The wise counsel once bestowed on me by the shawl wearing lady on the Apple stall in the Market where I once worked ''Stay with me son, I'll learn you good'' in her colloquial heavy dialect.
Markets transcend a broad church of commerce, from merchants selling their wares in a style that has not changed for a thousand years to the modern convention of the shopping mall, which in itself has become not only a retail and relaxation hub, but a place where children grow up, learn, socialize and interact. Where adults can meet for coffee and were one can meander aimlessly and yet be titillated by all sorts of newfangled marketing mediums and the medium as Marshall McLuhan once alluded, is the message.
Shopping, even reconnaissance shopping is an interactive experience, we look for bargains and collate and compare prices.
Even in this futuristic environment we still haggle over prices and conclude with a handshake, a wry smile, till the next time.
The cathartic and anodyne effect of shopping, and one is loathe to say it, is not even lost on men, in a taxonomy sense, it is all-encompassing.
It is a sociological and behavioral psychological anomaly.
We engage with retail personnel, sometimes we engage with automated machines, whose hypnotic rhythms permeate the air as we negotiate through the aisles.
This takes place in a multitude of environments from the open air of the town square, to the surreal Arena of the mall to the almost theatrical composite environment of the indoor market.
Elevators, escalators, stairs and balconies we travel to and fro upon our merry ways, multi-story car parks with layers both subterranean and up to the skyline, trying to source a space to lay your automobile in an over supplied parking edifice, waiting patiently for one to egress so you can ingress.
Then option anxiety manifests, where to start?
Mark O’Leary tried with candour, to encapsulate these nuances and essences which collocated over a several weeks culminating in this recording, showcasing all of the aforementioned environments without sacrificing too much integrity.
credits
released May 1, 2014
Recorded and produced by Mark O'Leary
Post production Donncha Moynihan at Hub Studio Cork.
Cover design Mark O'Leary and Daniele Santini
Artwork by Daniele Santini
Thanks to all who helped facilitate this recording in any way,
from Management, Retailers, Security Personnel and Shoppers.
Special thanks to Daniele Santini and Ableton
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