EPOCH
From the first human-made fire to the internal combustion engine and beyond, humanity's ability for shared learning has given us powers which would have caused our ancestors to perceive us as gods.
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The ways we use technology defines cultures, and carries ideas and feelings into the generations that follow. To explore the possibilities of this interplay between science, technology and creativity through out human existence, Rawz developed EPOCH - a collaboration between academics and artists crossing an extraordinarily diverse range of fields.
The World's First Hip Hop Time Machine
Emerging from collaboration between a team of cross disciplinary artists, and researchers working at the cutting edge of Artificial Intelligence, Immunology, and Modern Language, this project explores the interplay between science, technology and creativity.
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Simultaneously a University research project, an art exhibition, and a conceptual Hip Hop album, the project team created a series of “Epochs”; isolated spaces designed to reflect the overall feel of 5 specifically defined eras spanning from the 1950s and into the future. Rawz and his Episode One bandmates created a bespoke soundtrack for the Epochs using technology from each of the eras to create hip hop music; communicating their interpretations of these historic periods through their artistic response.
Each Epoch was populated with technology and stories that defined the zeitgeist of the era with the aim of immersing audience members in the spirit of that age, hoping to provoke an emotional response similar to the feeling of being physically transported through time and space.
The process of creating the music for the project saw Episode One using world-first recording techniques in a fully functional 1950s studio, collaborating with a member of iconic band Parliament Funkadelic, and working with a world leading A.I. Specialist to imagine how the music of the future might be made.
The project was documented in a short film by Drop All Words Media.
1950s Hip Hop
Captured on reel to reel tape at Sugar Ray’s Vintage Recording Studio; one of the world’s only fully functional 1950s recording studios, this session was filmed for a special on popular independent music channel Bopflix.
Episode One used world-first recording techniques to immortalise their interpretation of this pivotal decade in global history. Featuring the first known raps recorded through a 1955 RCA 44-BX Microphone (made famous by Elvis) and synthetic sub-bass picked up by a microphone manufactured in 1938.
MUSIC FOR THE AGES
EPOCH by Episode One
The soundtrack to a physical exhibition spread across 5 rooms, each themed around specific time periods. The music was composed using the technology and methods of the corresponding age.
Find out more about each of the tracks below.