Up the Gravity Well

The tracks on Panic and Anti-Panic flow in reverse chronological order. Although "Up the Gravity Well" appears first on the album, the performance occurred at the end of the trip, in Den Haag, the Netherlands. "Up the Gravity Well" was recorded in the basement performance space of the Villa Grijpsheert. Actually a squat in the embassy section of town, The Villa Grijpsheert stood at least three elegant brick stories tall and housed a variety of artists and their studios.

The title refers to a phrase that William Gibson uses in his novel Count Zero to describe the location of a burnt-out hacker, Wigan Ludgate, who is squatting in the remains of the Tessier-Ashpool family's orbital mansion, the Villa Straylight:

Wig, I said, times money but tell me what you intend to do now? Because I was curious. Known the guy years, in a business way. Finn, he says, I gotta get up the gravity well, God's up there. I mean, he says, He's everywhere but there's too much static down here, it obscures His face.

Concert poster by Samantha Rees.

Up The Gravity Well - Excerpt by johnlevin