“The Borderguard’s path” was recorded in the Sumava forest between the Czech and German borders on the 2nd of January 2021. I set out to explore the sounds that can be heard inside some of the 1st and 2nd World War bunkers in the area, which are said to total around 2000 in number, most of them forgotten and still to be re-discovered.

After an hour walk through a snow covered path I managed to find and crawl into to one of these bunkers. It was a very damped and dark space, where the only source of light was a small shaft window. I had with me a couple of synthesisers (Gakken SX-150 and the DRC running on a tablet) which I placed inside two separate rooms and recorded short improvisations with them, along with some “ghosty” sounds coming from the inside of the bunker’s rusty pipes. Two microphones were placed not far from each other in another corner of the space.

This audio piece was quite a personal experience in self-isolation and overcoming an unavoidable fear of being alone in a dark unknown space. I will never forget the exhilarating feeling of crawling back out, from the darkness into the light. For further information, check: https://sirr-ecords.bandcamp.com

Virgilio Oliveira /2021