Once upon a time in Lazio

"A surreal discovery in a deserted motorway service station in Lazio. Behind the gas pumps stands a small, post-modern chapel, empty and silent. Inside, hidden low-fi speakers broadcast a bizarre loop of farm animals and distorted Christmas carols. The recording captures the haunting reverb of this lonely, sacred space, where kitsch sounds and motorway melancholy collide in a glitchy, suburban liturgy.

"To respond to this recording, I wanted to preserve its surreal, absurd and almost filmic character. The scene felt like something from a strange theatre production or an abandoned movie set, where familiar sounds take on an unsettling, dreamlike quality against the hum of the road. To capture this feeling I used a piano-led approach, collaging harmonic and melodic sounds from the recording and using pauses and space. Rather than filling the sonic landscape, I wanted to create room for the atmosphere of the original recording. I was reminded of Samuel Beckett and his use of absurdity, repetition and space in writing this piece. I aimed to use the theatrical strangeness of the recording while leaving space for its strangeness and melancholy to linger."

Italian autogrill nativity reimagined by Laura Hills.