Translate is the first release from CJ Mirra’s much anticipated new album, the official soundtrack to the eponymously named audio-visual free surfing experiment and movie – the latest collaboration with award winning director Chris McClean.
An ode to the raging North Atlantic, the album unites ethereal soundscapes and rising orchestral movements with sublime electronic excursions and lo-fi moments to transport the listener on an immersive and unrestrained journey across the continent.
“We set out to make a soundtrack rather than a score,” explains CJ Mirra of the project that has confirmed his status as ‘the sound of cold water surfing’. “This gave us freedom to mirror the changes in the locations, the waves and the surfers, imbuing the music with the tastes, textures and sonics to reflect the landscapes and shifting oceans, capturing the pan-European scope of the film.”
The video for the launch single Translate was produced in collaboration with multi media artist Rebecca Smith who reinterpreted the original surf footage from the film with her overtly digital aesthetic. “I played with creating wave studies from particles, taking the idea that one single point has a ripple effect out to others,” says Rebecca. “This interconnectedness is something that really interests me. My aim was to encapsulate the feeling of power and beauty in the natural world, and reflect on our relationship with it.”
“The video is one artist’s translation of the original film, using collaboration as protest against the current divisive political climate in Europe and beyond,” explains CJ Mirra.
While Translate the title track is orchestral and cinematic, collaborations with the likes of renowned surfer/ musician Lee-Ann Curren have taken the music and the live performance into new, sonic territories. Translate the live A/V performance had its sell-out world premiere at the London Surf / Film Festival where it scooped the prestigious Viewer’s Choice Award and will be touring soon.
Translate OST released on The State51 Conspiracy is available 27th November 2020 on digital and ltd edition vinyl with the first single released 21st August HERE.
