Oxford Trauma by Captains of Industry
“Language fails most reliably at the site of injury.”
— Dr. Verran Cowl, Semiotic Leakages & the Oxford Paratexts (Internal Document 81-F)
Recorded in an unregistered wing of the decommissioned Oxford Memory Hospital less than a month after Trauma, Comma, Oxford Trauma began as an attempt to audit the residuals—what had clung to the Captains’ instruments, their drives, and their nervous systems after the first sessions.
Each track seems to reflect a looping structure or false narrative—a glitch in directionality or belief. The distinction between Ark and Arc is deliberate. One implies survival; the other, misinterpretation. Both are wrong.
The three Arcs may be part of a larger looped system, but no final diagram has ever been agreed upon.
Suggested Engagement Protocols:
1. Offset
Don’t rewind. Trust that you missed something vital. Carry that discomfort forward.
2. The Second Ark
Listen in transit. Preferably at dusk. Treat every fade as an exit ramp you’ve missed.
3. 1st Arc
Remain stationary. Let your environment shift. This piece pairs well with citrus fruits.
4. The First Ark
Play only in mirrored spaces.
5. 2nd Arc
Stand in a doorway. Keep one foot in and one foot out. Ponder your sense of “between” until that sense dissolves.
6. 3rd & Final Arc
Do not listen alone. Though there should be no conversation.
A NOTE ON THE "THESE EYES" VOCAL REFRAIN:
The phrase “these eyes” originated from a voice synthesis training dataset used during the Oxford Trauma sessions. The Captains were experimenting with an old affective voice synthesis module, originally designed for grief-counseling simulations, in which the phrase “These eyes see past reactions,” featured as one of its standard empathetic prompts.
Upon being loaded, the module failed catastrophically, reducing all vocal prompts to degraded snippets. What remained was “these eyes”—looped, clipped, disembodied, time-stretched or buried under layers of hiss. But it kept returning. Without input. Without cause.
Some listeners claim the motif only activates if you're looking at a screen while listening.
Tracklist
| 1. | Offset | 0:48 |
| 2. | The Second Ark | 8:00 |
| 3. | 1st Arc | 11:16 |
| 4. | The First Ark | 5:56 |
| 5. | 2nd Arc | 6:26 |
| 6. | 3rd & Final Arc | 10:54 |
Credits
teri brown: vox; prophet 5; glockenspiel; pole; pedal box
casey bye: fender/roland gr-33; zoom box; loops
tom larter: fender bass; reverb; modular synth
recorded live to four-track tape sept. 27, 2018 following the trauma, comma performance also available on this site.
