013, the visuals are video-mapped onto three blank canvasses on easels and remixed live with the band, in front of the audience.

The resulting document shows what happened and it features the re-mastered audio. Don headphones for optimal effect.

John Climenhage, an established and widely respected painter started painting a series of large oil paintings of Canoe Lake in 2012 as an homage to Tom Thomson. As the paintings began to appear on the walls of John’s studio, which doubles as the band’s rehearsal space, the idea of creating an original composition about the “eight days lost” came into being. Storyboards for imagery and musical scores were developed simultaneously. As each new piece was created, the music was further arranged, and deepened, which called for clearer visual themes.

Both parts of this project continue to develop in tandem, and one would not exist without the other. Video online seems like the best way to distribute this live musical masterwork. Think of it 37 minute “high-concept” music video.