By Harry Painter on May 13th, 2010 in
That’s right, seven months ago everyone thought Pulp was reuniting, and now the god of Britpop has made an album of atmospheric and nature sounds. BBC News reports Cocker worked with the British charity The National Trust on the 13-track countryside album featuring sounds recorded on the Trust’s properties.
The album, which Cocker described as a “holiday for the ears,” is being offered as a free download and stream here. He added, “It’s not really meant to be listened to intently, like a piece of music, but more as something to have on in the background to aid relaxation.”
Sounds meant to aid in said relaxation include a game of billiards, a music box, ocean waves, and singing birds. The album, which sound engineers recorded over three months at historic houses and parks in the U.K., lasts 33 minutes. Cocker served as mixer and producer for the album.
The National Trust decided to make the album thanks to research discovering 83% of people were constantly distracted by audio interruptions, breaking their concentration. “Millions of people come to our places for physical and mental refreshment,” said the Trust’s visitor experience director Tony Berry, “and these sounds are an important part of that.”
He added, “If rock ‘n’ roll is the sound of the city, this is the sound of the country – it’s the ultimate chill-out album.”
Okay, but really, Cocker — if you’re looking for something to do, there are thousands, if not millions of people who still like Pulp. Although we could have seen this coming; Cocker displayed a fixation on nature in Pulp’s final album We Love Life, which we recently revisited.