Clue Two
Irwin, Brighton, UK asked:
‘Aren’t you concerned that from your buried album could spring an “album tree” that grows and grows till it destroys us all?’
Erland answered:
‘No, there are very few trees on Orkney. It’s too windy for them to reach maturity or become saplings.’
Paul, Unknown, UK asked:
‘I think I recognise where you were for some of the videos. It’s a very beautiful place, once the visitor has recovered from the thrilling surprise of having to reverse onto the ferry. I will return with a spade!’
Erland answered:
‘Well spotted, good luck. Dig responsibly and only where you find a special stone that lays on the planting site. My Rune stone marks the spot and it is still there, waiting patiently.’
Samantha, Paris, France asked:
‘Do you believe music is a spell? I do. Can we all hum an invisible lullaby that makes cruelty stop? That makes us peaceful together, kinder? The invisible song.’
Erland answered:
‘I am pleased you believe that. Art is the one thing humans don’t need to do to physically survive each day but it is perhaps the one thing we all need to live. There is certainly magic in song, where it comes from, how it survives and moves between a collective conscience over time, perhaps joining invisible dots.’
Justin, North Yorkshire, UK asked:
‘What time of year did you go there to bury it and if I were to find it, would you give me a lesson on that violin in return for the tape?’
Erland answered:
‘Spring. I drove it alone from London to Orkney planting in May 2021. I’m not very good at the fiddle. Daniel Pioro is the lead violinist on the recording with a string group he put together called Studio Collective at the RCS in Glasgow. The music now only exists on that tape and in their memory. The violin planted in the soil is not Daniel’s precious instrument but my own.’
Nadia, Italy asked:
‘Hey, this is such a wonderful idea, I’m here for it! I only wish to be the one to find the tape. More importantly what type is the tin of biscuits??’
Erland answered:
‘A Scottish shortbread assortment. In the tin you’ll find some trinkets - a full score, stones, dried seaweed, a postcard and a letter on how to reunite it with me, including my phone number.’
Carolynn, Cambridge, UK asked:
‘If/when it’s found, will you stop releasing clues and publicly let us know?’
Erland answered:
‘Yes. I hope someone finds it. It will be dug up 3 years from when it was planted. If someone steals it, even then it will still see the light of day, whether that’s in 3 or 30 years. If that’s the path it chooses, so be it.’
Unknown, St. Pancras Old Church, UK asked:
‘Wait! are you the guy that buried an album?!’
Erland answered:
‘Yes, I suppose so. It’s planted not buried, not being exhumed but found - it’s about letting light in.’