Jeremy Williams-Chalmers, Arts Correspondent
In Conversation: Robert Ratcliffe
From humble beginnings to an epic creation: this remarkable project was crafted over ten years on a twelve-year-old laptop, fuelled by boundless imagination and passion. The brains behind the project, Robert Ratcliffe, has poured his love of music, art, science fiction, fantasy, and pop culture into ‘Chronicles of the Residuum: The Age of Destruction’. The result is no less than outstanding.
We caught up with Robert to learn a little more...
Chronicles Press
Chronicles of the Residuum was born out of a need to create music that would stand the test of time, and the knowledge that the music industry, as it stood 10 years ago (and where it was heading), would be a very difficult place to make a living, and my only chance would be to create something completely different that could cross over into other media and become something never seen before. The likes of The War of The Worlds were a huge inspiration showing how narration and music could work together to tell a story that could be transformed into film, theatre and more. I wanted to follow in the footsteps of people like Jeff Wayne and Rick Wakeman and create something entirely from my head that people could escape into and become immersed in the music and the story, but with incredible art to support and help tell that story. I remember sitting at my art desk talking to my wife and telling her that to do all of this, and to make it become a sustainable living for our family, I would have to do something different, and this is what it would be.
And what is your key ambition?
To change the landscape of electronic music by crossing boundaries into the worlds of science fiction and fantasy, and combining storytelling with music and sound to transport people on an incredible sonic adventure.
Smile: Praise You by Fat Boy Slim which has such a great feel-good vibe right from the opening piano chords, and Mt Saint Michel + St Michael’s Mount by The Aphex Twin, for its incredible acid and drum programming.
Cry: Roberta Flack’s The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, which was the first dance at my wedding, and Barber's Adagio for Strings which contains some of the most beautiful and passionate string writing of all time.
Laugh: I’d have to go for something playful and humorous by Venetian Snares or Aphex Twin, such as Come to Daddy (Pappy Mix) – the parodic screaming gets me every time!
Feel nostalgic: The War of the Worlds by Jeff Wayne brings back childhood memories of driving around in the car on Sundays with my parents, and imagining the electricity pylons were tripods invading the world. Alternatively, Chopin's Ballade No.4 in F minor and Mazurka in a minor Op 68, No.2 which I heard for the first time on cassette performed by Sviatoslav Richter.
Dance in the kitchen: – There’s too many to choose from, but I will go with Halcyon by Orbital as the music video was filmed in a kitchen!
Sing in the shower: Firestarter by The Prodigy, which is the only song I will sing on karaoke. It has such an incredible energy that you can't help but explode to.
Message a friend immediately: Something like Papua New Guinea by Future Sound of London, or Sweet Harmony by Liquid as they bring back so many memories of nights out raving with friends.
What was the best gig you have ever been to?
2010 The Prodigy Warrior’s Dance Festival, Milton Keynes Bowl
What stage have you not performed on, that you dream of?
Glastonbury’s Pyramid Stage
What would be your dream collaboration?
Aphex Twin, Leftfield, Orbital or The Prodigy
Lastly, you can achieve one thing by the end of the year, what is it?
Number 1 electronic album in the UK