In the Zeppelin of Love consists of 2 elements - the amplified sound of writing, and a processed recording of rock music. The text being written is the lyrics to a song called In the Zeppelin of Love, from a World War One-era musical called Let’s Go! which seems to have been designed to exhort young people to join the armed forces. The rock music is the psychedelic central part of Led Zeppelin’s Whole Lotta Love. I was interested in exploring the musical nature of the sound of writing, which is an activity not normally associated with listening, and also in making a piece that non-musicians could perform.
I’m often asked whether it wouldn’t be nice for the audience to see the text as it’s being written. As far as I’m concerned this will destroy the piece - the point is that we concentrate on listening to something which we ordinarily would not, so to have that visual distraction will re-focus attention in an undesirable way.
