TULIPOMANIA: SHINES ON

A light from long ago shines on – a paean to ambiguity and endurance in this animation for music that inspired acclaimed author Jeff VanderMeer while creating Absolution, the highly anticipated addition to the best-selling Southern Reach series. The song 'Shines On' has been re-released in a new Tulipomania album inspired by an invitation to work with author Jeff VanderMeer as part of the publication of Absolution, the fourth book in the best selling Southern Reach series. VanderMeer was inspired by Tulipomania's recent release Dreaming of Sleep – Tulipomania in turn was inspired by VanderMeer's book Absolution for the new album of re-mixes and new tracks, also titled Absolution. VanderMeer generously contributed extensive liner notes for the album, elaborating on how Tulipomania’s music informed his creative process, including this introduction, “It felt like a revelation – hypnotic, pulsing music that got deep hooks into my brain, so I couldn’t stop listening to the songs, ” continuing, “Like a lighthouse’s roving light, the songs felt like a beacon, and the recursive nature of the composition, the sense of a beating heart, a thick muscle at the core of them, combined with the surreal lyrics got deep into the novel’s DNA.” For the animated music video, Tulipomania band members/directors/animators Tom Murray and Cheryl Gelover created, then modified and manipulated original footage to produce an animated exploration of light and color. The final animation is composed of thousands of individual collages, augmented by bold swipes of pastel on distressed and reconfigured surfaces of black paper.