Artist Spotlight is our regular feature introducing you to Cities and Memory artists around the world with an in-depth interview. In this edition, we introduce you to Los Angeles sound artist and field recordist Julian Goldberger, who has been part of more than ten Cities and Memory projects and works under the name Eulipion Corps.

Lately my practice has been focused solely on creating music, but my background is in filmmaking. I’ve written and directed feature films, as well as short documentaries and music videos. Film projects tend to take an incredibly long time to develop and get made. Getting anything made is a bit of a miracle.

In contrast, I know that my music projects and albums that I work on will be finished and exist in their final form. Creatively it’s very satisfying to be able to see things through.

My area of interest in music is in creating sound pictures or even implying potential narratives. It gives me the opportunity to make music for imaginary films. In some sense I’d like to start writing a script working off of the music I’ve made over the past decade.

I feel like the Eulipion stuff is like a map or ley lines to a story I need to tell. Here’s a link to my Eulipion Corps work.

The interview continues below ⬇️, and this map collects together all of Julian’s contributions to Cities and Memory: 

I live in the hills of NE Los Angeles. On a typical day I hear mostly hawk screeches, police helicopters, construction, leaf blowers, squirrel chatter, and various birdsong.

My true love of sound probably started when I was in college, specifically as I first came into contact with psychedelics. That was when I started to get to a deeper place with sound and music; performing as well as listening.

One of the first shows I did in college was a (slightly embarrassing) experimental theatrical piece, featuring live psych-rock improvisation and trippy film projections. That show marked a turning point for me though, as I realized that filmmaking contained all the stuff I loved.

I started making short films and then went to film school at the American Film Institute. I studied the greats. Filmmakers like Michelangelo Antonioni and David Lynch were huge inspirations for me on multiple levels, but definitely in terms of their unique use of sound design and music.

I love the mysterious aspects of creation. I used to do dream journals, where I would wake up in the middle of the night and talk through my dreams using a dictaphone.

Months later I would transcribe the tapes, and I would have zero recollection of any of those dreams. Really fascinating to plug into my subconscious without trying to interpret or edit anything.

I try to apply that same approach with recording music. Let my intuition and impulses do the work without getting overly cerebral.

My latest album is called Portals. It’s essentially left-field electro-acoustic electronica featuring guitar, synths, electric piano, vintage drum machines, field recordings, and various other sound generating devices, with additional contributions from friends and family.

Portals, like all my albums, is ideally experienced as an album. Listening straight through for 50 minutes. Hard to get people to do that though. But with each album there is a journey, there is a story there. But it’s in the full sequence where that roadtrip really comes to life and resonates.

Without pause I would say “Après l’heure d’or”. Having my music frame and surround the migrants’ celebration after being rescued touched me in a profound way.

I wasn’t sure how to approach the composition initially. But I knew I had to not get in the way, that it wasn’t about me, it was about framing and honoring the moment, and letting them celebrate.

Well, that’s a tough one to answer. There’s too many!

But since I mentioned Antonioni I’ll stick with him and recommend his brilliant film Red Desert (1964), starring Monica Vitti. His use of music, noise, and electronic music is mesmerising and truly groundbreaking.

I love the sound of rain, even though it rarely rains in Los Angeles, but when it does I tune in. Things slow down and I get nostalgic.

Also, birdsong is pretty significant to me. I do a morning walk every day, following the cracks in the road and listening to birdsong. Lots of conversations happening in the shrubs, trees, and sky. There is a track on Portals called “Pastoral No 1” where you can hear the birds outside my studio.

I’ve been wanting a Prophet 5 for decades, it has always been my dream synth, probably due to Ryuichi Sakamoto using one.

I was finally able to get one this year. It’s a bit of a geezer compared to modern poly synths, but it has a feel and sound like no other. It’s an absolute joy to play. Very tactile and immediate, and thankfully no menu diving.

I’m working on a new collection of compositions for my next album, as well as developing a feature film idea I’d like to shoot next year.