Music & Sound Composition
I believe the creative practice of designing sound or music is necessary for human existence. The auditory world is responsible for our memories and how the mammalian species connects the universe.
Great Respire
Deciding to field record and sound design in Abbotsford British Columbia because of its “remote” qualities would prove to be a harder task than I had imagined. Abbotsford and much of the valley is littered with pockets of green, and babbling creeks. But the noise pollution of the highways and cars cuts through the natural world with a deadly precision. Listeners of “Great Respire” may find anxiety in the sounds of a manmade world. But by the end of the piece, listeners will find that the mechanical world isn’t to be feared but appreciated as a second layer of the natural world. Diving past the cars and bikes, deep into the creeks and trees, listeners can hear the inhale and exhale of the forest, imagining the moss growing and receding with each breath. “Great Respire” aims to bring each listener on a journey, sinking from a human-made world to the catacombs of a natural world. Capturing the essence of runaway streams and brooks and then transporting them into dreams. Exploring nature and further exploring water in nature. The journey will end with a gradual wake-up from the natural and back into city life.
Currently Outputing
Feedback has become something of an irreversible sin in the modern age of audio. If there is feedback, there is clearly something wrong with the mic placement or the gain level. That instant feeling of dread when half the audience looks back at the soundboard as the levels from a child actor have suddenly peaked. This feeling is something I'm sure all audio engineers or mixers have experienced at some point. It's quite a horrible feeling. But what If feedback was not something to fear but a tool to be used? This piece is to look (or listen) at feedback in a new less negative light. Any amount of feedback sounds different due to its size or output level, so I went to the local Abbotsford thrift and got some terrible tinny speakers. I used a total of nine different outputs. Each speaker had a particular frequency that it produced louder than others and the feedback responded to this strongly. Within the levels of each output, it would peak somewhere different. I noticed the Bluetooth speakers I used created much more low-frequency information. While the older and smaller auxiliary speakers produced much more high-frequency information. I edited each section slightly to reduce the levels and make it listenable. As for most of the recording I had my ears plugged.
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Ocean And Sky
The Ocean is an open expanse of blue beauty. Forever undiscovered and full of exciting possibilities, made up of brilliant greens, deep hues, and of course countless species of animals. Miles above the ocean surface, however, lies an alternate universe of infinite wonder. The sky is the reason the ocean gets its blues. The sky is the founding grace for all light and darkness in the world. The Ocean and the Sky have a symbiotic relationship in my eyes. Clouds form and rain falls. Tsunamis rise and hurricanes devour. Yet in all this, there is peaceful serenity. Stand on a cliffside with a good view of the ocean melting into the horizon, you will see how the ocean and the sky truly hold hands in perfect unison. Suddenly the waves and the clouds become no different to the eye. That moment is what this piece is meant to signify. The deep revolving bass slowly evolves into a sound that is larger than life. Developing and progressing throughout this piece are simple melodies I created. These melodies might work on their own but layered over top of one another, they begin to dance. Sound swims around the listener's ear in this piece. I am orchestrating the exact moments where the Ocean and the Sky are melding and merging into one Being of endless possibility. The Spirits Of Life call out in this piece and the far resonant songs of Whales can be heard deep below. Yet high above the simple piano melody continues to watch over it all. I invite the listener to expand their mind and fall into the world I have created.