A concept album which pays tribute to late Pink Floyd founder Syd Barrett has been released on the eighth anniversary of his death.
The debut album by Garden Music Project is called Inspired By Syd Barrett’s Artwork – and it does exactly what is says on the tin. Its 12 songs reflect Barrett’s artistic concepts and his musical legacy.
Available now via Cherry Red Records, the project was created by Adriana Rubio, who co-wrote the tracks with guitarist and singer Alexander Ditzend. Other musicians who appear on the album are Stefan Ditzend, Nicolas Saganias and Fabrizio Gamba.
Rubio has the rare neurological phenomenon synesthesia, which causes one sense to trigger one or more other sensory responses. For example, a person with synesthesia might hear sounds in response to a smell, or see a certain number as a colour.
Rubio says: “I was born a synesthete and for a long time I liked the idea of making a CD album using synesthesia perceptions as a new way to compose music. Syd Barrett’s paintings are the key to this as he’s been the inspirational muse to make it happen.
“Syd was very sensitive of synesthesia colour-sound shifts onstage and in studio sessions, and it is mainly linked to his passion for painting. For the most part he was a visual artist, and I dare to say that even though he was retired from the music scene, he continued making music through painting as he had the ability to hear colours and see music notes through painting.
“As the project creator myself, I started digging into Syd’s coloured paintings and even into black and white drawings to visualize the music notes and hear them through the intensity of their colours. To start with, I wrote the basic music lines of three songs which were discussed with the band members to taste the waters. It worked out great.”
Syd Barrett died in July 2006 at the age of 60.
The album is available at Cherry Red’s online store and on iTunes and a video for the song My Ladies can be seen below.
